Article 14
“In order to be faithful to the divine command, “teach all nations” (Matt. 28:19-20), the Catholic Church must work with all urgency and concern “that the word of God be spread abroad and glorified” (2 Thess. 3:1).”
A straight-forward statement of the Church’s mission, as an educated Catholic layperson would understand.[1]
“Hence the Church earnestly begs of its children that, ‘first of all, supplications, prayers, petitions, acts of thanksgiving be made for all men…. For this is good and agreeable in the sight of God our Savior, who wills that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth’ (1 Tim. 2:1-4).”
An interesting application of the verses from the First Letter of St. Paul to Timothy. The opening word of the sentence, “[h]ence” (igitur),[2] suggests a logical connection between this and the prior sentence. The biblical quotation also features an ellipsis, one of only two in the document. A question imposes itself—does the connection depend upon the ellipsis? Here’s the entire quotation from the Vatican website (in the New American Bible translation):
“First of all, then, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.”[3]
Considering the biblical quotation as a whole, the logical connection between the article’s first and second sentence is unclear. The first sentence urges mission, but the biblical quotation is not very missionary in character. It rather urges prayer for the peace of the Church. The reference to everyone being saved is more the fruit of such peace than of overt evangelization. Or at least an educated Catholic layperson could see it that way.[4]
“In the formation of their consciences, the Christian faithful ought carefully to attend to the sacred and certain doctrine of the Church.(35)”
The footnote is to a March 23, 1952, radio message of Pope Pius XII.[5] The Vatican website has a radio message in Italian and Spanish of that date.[6] The footnote further cites Acta Apostlicae Sedis (AAS) in the usual manner, i.e., for the official text of the source at issue. The AAS citation is to an identical text, but of a date March 28, 1952.[7] Setting aside the disparity in dates, and turning to a non-official English translation, one finds the following:
“From this, it follows that forming the Christian conscience of a child or a young person consists first of all in enlightening their minds about the will of Christ, his law, his way, and also in acting on their souls, insofar as can be done from outside, similar to persuading them to the free and constant execution of the divine will. This is the greatest task of education.
But where shall the educator and the educated find the Christian moral law, concretely and with facility and certainty? In the law of the Creator, engraved on the heart of each one (cf. Rom 2:14-16), and in revelation; that is, in the entirety of the truths and precepts taught by the divine Master. Both the law written in the heart, that is, the natural law, as well as the truths and precepts of supernatural revelation, which Jesus the Redeemer entrusted, as the moral treasure of humanity, into the hands of His Church, so that she may preach them to all creatures, explaining them and transmitting them, intact and free of all contamination and error, from generation to generation.”[8]
All of this is obvious to an educated Catholic layperson. As Pope Pius XII remarked after the above exposition, the “doctrine” has been “uncontested for long ages.” Ibid.
“For the Church is, by the will of Christ, the teacher of the truth.”
Still obvious to an educated Catholic layperson.
“It is her duty to give utterance to, and authoritatively to teach, that truth which is Christ Himself, and also to declare and confirm by her authority those principles of the moral order which have their origins in human nature itself.”
Still obvious.
“Furthermore, let Christians walk in wisdom in the face of those outside, “in the Holy Spirit, in unaffected love, in the word of truth” (2 Cor. 6:6-7), and let them be about their task of spreading the light of life with all confidence(36) and apostolic courage, even to the shedding of their blood.”
The second and last mention of “Christians” in the document. The more specific plural, “Catholics,” is used only once, in the next article.
This sentence is arguably in the subjunctive given the uses of “let,” which frame the main thought as hypothetical, if not precisely contrary to fact. The subjunctive mood also fits the footnote to Acts 4:29, where the Apostles ask God to empower Christians to speak boldly. That Christians would do so is not a given, in other words. And yet the two instances of “let” are also imperatives, urging Christians to do their duty. Nothing surprising here in the view of an educated Catholic layperson.
“The disciple is bound by a grave obligation toward Christ, his Master, ever more fully to understand the truth received from Him, faithfully to proclaim it, and vigorously to defend it, never-be it understood-having recourse to means that are incompatible with the spirit of the Gospel.”
After a series of straight-forward sentences, the council fathers add a non-specific caveat—Christians are not to have “recourse to means that are incompatible with the spirit of the Gospel.” An educated Catholic layperson might ask about the “spirit” of the Gospel. Is it distinct from the Gospel? Where does one find the Gospel’s “spirit”? Perhaps the next sentence will explain.
“At the same time, the charity of Christ urges him to love and have prudence and patience in his dealings with those who are in error or in ignorance with regard to the faith.(37)”
The sentence’s opening phrase, “[a]t the same time,” does not clear things up. The phrase implies the sentence is to be read together with the prior sentence, which it somehow modifies, a sort of caveat to the caveat. But the present sentence appears to provide the same caveat as the prior, or at least an educated Catholic layperson could think so. Whatever the “spirit of the Gospel” in the prior sentence means, it would probably include the “charity of Christ,” “prudence,” and “patience” of this one.
The footnote is to Pope John XXIII’s encyclical, Pacem in Terris.[9] The cited pages include the following:
“It is always perfectly justifiable to distinguish between error as such and the person who falls into error—even in the case of men who err regarding the truth or are led astray as a result of their inadequate knowledge, in matters either of religion or of the highest ethical standards. A man who has fallen into error does not cease to be a man. He never forfeits his personal dignity; and that is something that must always be taken into account. Besides, there exists in man’s very nature an undying capacity to break through the barriers of error and seek the road to truth. God, in His great providence, is ever present with His aid. Today, maybe, a man lacks faith and turns aside into error; tomorrow, perhaps, illumined by God’s light, he may indeed embrace the truth.
Catholics who, in order to achieve some external good, collaborate with unbelievers or with those who through error lack the fullness of faith in Christ, may possibly provide the occasion or even the incentive for their conversion to the truth.”[10]
The footnote supports the notion that evangelization and charity are allied concepts. An educated Catholic layperson would understand that human dignity comes from our potential for union with God,[11] and that we can hardly promote such a union in a way contrary to such dignity.
“All is to be taken into account-the Christian duty to Christ, the life-giving word which must be proclaimed, the rights of the human person, and the measure of grace granted by God through Christ to men who are invited freely to accept and profess the faith.”
A summary of the prior points.
Conclusion to article 14
This article, unlike the others, does not contemplate governmental action. It concerns rather how Christians should spread the Gospel. The teaching of the council fathers is unremarkable and easily understood by an educated Catholic layperson. Believers should share the truth forthrightly, even to the point of martyrdom. But believers should also respect the unevangelized, not using force or fear to spread the message
It is interesting that precisely here the document becomes clear, albeit with some weakness in the drafting, at least on a reading of the English version. In this article the council fathers were reciting established Catholic doctrine on evangelization, and unlike elsewhere, they did not address contemporary social trends or utilize modern political theory. The contrast hints at one source of confusion in the other articles—the fathers were there attempting a novel synthesis of Church teaching and worldly thought. The attempt at synthesis returns in the final article, and the confusion as well.
[1] “The mission of Christ and of the Spirit became the mission of the Church which is sent to proclaim and spread the mystery of the communion of the Holy Trinity.” Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, ¶ 144, retrieved on April 5, 2024, from: https://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc
/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html
[2] Latin version, retrieved on April 5, 2024, from: https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651207_dignitatis-humanae_lt.html.
[3] Retrieved on April 5, 2024, from: https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/__P110.HTM.
[4]See Comment to 1 Tim. 2:1-7, New American Bible: “This marked insistence that the liturgical prayer of the community concern itself with the needs of all, whether Christian or not, and especially of those in authority, may imply that a disposition existed at Ephesus to refuse prayer for pagans. In actuality, such prayer aids the community to achieve peaceful relationships with non-Christians . . . and contributes to salvation, since it derives its value from the presence within the community of Christ, who is the one and only savior of all. [hyperlink omitted].”Retrieved on April 5, 2024, from: https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/__P110.HTM.
[5] Retrieved on April 8, 2024, from: https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/ documents/vat-ii_decl_19651207_dignitatis-humanae_en.html.
[6] Radiomessaggio di sua Santità Pio xii in occasione della ‘Giornata Della Famiglia,’” retrieved on April 8, 2024, from: https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/it/speeches/1952/documents/hf_p-xii_spe_19520323_la-culla.html.
[7] p. 270, retrieved on April 8, 2024, from: https://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/documents/AAS-44-1952-ocr.pdf.
[8]Retrieved on April 8, 2024, from: https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2017/05/pius-xiis-condemnation-of-situation.html#lafamiglia.
[9] Retrieved on April 11, 2024, from: https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651207_dignitatis-humanae_en.html.
[10] Para. 158, retrieved on April 11, 2024, from: https://www.vatican.va/content/john-xxiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_j-xxiii_enc_11041963_pacem.html; 55 Acta Apostolicae Sedis (1963), pp. 299-300, retrieved on April 11, 2024, from: https://www.vatican.va/content/john-xxiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_j-xxiii_enc_11041963_pacem.html.
[11] “By nature and by vocation, therefore, man is a religious being, capable of entering into communion with God. This intimate and vital bond with God confers on man his fundamental dignity.” Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, ¶ 2, retrieved on April 11, 2024, from: https://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html.