Gaudium et spes

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Gaudium et spes (Ecclesiastical Latin: [ˈɡau̯di.um et ˈspes]; English: "Joys and Hopes"), the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, is the last of the four constitutions promulgated during the Second Vatican Council between 1963 and 1965. Issued on 7 December 1965, it was the Council's longest published document and the first constitution published by a Catholic ecumenical council ever to address the entire world. Gaudium et spes clarified and reoriented the role of the church's mission to people outside of the Catholic faith. It was the first time that the church took explicit responsibility for its role in the larger world. The constitution's creation was necessitated by fear of the irrelevance in the modern era due to its ignorance on problems that plague the modern world. The document represents an inner examination of the church by the council and features a response to problems affecting the modern world. Within Gaudium et spes are the themes of gift of self and...

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