On this day, August 6, 1964, Pope Saint Paul VI published the first encyclical of his pontificate: His churchabout the “mandate” of the Church in the contemporary world.
The document frequently refers to the Second Vatican Council, resumed by Saint Paul VI after the death of Saint John XXIII, which was still underway and would culminate in 1965.
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Paul VI, who was canonized on October 14, 2018, together with Bishop Óscar Romero, wrote in his encyclical that the Catholic Church must deepen “the awareness of itself, it must meditate on the mystery that is its own, it must explore , for his own instruction and edification, the doctrine that is well known to him, – in this last century researched and disseminated – about his own origin, his own nature, his own mission, his own final destiny.
Furthermore, he reflected on “the present duty of the Church to correct the defects of its own members and make them tend toward greater perfection and what is the best method to prudently reach such a great renewal.”
The third aspect addressed by Paul VI in His church It is that of the Church’s relations with “the world that surrounds her and in the midst of which she lives and works.”
“A part of this world, as everyone knows, has been deeply influenced by Christianity and has assimilated intimately—even though it too often does not realize that it owes its best things to Christianity—but then it has gone away.” separating and distancing itself in recent centuries from the Christian trunk of its civilization”.
“Another part, the largest part of this world, extends across the unlimited horizons of the so-called new towns.”
This set, he indicated, “is a world that offers the Church, not one, but a hundred ways of possible contacts: some open and easy, others delicate and complex; hostile and refractory to a friendly conversation, unfortunately, there are many today.”
In the final lines of his first encyclical, Saint Paul VI highlighted: “The Church lives today more than ever!”
“But all things considered, it seems as if everything is yet to begin; The work begins today and never ends. This is the law of our pilgrimage through the earth and through time. This is the usual duty, Venerable Brothers, of our ministry, which today everything drives to become new, vigilant and intense,” he noted.
Originally published August 6, 2022. It has been updated for republication.
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