How Did Pope John Xxiiii Impact On Christianity

Conflict and discord defined Europe during the time period following World War II. Many people were struggling to survive and the dynamics of public interactions and relations were disjointed—no one was in unison. The Church recognized this problem of disunion not just within secular society, but also within the Christian faiths. Pope John XXIII sought out to mend these conflicts both in Christianity and in society. Thus, he convoked a new council that he would later name, the Second Vatican Council. Gaudium et spes was issued at the closing of the council and addressed the problems currently dividing society; it stressed a need for a family structure with a primary concern for service, both within Christianity and among the entire human race. In 1945, after World War II ended, Europe was left in
a state of turmoil and disunity. The last five years had been ones of mass destruction and sadistic evils; whole countries were demolished environmentally, economically and spiritually while whole populations of people were being segregated, tortured and killed. The war tactics and weaponry utilized destroyed the land and architecture, the cost of the war indebted most of Europe and the overall morale of its citizens was depressed. Even worse than all of this devastation was Germany’s forfeit of civilized behavior, demonstrated by its citizens’ forgoing the human rights of Hitler’s targets. Chiefly Jews, but also gypsies, homosexuals and mentally and physically handicapped people, were forced into concentration camps, denied basic human needs and mass murdered. This illustration of social injustice created division and discord throughout Europe.1 Pius XII, the pope during the Holocaust, refrained from speaking out and taking action against what was happening; “The Vatican had ‘no wish to give publicity to the issue.’”2 Thus there was unfortunately no institutional refute of the happening genocide. However, bishops from Germany, Croatia and France took it upon themselves to denounce the actions of the Holocaust within their dioceses, despite the pope’s idleness in the matter.3 All the while, Pope Pius was busy joining the Catholic Church in union with fellow Christian sects, a process that occurred gradually throughout the twentieth century. However when World War II ended, the Vatican ironically pushed for convictions of war crimes. Though very near to the end of his life, Pius XII took “strong steps to counter racism and rethink Christian-Jewish relations.”4 After Pope Pius’ death Pope John XXIII came to reign, and called for an ecumenical council in order to address the current issues. “Led by a new pope… and compelled by the memory of the Holocaust, the Catholic church reversed its 2,000-year tradition of anti-Semitism during the Second Vatican Council in 1965.”5 Pope Paul VI attended to the problems of society in his work, Gaudium et spes, beginning the document with inspiring words encouraging the ideals of community; he wrote, “The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.”6 World leaders, including prominent Church figures assumed the responsibility of rebuilding and redeveloping civilizations and helping the affected civilians recover.
Pope John XXIII assumed his position of prestige in 1958, over ten years after the Second World War ceased. European societies and economies were still under reconstruction and feelings of anti-Semitism prevailed.7 Millions of people continued to struggle—homeless, hungry and lost with no direction. According to Brady, “There is a dramatic link between the lives of people—all people, but especially the poor and suffering—with the lives of those who confess to be Christian.”8 The wounds of the Jewish community were so deep that they were especially suffering, trying to recover from the trauma and reestablish their lives after the Holocaust. Pope John XXIII reached out to them, and encouraged others to do the same, because all people, regardless of their religious views, are sons and daughters of God the Father and ought to be treated as so.9 John XXIII called for cooperation among nations to put an end to the threat of war. Unity among all peoples no matter their nationality or religious affiliation is critical for progress towards a peaceful, orderly world. Pope John started his quest for world harmony by first focusing on tying up the union of all Christian sectors.
He reflected on the impacts previous councils had on the lives of Christians the aspects of these councils that paved the way for union among communities. The First Vatican Council, which took place on December 6, 1864, had met to address the issues facing the Church as a result of secular modernity—the rise of rationalism, liberalism and materialism. Pope Pius IX closed the church away from modernity and all of its ideas in order to restore the tradition of the church.10 John XXIII came to the conclusion that “the Catholic Church could advance along the road to unity by renewing its own tradition.”11 Consequently, his goals of internal reformation of the Church and communication among all Christian Churches led him to convoke a council. Contrarily, this council opened up the church to contemporary society and its secular ideas, while still renewing the Christian tradition. “The Church scrutinizes the signs of the times and interprets them in the light of the Gospel.”12 Pope John XXIII publicly announced his plan to conduct a new council on January 25,
1959. Approximately three thousand Catholic bishops of the Ecumenical Council of the Church attended Pope John’s council, scheduled to begin on October 11, 1962. The pope named this council Vatican II because the last general council of the Church was called the Vatican Council, and was interrupted by the invasion of Rome, leaving many points unsettled. “Its primary purpose is to renew Christian life in the contemporary world…[and] pave the way for the union of Christendom by drawing together those Christians who are separated from the Holy See.”13 The council was held in Rome and lasted three years, closing in 1965. Much of the time was dedicated to enabling Christians to live assimilated lives. It took “into account the new consciousness of the unity of mankind, the needs of emergent nations, the progress of technology and the wide acceptance of irreligion in the modern world.”14 Unfortunately, Pope John XXIII did not live for the fulfillment of Vatican II, dying in 1963, so his successor, Pope Paul VI had to take charge. Sixteen documents were issued from the Second Vatican Council, but this paper will strictly focus on Gaudium et spes, which was published on December 7, 1965. According to theologian David Hollenbach, the Gaudium et spes is “the most authoritative and significant document of Catholic social teaching issued in the twentieth century.”15 It sums up Vatican II and delineates the Catholic social teachings in the changing world. Considering the fact that union was the ultimate aim of the council, reformations and transformations discussed in the Gaudium et spes revolved around the major themes of brotherhood and service. Humans possessed more wealth and economic power than ever before, yet so many people were starving and poor; the belief that all humans are made in the image and likeness of God was manifest, yet too many citizens were mistreated or ignored. “Although the world of today has a very vivid awareness of its unity, political, social, economic, racial and ideological disputes bitterly continue.”16 The document addresses the entire human race, not just the sons and daughters of the Christian faith. It merges the globalization of the Church and modernity smoothly so that it may apply to everyone and anyone. Gaudium et spes draws on a family structure and obliges all who are members of said unit to serve one another and anyone else in need. Furthermore, as children of God, all of humanity constitutes one large family. “Mutual respect based on the recognition of the spiritual dignity” of others is necessary for peace and unity within such a family; as a result, the council diminished the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants.17 “In our times a special obligation binds us to make ourselves the neighbor of every person without exception.”18 God’s greatest commandment is to love thy neighbor as thy loves God so that whatever one does for the least of his or her brothers, one did for God. According to the encyclical, there is a fundamental equality among all people and therefore everyone must be provided with the resources necessary for living a truly humane life; in order for this to be achieved all who were blessed with more bear the responsibility of contributing positively to the common good and ought to spend themselves generously.19 This way, everyone will be taken care of and not just a majority. “Today before us we have the path to freedom or to slavery, to progress or retreat, to brotherhood or hatred. We must take responsibility to properly guide forces we have unleashed.”20 St. Francis similarly placed a lot of emphasis on unity and service in his teachings and writings. He stressed the importance of the family dynamic among his brothers; they were expected to share everything and serve one another as families do. Moreover, their family unit extended to include the rest of humanity, especially the poor and needy, just like the Christian community described in the Gaudium et spes is a family that expands to include the rest of the human race, particularly those who were suffering. Alms and service for the poverty-struck citizens were basically required according to St. Francis and the teachings of the Vatican II Council. In order to attain peace throughout the human race, a balance of resources must be reached. Franciscan brothers gave of themselves to lift up the poor, and in light of their example Christians are responsible for raising those in need through their service and advocacy. The world was in a horrible state for many years following World War II. The Vatican felt compelled to intervene and decided a council was the best method. The Second Vatican Council was called to order with the intentions of restoring peace in the world and opening the church to modernity while also returning the church to its tradition. The council was extremely successful and beneficial; Gaudium et spes was just one of the documents created during the council, and it encompassed so many important changes and ideas. The purpose of the encyclical was to convey to the public the importance of unity. When people live together peacefully and help those in need, regardless of any differences, the world is a much better place. Francis could never stress enough the significance of living as a community and sharing with that community so that everyone is provided for. Francis would have praised Gaudium et spes.

Bibliography
Brady, Bernard, V. Essential Catholic Social Thought. New York: Orbis Books, 2008.
Keldany, Herbert. The ABC of the Vatican Council. London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1962.
Knight, Kevin. “Vatican Council.” New Advent. 2009. Retrieved from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15303a.htm/. Web.
Komonchak, Joseph A. ed. History of Vatican II. Vol. I, Announcing and Preparing Vatican Council II Toward a new Era in Catholicism. New York: Belgium: Leuven: Peeters, 1995.
Lowe, Keith. Savage Continent: Europe in the aftermath of World War II. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2012.
Phayer, Michael. The Catholic Church and the Holocaust, 1930-1965. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000.