Wisdom for Our Generation
From the pastoral
constitution on the Church in the modern world
of the Second
Vatican Council
The Christian duty
of working for peace
Christians should cooperate,
willingly and wholeheartedly, in building an international order based on
genuine respect for legitimate freedom and on a brotherhood of universal
friendship. This is all the more urgent because the greater part of the world
still experiences such poverty that in the voices of the poor Christ himself
can be heard, crying out for charity from his followers. There are nations –
many of them with a majority of Christians – which enjoy an abundance of goods,
while others are deprived of the necessities of life, and suffer from hunger,
disease and all kinds of afflictions. This scandal must be removed from among
men, for the glory of Christ’s Church and its testimony to the world are the
spirit of poverty and the spirit of love.
Christians, especially young
Christians, deserve praise and support when they offer themselves voluntarily
in the service of other people, with bishops giving a lead by word and example,
to do all in their power to relieve the sufferings of our times, following the
age-old custom of the Church in giving not only what they can spare but also
what they need for themselves.
Without being uniform or
inflexible, a method of collecting and distributing contributions should be
established in each diocese and nation and on a world-wide level. Whenever it
seems appropriate, there should be joint action between Catholics and other Christians.
The spirit of Charity, far from forbidding prudence and orderliness in social
and charitable action, in fact demands them. Those intending to serve the
developing countries must therefore undergo appropriate and systematic
training.
In order to foster and
encourage cooperation among men, the Church must be present and active in the
community of nations. It must work through its own public organizations with
the full and sincere cooperation of all Christians in their one desire to serve
all mankind.
This end will be more
effectively achieved if the faithful are themselves conscious of their human
and Christian responsibilities and seek to awaken among those in their own walk
of life a readiness to cooperate with the international community. Special care
should be taken to give this kind of formation to young people in their
religious and secular education.
Finally, it is to be hoped
that, in carrying out their responsibilities in the international community,
Catholics will seek to cooperate actively and constructively with other
Christians, who profess the same Gospel of love, and with all men who hunger
and thirst for true peace.
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