Resumen de Gaudium et spes: the church in the world
The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes represented a new genre in conciliar documents. In so doing, it framed what it would mean to be a pastoral council (rather than a dogmatic one), and also laid the groundwork for envisioning a world Church. This article presents the background for the document and traces its development, noting the impact it has had for doing theology, and why it has become a kind of shibboleth in contemporary debates about the Council and future directions of the Church.
