Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin will keynote a Nov. 8 symposium on the 40th anniversary of the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World ("Gaudium et Spes"), the final and some say the most significant document of the Second Vatican Council.
"'Gaudium et Spes' redefined the way the Catholic Church understood itself in relationship to the world," said Jesuit Father Thomas Rausch, theology professor at Loyola Marymount University in Westchester. "The document caused enormous enthusiasm and excitement when it was released. It said the church is not against the modern world. It wants to put itself at the service of the modern world."
The Second Vatican Council opened the door for the Catholic Church to engage in dialogue with governments about critical contemporary issues, which is a principal reason Archbishop Martin was selected as the symposium's keynote speaker.
He has played a significant role in advocating the church's concern for the world's poor in international arenas. He served as former secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and as representative of the Holy See to U.N. Offices in Geneva and at the World Trade Organization. He was a leading voice in the Vatican's effort to push for international debt relief for poorer nations. And he helped engage officials of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in a dialogue on the issue.
No more 'fortress mentality'
What made the document "Gaudium et Spes" extraordinary, said Father Rausch, was that previous to the council, the Catholic Church seemed to have a "fortress mentality" of distancing itself from the secular world and of wanting to protect the Catholic faithful from modernity.
"Gaudium et Spes" was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on December 7, 1965, the last of the 16 Second Vatican Council documents. The council concluded the following day.
Dr. Michael Downey, theologian to Cardinal Roger Mahony and a professor at St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, thinks of the document as "the last will and testament of the fathers of the Second Vatican Council. All the other documents of the council should be read through the lens of 'Gaudium et Spes.'"
In the document's opening sentence, the bishops affirmed that the concerns of the people of the world, especially the poor, are also the concerns of the Catholic Church.
"The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people 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," states the document.
It proclaimed that the Catholic Church would engage in dialogue about contemporary issues and key dimensions of human life like marriage and family, the development of culture, economic and social life, political community and peace and the community of nations.
"Rather than focus primarily on the church and the inner life of the church, 'Gaudium et Spes' sets our focus on Christ in relation to history and to what's going on in the world," said Downey.
Open to dialogue
Secondly, the document created a new openness on the part of the church to engage in dialogue with people of other faiths and with other perspectives, even non-religious perspectives.
"Whatever is good, true and beautiful in the human enterprise, the Christian walks shoulder to shoulder with those people," Downey added.
Thirdly, the document proclaimed its confidence in the future. "Our communion, and our faith, hope and love are leading us to a future that is full of hope," said Downey.
The Nov. 8 symposium in Los Angeles was organized at the request of Cardinal Roger Mahony. Participants will reflect on the impact of "Gaudium et Spes" on the local church and on ways to continue developing the vision of church proclaimed during Vatican II.
"Anniversaries provide important opportunities, one of which is the reality of legacy," said Msgr. Royale Vadakin, moderator of the Curia. "We are acknowledging our indebtedness to the legacy of those who gifted us with 'Gaudium et Spes.' But, we are also called to examine our legacy, what we will gift to the decades ahead."
In addition to the keynote address by Archbishop Martin, community leaders will address the signs of the times in key areas raised by the document.
Featured panelists include Tom Chabolla, associate director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, who will reflect on marriage and family; Barbara Busse, dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts at Loyola Marymount University on the development of culture; Consuelo Valdez of Proyecto Pastoral at Dolores Mission Church on economic and social life; Sarah Bessel, student body president of Mount St. Mary's College on political community; and Jesuit Father Greg Boyle, executive director of Homeboy Industries on peace and the community of nations.
The symposium is primarily for parish leaders, including priests, religious, directors of religious education, school principals, lay ministers as well as college faculty and students.
"We hope to re-ignite the spirit of Vatican II," said Religious Sister of Charity Edith Prendergast, director of the archdiocesan Office of Religious Education. "How do we re-read the signs of the times today and what are our ways of responding to them?"
Panelist Chabolla said that "Gaudium et Spes" challenges parents to think about the education of their children in a wider context. "It raises the question of how does the family develop a sense of solidarity with the broader human family and a broader sense of connectedness and responsibility?"
"Gaudium et Spes: Re-reading the Signs of the Times Forty Years After Vatican II" will be held Nov. 8, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Wilshire Grand Hotel, 930 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. The cost is $35 per person (includes lunch), $5 parking. Register no later than Nov. 7 by calling the archdiocesan Office of Religious Education at (213) 637-7358.
Catholic News Service contributed to this article.
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