Professor Antonio Miralles, Rome

The Pontifical University of Santa Croce - October 29^th 2004

Jesus’ words "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God" might initially appear to indicate the Church’s mission as a rather small one regards to temporal order; perhaps just defending the order of spiritual elements from an eventual invasion by temporal power or exclusively earthly criteria. The Letter to the Ephesians instead, when mentioning God’s eternal plan "to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth" (Eph 1, 10), reveals to us that the spirit of the Gospel is destined to profoundly affect temporal events.

Based on this Biblical foundations, the Second Vatican Council teaches that "the mission of the Church is not only to bring the message and grace of Christ to men but also to penetrate and perfect the temporal order with the spirit of the Gospel" (AA 5). What are these according to the Council’s intentions? Although incomplete, the list provides a certain answer: "the good things of life and the prosperity of the family, culture, economic matters, the arts and professions, the laws of the political community, international relations and other matters of this kind" (AA 7/2). These are elements with their own values, increased "as a result of their relation to the human person, for whose service they were created" (AA 7/2) and, even more, by their destiny to be summed up in Christ.

The method of the Church’s mission, its specific characteristic, is clearly stated: "The whole Church must work vigorously in order that men may become capable of rectifying the distortion of the temporal order and directing it to God through Christ" (AA 7/4). The Church’s mission is addressed at humankind and through it addresses temporal order, because it is men – therefore Christians as citizens cooperating with other citizens- who establish temporal order.

Hence the different ways in which pastors and the lay faithful act; "Pastors must clearly state the principles concerning the purpose of creation and the use of temporal things and must offer the moral and spiritual aids by which the temporal order may be renewed in Christ" (AA 7/4). This is not simply a task involving teaching, because moral and spiritual help require the exercising of sanctification and governing functions. As far as lay people are concerned, the Council’s doctrine is equally clear: "The laity must take up the renewal of the temporal order as their own special obligation. Led by the light of the Gospel and the mind of the Church and motivated by Christian charity, they must act directly and in a definite way in the temporal sphere" (AA 7/5).