Looking for something, I had occasion today to re-read paragraph 43 of Gaudium et spes, Vatican IIs Pastoral Constitution on the Church in Todays World. It struck me that several of the common themes that come up for discussion on this blog are expressed and addressed in this paragraph, and I thought it might be useful to start a thread on it. The statements are sometimes too general and hortatory, but its not always a bad thing to be reminded of that to which we are exhorted! The paragraph is part of Chapter IV of GS, On the Churchs Task in Todays World, and the whole of it is worth reading. [The numbers are to footnotes, which I have not supplied.]

43. This council exhorts Christians, as citizens of two cities, to strive to discharge their earthly duties conscientiously and in response to the Gospel spirit. People are mistaken who, knowing that we have here no abiding city but seek one which is to come,(13) think that they may therefore shirk their earthly responsibilities; they are forgetting that by the faith itself they are more obliged than ever to measure up to these duties, each according to his own vocation.(14) No less mistaken, however, are people who think that religion consists in acts of worship alone and in the discharge of certain moral obligations, and who imagine they can plunge themselves into earthly affairs in such a way as to imply that these are altogether divorced from the religious life. This split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives ought to be counted among the most serious errors of our age. Long ago, the Prophets of the Old Testament fought vehemently against this scandal(15) and even more so did Jesus Christ Himself in the New Testament threaten it with grave punishments.(16) Let there be no false opposition, therefore, between professional and social activities on the one part, and religious life on the other. The Christian who neglects his temporal duties, neglects his duties toward his neighbor and even God, and jeopardizes his eternal salvation. Following the example of Christ Who worked as an artisan, Christians should rather rejoice that they are free to give proper exercise to all their earthly activities and to their humane, domestic, professional, social and technical enterprises by gathering them into one vital synthesis with religious values, under whose supreme direction all things are harmonized unto God's glory.Secular duties and activities belong properly although not exclusively to lay people. Acting as citizens in the world, whether individually or socially, therefore, they will not only keep the laws proper to each discipline but will also labor to acquire a genuine expertise in their various fields. They will gladly work with men seeking the same goals. Acknowledging the demands of faith and endowed with its force, they will unhesitatingly devise new enterprises, where they are appropriate, and put them into action. Their well-formed Christian conscience has the task to see that the divine law is inscribed in the life of the earthly city, while from priests they may look for spiritual light and nourishment. Let them not think that their pastors are always such experts that they can readily give a concrete solution to every problem to any question that arises, even if it is a serious one, or that this is the mission of their pastors. Instead, enlightened by Christian wisdom and giving close attention to the teaching authority of the Church,(17) they themselves should take on their own distinctive role.Often enough the Christian view of things will itself suggest some specific solution in certain circumstances. Yet it more often and legitimately happens that other believers, no less sincere, will judge a given matter differently. But if, against the intentions of their proponents, solutions proposed on one side or another may be easily confused by many people with the Gospel message, they must remember that no one is allowed in such situations to appropriate the Church's authority for his opinion. They should always try to enlighten one another through honest discussion, preserving mutual charity and caring above all for the common good.Since they have an active role to play in the entire life of the Church, lay people are not only bound to imbue the world with a Christian spirit, but are also called to be witnesses to Christ in all things in the midst of human society.Bishops, to whom is assigned the task of ruling the Church of God, should, together with their presbyters, so preach the news of Christ that all the earthly activities of believers are bathed in the light of the Gospel. All pastors should remember, too, that by their daily conduct and concern(18) they are revealing the face of the Church to the world, and by it people are judging the power and truth of the Christian message. By their lives and speech, in union with Religious and their believers, let them demonstrate that even now the Church by her presence alone and by all the gifts which she contains, is an inexhaustible fountain of the virtues that the modern world most needs. By unremitting study let them so prepare themselves that they can take their part in establishing dialogue with the world and with people of all shades of opinion. Above all let them take to heart the words of this Council: "Since humanity today is increasingly moving toward civil, economic and social unity, it is more than ever necessary that priests, with joint concern and energy, and under the guidance of the bishops and the supreme pontiff, erase every cause of division, so that the whole human race may be led to the unity of God's family."(19)Although by the power of the Holy Spirit the Church will remain the faithful bride of her Lord and will never cease to be the sign of salvation on earth, still she is very well aware that over the course of many centuries, members of the Church,(20) both clerical and lay, have been unfaithful to the Spirit of God. The Church is not unaware in our time, too, how great a distance lies between the message she offers and the human failings of those to whom the Gospel is entrusted. However history may judge these failures, we must be conscious of them and fight against them energetically, lest they inflict harm on the spread of the Gospel. The Church also realizes that in working out her relationship with the world how much she needs the ripening that comes with the experience of the centuries. Led by the Holy Spirit, Mother Church unceasingly exhorts her children "to purify and renew themselves so that the sign of Christ can shine more brightly on the face of the Church."(21)