Religion: A NEW PAULINE THEOLOGY

On Economic Justice: “The wealthier classes should recognize the respect by the church for private property in its essential forms . . . its constant, vigilant warnings on the moral and social dangers of selfish wealth, on the necessity of a more just distribution of economic goods. The social doctrine of the church has never denied the function of private enterprise, provided this does not damage human dignity and the legitimate aspirations of those who take part in the productive process.”

On Peace: “The Vatican breathes the quiet of spiritual places. It does not know the struggle for material interests. Its supreme goal is to seek peace, to create peace.”

On Unity: “We must desire to be able to welcome with honor and true brotherhood the separated Christians who would come to the threshold of their and our house, the Catholic Church. We must desire to understand them better and to appreciate anything which, in their religious inheritance, is still true and good.”

On the Christian Message: “The Christian message is not a prophecy of condemnation. It calls to penance in order to call to salvation. It is not bitter; it is not ill-tempered; it is not discourteous; it is not ironic; it is not pessimistic. It is generous. It is strong and joyful. It is full of beauty and poetry. It is full of vigor and majesty. Indeed, it raises the Cross: suffering, sacrifice, death, but to bring comfort, redemption, life.”

The Mission of the Ckurch: “It is the continuation of Christ, and therefore is similar to a voyage in which the church lives and develops and continues the work of redemption; and although it manifests all the features of a great and evident human phenomenon, it is not just human. It is a certain continued Incarnation of Christ. The title which St. Paul will vindicate unto himself, as a distinctive ‘apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God’ is more than a personal vocation: it is a special mandate. The first action of the apostle must be that of presenting to the world an admirable, attractive Christianity. The first testimony will be that of our unity, our mutual love, our interior cohesion. The second will be that we love those whom we wish to evangelize: this is the great policy of the apostolate. It is not a conquest but a service. We shall not forget that the fundamental attitude of those who want to convert the world is loving it. This is the genius of the apostolate: knowing how to love.”