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3
PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL
TO EVERY CREATURE
(Mk 16:15)
THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION
—CCC, NOS. 74-133
HANDING ON THE FAITH
Blessed John XXIII (pope from 1958 to 1963) believed that the Church
needed a pastoral renewal that would enable the Church to minister
more effectively to contemporary society. In his time he sensed that new
ways were needed to communicate Christian doctrine to reveal the inher-
ent attractiveness of the Gospel, while protecting its integrity. He said in
his address to the bishops at the opening of the Second Vatican Council
in 1962, “Christian doctrine should be guarded and taught more effica-
ciously.” When he spoke about the Church’s being the source of unity
for all peoples, he based his teaching on Jesus Christ, the one and only
Savior who prayed at the Last Supper, “that they may all be one, as you,
Father, are in me, and I in you” (Jn 17:21). In his opening address to the
bishops on October 11, 1962, Blessed John XXIII explained his vision for
the Second Vatican Council, the twenty-first Ecumenical Council.
2
He pro-
posed five points for achieving this goal:
1.
Be filled with hope and faith. Do not be prophets of gloom.
“Divine Providence is leading us to a new order of human relations,
2 An Ecumenical Council is a gathering of bishops from around the world called together by
the pope or approved by him. The Second Vatican Council was held from 1962 to 1965.