Gaudium et Spes – On the Church in the Modern World

Source: vaticancatholic.com

7.  Gaudium et Spes – Vatican II’s Constitution on the Church in the Modern World

Vatican II document, Gaudium et Spes # 22: “For by His incarnation the Son of God united Himself in some way with every human being.  He labored with human hands, thought with a human mind, acted with a human will, and loved with a human heart.”[105]

One of the most frequently repeated heresies of the Vatican II sect is the idea that, by His Incarnation, Christ united Himself with each man.  Vatican II speaks of a union between Christ and each man which results from the Incarnation itself.  John Paul II took the baton of this heresy and ran with it full speed ahead to its logical consequence – universal salvation.

John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis (# 13), March 4, 1979: “Christ the Lord indicated this way especially, when, as the Council teaches, ‘by his Incarnation, He, the Son of God, in a certain way united Himself with each man.’ (Gaudium et Spes, 22.).”[106]

John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis (# 13), March 4, 1979: “We are dealing with each man, for each one is included in the mystery of the Redemption and with each one Christ has united Himself forever through this mystery.”[107]

We will cover more of John Paul II’s teaching in this regard in the section on his heresies.  The idea that God united himself to every man in the Incarnation is false and heretical.  There is no union between Jesus Christ and each man that results from the incarnation itself.

The whole point of the Catholic Church is to unite mankind to Jesus Christ.  This is done through faith and baptism.  If the union between all of mankind and Jesus Christ occurred at the Incarnation, then the Church has no value and is in fact pointless.  The same would have to be said of the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the seven sacraments, etc., which are all of no importance in uniting mankind to Jesus Christ according to Vatican II and John Paul II.  In this system, the Crucifixion of Christ by which the world was truly redeemed and given a chance to be saved becomes instead merely a sign of the union between Christ and each man that already exists and has existed since the Incarnation.  The Redemption, then, has no saving value.  One can see that in this system all of Catholic doctrine is simultaneously flushed down the toilet.

In fact, this doctrine of Vatican II, which has been repeated and expanded upon countless times by John Paul II, is actually worse than the heretical doctrine of Martin Luther.  Luther, heretic that he was, at least believed that to be united with Christ one had to possess faith in the Cross of Jesus Christ.  But according to the doctrine of Vatican II and John Paul II, faith in the Cross of Jesus Christ is superfluous since all of humanity has already been united to Christ “forever” (John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis, 13).  We hope that the reader can see the incredible malice that lies behind the statement of Vatican II’s Constitution Gaudium et Spes #22.

We will now quote the Catholic dogmas which reveal that union between sinful mankind and Christ only comes from faith and baptism; original sin is not remitted in any other way.

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, Session 11, Feb. 4, 1442, “Cantate Domino”: “With regard to children, since the danger of death is often present and the only remedy available to them is the sacrament of baptism by which they are snatched away from the dominion of the devil and adopted as children of God …”[108]

Pope Pius XI, Quas Primas (# 15), Dec. 11, 1925:  “Indeed this kingdom is presented in the Gospels as such, into which men prepare to enter by doing penance; moreover, they cannot enter it except through faith and baptism, which, although an external rite, yet signifies and effects an interior regeneration.”[109]

Union with Christ is also lost by separation from the Church, something Vatican II doesn’t bother to mention.

Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum (# 5), June 29, 1896: “Whoever is separated from the Church is united to an adulteress.  He has cut himself off from the promises of the Church, and he who leaves the Church of Christ cannot arrive at the rewards of Christ.”[110]

Besides the heresy in Gaudium et Spes #22, there are a number of others in Gaudium et Spes that are worthy of note.  Gaudium et Spes teaches that birth control is virtuous.

Vatican II document, Gaudium et spes # 51: “The council is aware that in living their married life harmoniously, couples can often be restricted by modern living conditions and find themselves in circumstances in which the number of children cannot be increased, at least for a time, and the constant expression of love and the full sharing of life are maintained only with difficulty.”[111]

Vatican II document, Gaudium et Spes # 52: “Those who are learned in the sciences, especially in the biological, medical, social and psychological fields, can be of considerable service to the good of marriage and the family, and to the peace of conscience, if they collaborate in trying to throw more light on the various conditions which favor the virtuous control of procreation.”[112]

Vatican II document, Gaudium et Spes # 87: “For, according to the inalienable human right to marriage and parenthood, the decision about the number of children to have lies with the right judgment of the parents, and cannot in any way be entrusted to the judgment of public authority… In exploring methods to help couples regulate the number of their children, appropriate information should be given on scientific advances that are well proven and are found to be in accordance with the moral order.”[113]

Here we have Vatican II teaching that birth control can be virtuous and that couples can choose the number of children that are to be born.  This is contrary to the natural law.  God is the author of life.  No human being is permitted to infringe upon God’s will to bring new life into the world by controlling birth or limiting his family.  Birth control is never allowed, regardless of whether it is performed by so-called “natural” or artificial methods.  For more on this issue, see the section of this book dealing with Natural Family Planning.

Moving on, we must cover Vatican II’s adoration of man.

Vatican II document, Gaudium et Spes # 26: “There is also increasing awareness of the exceptional dignity which belongs to the human person, who is superior to everything and whose rights and duties are universal and inviolable.”[114]

Vatican II document, Gaudium et Spes # 12: “According to the almost unanimous opinion of believers and unbelievers alike, all things on earth should be related to man as their center and crown.”[115]

This is blasphemy.  If all things on earth should be related to man as their center and crown, this means that everything should be measured by man’s law, not God’s.  This means that for all intents and purposes man is actually God – everything is to be related to him.  Man has been put in the place of God.