8.144. “The joys and hopes of mankind are the joys and hopes of the Church.” Isn’t that a beautiful expression of compassion?
The phrase “The joys and hopes of mankind are the joys and hopes of the Church” is the opening line of Gaudium et Spes, the “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World”, promulgated on December 7, 1965, by Pope Paul VI at the close of the Second Vatican Council. It was chiefly authored by modernist theologians such as Henri de Lubac, Yves Congar, and Karl Rahner—men who had previously been censured for heterodox thinking, but who were rehabilitated and elevated to key positions under Pope John XXIII and Paul VI.
This poetic-sounding phrase is in fact one of the most foundational modernist slogans in all of Vatican II. It serves as the manifesto of the new man-centered religion created by the Council. Beneath its appealing tone lies a theological inversion: it reverses the purpose of the Church, transforming her from the Ark of Salvation that calls fallen man to repentance, into a companion and mirror of fallen man’s desires, sufferings, and social struggles.
Traditionally, the Catholic Church has existed to glorify God and save souls, not to validate or “walk with” the world in its rebellion. While the Church indeed practices charity and corporal works of mercy, her priority is always eternal salvation—not aligning herself with the shifting “joys and hopes” of a world estranged from God.
But Gaudium et Spes marked a turning point. The Church’s language was no longer centered on divine truth, original sin, or supernatural destiny. Instead, it became centered on man, his aspirations, his culture, and his quest for meaning in this world. In doing so, the Church ceased to be a prophetic voice and instead became a listening companion, no longer confronting the world with the Cross of Christ, but seeking “dialogue,” “accompaniment,” and “mutual understanding.”
The true Catholic Church challenges the world and calls it out of sin. The Vatican II “church”, beginning with Gaudium et Spes, reflects the world back to itself.
| Category | Traditional Catholic Teaching | Vatican II / Gaudium et Spes Mentality | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mission of the Church | To glorify God and save souls for eternity | To accompany humanity and share in its journey | Mission is redefined in horizontal, humanistic terms |
| Focus | Heaven, grace, salvation, sanctification | Human dignity, temporal justice, social development | Earth becomes the center, not the Kingdom of God |
| Relationship to the World | Prophetic: calls the world out of error and sin | Dialogical: listens to and learns from the world | Church becomes the world’s echo, not its teacher |
| View of Mankind | Fallen, in need of redemption and supernatural grace | Essentially good, capable of self-perfection | Denies the effects of original sin and need for conversion |
| Evangelization | Convert the nations and call sinners to repentance | Accompany and affirm diverse experiences | Destroys urgency of conversion; promotes false peace |
| Theology | Theocentric: ordered toward God | Anthropocentric: centered on man | This is the essence of modernism: man in God’s place |
| Fruits | Martyrs, saints, monastic orders, supernatural heroism | NGO-style church, synods, worldly acclaim, apostasy | “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matt. 7:16) |
Summary:
Vatican II’s declaration that “the joys and hopes of mankind are the joys and hopes of the Church” was not an act of compassion—it was a shift in religion. The Catholic Church became, not the supernatural Bride of Christ calling sinners to repentance, but a global partner in human progress.
This phrase, echoed by “Pope” Francis’s emphasis on synodality, accompaniment, and social activism, replaces the Cross of Christ with the banner of human rights and environmental justice. It makes the Church a servant of the world’s emotional needs and political causes, not the guardian of eternal truth.
The real joys and hopes of mankind today—contraception, abortion, homosexuality, gender ideology, religious pluralism—are not joys to the true Church. They are signs of a world under the dominion of the prince of darkness.
The true Catholic Church must say with Christ:
“My kingdom is not of this world.”
“The world will hate you, because it hated Me first.”
Any church that seeks comfort in the world rather than confronting it has ceased to be the Church of Christ. It has become the church of man.