‘Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope)’ is the headword of the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. The Pastoral Constitution, which is the heart and flower of the Second Vatican Council, 1965, elucidates the mission of the Church for mankind and the world of today, and reviews anew all aspects of our lives including human dignity, communal principles, and political, economic, social and cultural matters. Hereby, we will confirm the joys and hopes together with the people in this world, and view ourselves, the world, and the Church ‘with a new eye’ within God.
[The First Clause of the Pastoral Constitution]
“The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts. For theirs is a community composed of men. United in Christ, they are led by the Holy Spirit in their journey to the Kingdom of their Father and they have welcomed the news of salvation which is meant for every man. That is why this community realizes that it is truly linked with mankind and its history by the deepest of bonds.”
