ANALYSIS VATICAN COUNCIL II “GAUDUIM ET SPES” AND ITS RELEVANCE TO AFRICA

TABLE OF CONTENT

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION

THESIS OF THE DOCUMENT

Part One of the Document

Part Two of the Document

THE RELEVANCE OF THIS DOCUMENT TO AFRICA

EVALUATION

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ABSTRACT

There many documents that look into social and religious ethics in the world. In a very peculiar way the Vatican II council evolved a very outstanding teaching on this subject and it is captioned Gaudium et Spes – church in the modern world; which is published in the Vatican council II Conciliar and Post Conciliar document on 7th December 1965. The general editor of this production is Austin Flannery.

This document is a composite of two fundamental parts: the part one of the work made up of six chapters, observes specifically the human situation in the modern society. Then the second part is more concerned with the elements that create ad re-create society towards a better way of living. The main themes addressed are: The teaching of the Church on human beings, the world in which they live, and the relationship of the Church with them. Several aspects of the life of today and human society, and in particular the moral issues that are pressing in “these days.”

INTRODUCTION

The document Gaudium et spes is the pastoral constitution on the church in the modern world, issued by Vatican Council II Fathers on the 7th of December 1965. Since after its birth, the document has received a wide publicity and an innumerable audience, making it vulnerable to all sorts of interpretations. This study is therefore aimed at studying the document “Gaudium et spes”, by first giving a synopsis of the document. This will be followed by an analysis of its relevance to the African society. An attempt will be made to evaluate the whole of the document followed by a conclusion. A thorough reading of this work will open one’s eyes to the depth of this popular document, bringing out the wealth of richness located within it.

This very document of the Vatican II council, Gauduim et Spes simply means, church in the modern world. The document proposes to speak to all people in order to shed light on what it called the mystery of man. It was all about the human person, the individual, the community, the entire human family. It was concerned in cooperating to find true and just responses to the enormous challenges of our time, to the outstanding. This document is a clear indication that the church is awake and sensitive to the events of this modern era in the universe. Consequently, the document focuses on four basic dimension of the happenings in the modern world: Clear recognition that the Church is immersed in the modern world; Condemns poverty; warns about the threat of nuclear war; Christians must work to build structures that uphold justice and peace.

Part One Of The Document

So much of the flavor of this document is already present in the first sentence which reads: “The joys and the hopes, the grieves and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, are also the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.” (No.1). It is through this snappy introduction that the council unveils that task of this document, which is to demonstrate the solidarity of the church with the entire human family. The first important question treated in the document is “the dignity of the human person”. This is basic to everything else in the document, everything else in the Church and in university life. This is presumed in everything that follows. Vatican II sees this dignity of the human person as being linked to the fact that the human person is created by God, redeemed by Christ and called to communion with God for all eternity. In this retaliation, there is an echo of the true nature of humanity – imago Dei was initially corrupt by Adam’s deed but reinstalled by the “New Adam” – Christ. 

The second chapter of the document lays clear emphasis on the relationship between the individual and the society. The human person does not live in isolation hence the emergence of the society which is a compendium of individuals. The two work interdependently on each other and the goal is the common good of all. In any case, “the social order and its development must constantly yield to the good of the person…not the other way round” (No. 26). In this same light, the council advocates for social justice which will enhance the murder of racial and gender discrimination, then transcends individual morality. In this sense, people begin to realize their common responsibility in the society. This is the point when dialogue can work. It goes on to explain, however, that authentic dialogue among people does not reach its perfection on the level of technical progress but on the deeper level of interpersonal relationships. This is the communitarian nature of the vocation of human beings – one family.

The third chapter centers on “Man’s Activities in the Universe”. Here, the council fathers demonstrate that universe is entrusted to the care of man. Through human activities the universe gets it definition, thus these activities are valuable. However, human activity is always disfigured by sine and is unable to stand to what it ought to be. This is the reason for the necessity of the cross of Christ that purifies these activities. Coherently, the document construes the paschal mystery as the fulfillment of human activity (No. 38). In other words, the Christ event is a concrete model of human activity.

In the last chapter of this section, the Council sets out to establish a working relationship with the world in which it finds itself, for the Church goes forward together with humanity and experiences the same earthly lot which the world does (a. 40).

Part Two Of The Document

The Council’s treatment of marriage and the family (Part II, chapter 1) begins out with a recognition of the great challenges that face the family today. In this context the Council proclaims the sanctity of marriage and the family and the entire Catholic doctrine of Christian married love and Christian married life. Certainly Catholic universities, inspired by divine revelation as interpreted by the magisterium of the Church, have many authentic reflections to share on these divine mysteries.

Another issue to which Vatican II devoted particular attention is culture and this is in the second chapter. The Council stated that human beings can only come to an authentic and full expression of their humanity through culture. The Council attempted to give an adequate description of culture, saying that it indicates all those aspects by which a human being refines and unfolds his or her manifold spiritual and bodily qualities. It is a feature of culture that throughout history man expresses, communicates and preserves in his works great spiritual experiences and desires (cf. no. 53). In this sense we can speak so fittingly of Catholic culture. Thus Christians are called into a humanization of the universe through this means.

In the third chapter of this part, the Council speaks also about socio-economic life, placing all economic development at the service of the human person. In this context Gaudium et Spes speaks about human labor – how it is superior to all the other elements of economic life, and how the human person is a partner in the work of bringing God’s creation to perfection.

Furthermore, Gaudium et Spes makes it clear that the political community exists for the common good (cf. Part II, chapter 4). This political community and public authority are based on human nature and belong to an order of things divinely foreordained. For this reason those who serve in politics contribute greatly to the building up of society. The political community and the Church are mutually independent and self-governing but they both serve the personal and social vocation of the same human beings in accordance with the truth of humanity. Catholic politicians are expected to bring to their service of the community those principles based on the natural law, inscribed in the human heart and subsequently also proclaimed by the Church.

In the last chapter, the council concludes this work by turning the attention of the world to the subject of peace: the fostering of peace and the promotion of a community of nations. It makes clear that it is speaking about a peace that is based on justice and love. It makes clear that by peace it does not mean only the absence of war, but rather the work of justice. The principles found in the last chapter of Gaudium et Spes, on fostering peace and promoting a community of nations, should prove extremely useful in all serious reflections about the effective and just response to world tensions. In particular, in regard to the total avoidance of war

THE RELEVANCE OF THE DOCUMENT TO AFRICA

The Council expresses a desire to engage in conversation with the entire human family that the Church can help shed light on the human mystery and cooperate in solving contemporary problems. It addresses this Constitution to Catholics, to all Christians, and to the whole of humanity. With its far reaching advantage to Africa the mission of the church is saving and an eschatological purpose which can be fully attained only in the future world, this mission is religious and not in the political, economic or social order, but this religious mission can help the human community structure itself properly.

The Council promotes respect for both individuals and the community. It asserts that the beginning, the subject and the goal of all social institutions is and must be the human person. Respect for human dignity means that everyone must have what they need to lead a truly human life: food, clothing, shelter, the freedom to choose a state of life and found a family, the right to education, employment, a good reputation, respect, appropriate information, action in good conscience, protection of privacy, and religious freedom. God made us into one family, and we should treat one another in a spirit of community. Every social group must respect the needs and aspirations of other groups as well as the general welfare of the entire human family to make ourselves the neighbor of every person without exception, and each of us must consider every neighbor without exception as another self.

The dignity of the individual and the community demands respect for life: whatever is opposed to life poisons human society, harms its practitioner, and dishonors the Creator. It also demands respect and love for those who think or act differently from us in social, political, and religious matters. We must recognize the basic equality of all people: all discrimination is contrary to God's intent and must be overcome and eradicated. This however condemns all forms of discrimination which is the major problem Africans faced in the global community. The Council teaches that we have a mandate to govern the world with justice and holiness, so that we have a duty imposed upon us to build a better world based upon truth and justice. Believers and unbelievers alike must work for a better world. This challenges African countries to work together without violence and deceit to build up the world especially African continent in genuine peace and that the effort to establish a universal community is not a hopeless one.

Another contribution of the Constitution relevant to Africa is in the area of culture. People arrive at full humanity only through culture, those things by which people develop and perfect their bodily and spiritual qualities. A more universal form of human culture is developing, one which promotes and expresses the unity of the human race. For the first time in human history all people are convinced that the benefits of culture ought to be and actually can be extended to everyone. In this regard the Church is not bound to any particular form of human culture, to any particular way of life or any customary pattern of life .Because there are many ties between the message of salvation and human culture the Church is involved in a living exchange with diverse cultures of people, although sometimes it is difficult to harmonize culture with Christian teaching. Culture needs freedom and autonomy, and it demands respect. We ought to respect and love those who think or act differently from us in social, political, and religious matters. It is on this backdrop that we talk about enculturation

On the area of socio-economic life the council teaches that people are the source, center, and purpose of all economic and social life, and that the purpose of economic production is to serve people in their material needs as well as in the demands of their intellectual, moral, spiritual, and religious lives. The Church is not bound to any particular economic system, but it is critical of the excessive economic and social differences among people or groups of people which violate social justice, equity, human dignity, and social and international peace. It is also critical of the dangerous lack of balance between developed and other countries, and also between agriculture, industry, and the services. The Council asserts that everyone has the right to work and the duty to work faithfully, and that wages should be such that people and their dependents can live worthy lives. Workers have the right to form unions and to take part in them without fear of reprisal. Disputes should be settled by negotiation, but if necessary by strikes. In this vain the church encourages good condition of work, trade relationship, and rendering assistance to the developing countries of Africa.

On the area of politics the church has the interest of Africa at heart, knowing the fact that most countries in Africa suffer political abuses. Cases abound where individuals want to hold on to power by any means they deem fit. The Council welcomes the fact that more and more people are becoming politically active and it teaches that the Church is not bound to any particular political system, and can work under any kind of government which recognizes basic human rights, the demands of the common good, and the freedom of the Church to exercise its own mission. Gaudium et Spes makes it clear that the political community exists for the common good (cf. Part II, chapter 4). This political community and public authority are based on human nature and belong to an order of things divinely foreordained. For this reason those who serve in politics contribute greatly to the building up of society. The political community and the Church are mutually independent and self-governing but they both serve the personal and social vocation of the same human beings in accordance with the truth of humanity. Catholic politicians are expected to bring to their service of the community those principles based on the natural law, inscribed in the human heart and subsequently also proclaimed by the Church.

In recent times the need for political participation of Catholics in public life according to their own upright consciences has been amply reinforced and clarified by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It is an area that requires consistency, wisdom, serenity of judgment and courage. People should be free to choose their political system and their rulers. Political authority must be based on appeals to people's freedom and sense of responsibility. It must always be exercised within the limits of the moral order and directed towards the common good. It can never be based on dictatorial systems or totalitarian methods which violate human rights. Political systems should not hamper civic or religious freedom. In this vain African Catholics can join politics and take up leadership positions. People have the right and the duty to use their free vote to further the common good.

Gaudium et Spes concludes by turning the attention of the world to the subject of peace: the fostering of peace and the promotion of a community of nations. It makes clear that it is speaking about a peace that is based on justice and love. It makes clear that by peace it does not mean only the absence of war, but rather the work of justice.

EVALUATION

The document Gaudium et spes proposed as its methodology an examination of social, cultural, and political realities “in the light of the gospel and of human experience” (46). On that note, some scholars argue that the document is partly instrumental, for the growth and development of feminist theology in the Catholic Church. Central theological affirmations such as the equality of all persons and the historical consciousness found in the text implied an affirmation of the full personhood of women. This emphasis serves as a backdrop to many catholic women, many of whom have become theologians themselves.

According to Lois Ann Lorentzen (1994: 17), Gaudiun et spes is indicative of a significant change in the church, before and after Vatican II. The document further develops teaching found in Leo XIII, Pius XI, Pius XII, and John XXIII. Its indebtedness to Pius XII is made significant in the numerous footnotes within the document. Important themes from John XXIII’s Mater et magistra and Pacem in terris are repeated in the document, a pointer that the document draws strength from prior years of catholic social thought and teaching.

The document recognizes social structures, which has given rise to other documents. Paul VI in Evangeli nuntiandi (1975) clearly connects evangelization with the church’s social and political mission. In 1981, John Paul in the encyclical, Laborem exercens, locates oppression as springing from the conflict between labour and capital. He used principles in Gaudium et spes such as the superiority of labour (67) and the necessity for worker participation (68), John Paul develops further an analysis of labour’s priority over capital and that of structuralist themes found in the pastoral constitution.

However, the document has attracted criticisms from different people of different spheres of life. Because of this document some have criticized the church for not implementing its concerns for the empowerment of the laity; the document recommended training centres for the laity for their reception of adequate formation in the sacred sciences, which is yet to be implemented. On another note, issues on celibacy, divorce, and mixed-marriages are ignored and family planning is treated in a cursory manner. As it were, the document gave inadequate attention to environmental pollution, the depletion of non-renewable resources, and general exploitation of the environment. The council fathers’ concerning humankind relation to nature is rather disturbing. “Consolidate its control over creation” (9), “subject to himself the earth and all that it contains”(34), “subdue the earth” (57), and hold “increasing domination over nature” (63). Many scholars are of the view that the language of dominating, subduing, and controlling nature is blamed for current environmental crises. The council fathers were unconscious of the impact of framing the human/nature relationship in terms of domination.

From the feminist perspective, the document contains serious problems. The document acknowledged the personhood of women, but provides little insight into the concrete situations of women like, rape, domestic violence, poverty, excessive workload and more. Feminist theologians also will criticize the document for the use of generic masculine nouns throughout the document.

Finally, Donald Dorr (1983:120) argues that the document is written from a first world perspective even when third world problems are addressed. For him the document views the world through the eyes of reform oriented Christians of western, developed, capitalist countries. Despite all the criticisms attracted by this document, Lois Ann Lorentzen (1994) is of the view that Gaudium et spes is one of the most significant and challenging documents in the history of catholic social thought.

CONCLUSION

A good reflection on this work the council fathers, it has become very much lucid that the Church is not oblivious of the undesirable happenings in our contemporary world. This document is a evidence of her concern for humanity within this era. The document made several exposé and analysis of certain implications of human activities in the world. Reflecting further on this document, it is discovered that it does not speak just to a particular group of people or isolated few but it is a indeed a universal document. Hence its relevance to the African continent is not negligible.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dorr, Donald (1983), Option for the Poor: A Hundred years of Vatican Social Teaching,
New York: Maryknoll.

Flannery, Austin (1988), Vatican Council II: The conciliar and Post Conciliar
Document, Ireland: Dominican Publication.

Lorentzen, Lois Ann (1994), Gaudium Et Spes, in J.A. Dwyer ed., The New Dictionary of Catholic Social Thought, U.S A: The Liturgical Press.

BY:

ANYANWU PASCHAL. C

IWE JUDE IKECHUKWU

OPARAH FRANCIS. U