At 6:15pm today, in the New Synod Hall at the Vatican, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience those who are participating in a Meeting organized by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization on the occasion of the XXV anniversary of the signing of the Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum by Saint John Paul II: the text that accompanied the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Your Eminences,
Dear brothers in the Episcopate and the Priesthood,
Esteemed Ambassadors,
Illustrious Professors,
Brothers and sisters,
I cordially greet you and thank Archbishop Fisichella for the courteous words he has addressed to me.
The twenty-fifth anniversary of the Apostolic Constitution Fidei depositum, with which Saint John Paul II promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church, thirty years after the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, is a significant opportunity to verify the journey that has been accomplished so far. Saint John XXIII desired and wished the Council, in the first instance, not to condemn errors, but above all to allow the Church to finally present the beauty of its faith in Jesus Christ with renewed language. It is necessary - the Pope affirmed in his opening Speech - that the Church not depart from the sacred heritage received from the Fathers; but at the same time that we should also look to the present, to new conditions and forms of life that have opened new paths of the Catholic apostolate (1 October 1962). Our duty - the Pontiff continued - is not only to preserve this precious treasure, as though we were concerned only with antiquity, but to dedicate ourselves with intent and without fear of the work that our age demands, pursuing in this way along the path that the Church has travelled for the past twenty centuries.
Preserve and pursuing, by their very natures are in competition within the Church, so that the truth embodied in Jesus' proclamation of the gospel can attain its fullness to the end of time. This is the grace that has been entrusted to the People of God, but it is also a task and a mission that we are responsible for: to proclaim the gospel in new and more complete ways to the people of our time. With the joy that comes from Christian hope, and with the medicine of mercy (John XXIII, Opening Speech, 1 October 1962), we draw close to the men and women of our time in order to allow us to discover the inexhaustible wealth enclosed within the person of Jesus Christ.
Presenting the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Saint John Paul II said that it must take account of the explanations of the doctrine that throughout the passage of time, the Holy Spirit has suggested to the Church. It is also necessary to help illuminate new situations and problems with the light of faith, situations which in the past had not yet emerged (Fidei depositum, 3). This Catechism is therefore an important instrument, not only because it presents to believers the age-old teachings in order that they may grow in their understanding of faith, but also and above all because it intends to bring our contemporaries, with their new and diverse problems, to the Church, committed to presenting the faith as a significant response to human existence in this particular moment of history. It is not enough then to find a new language in order to speak about the faith; it is necessary and urgent that, faced with new challenges and perspectives that are offered to humanity, the Church can express the novelty of the Gospel of Christ which, although contained in the Word of God, has not yet been brought to light. This is the treasure of old and new things spoken of by Jesus when he invited his disciples to teach all the new-ness that he himself had taught without ignoring the ancient traditions (cf Mt 13:52).
The evangelist John offers one of the most beautiful pages in the gospel when he speaks of the so-called priestly prayer of Jesus. Before facing his passion and death, Jesus turns to the Father, demonstrating his obedience to fulfilling the mission that had been entrusted to him. His words are a hymn of love and also contain a request for his disciples to be cared for and protected (cf Jn 17:12-15). At the same time, however, Jesus prays for those who in the future will come to believe in him through the preaching of his disciples, that they too may be gathered together and kept in unity (cf Jn 17:20-23). In the expression: This is eternal life: those who know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent, Jesus Christ (Jn 17:3), we touch the culmination of Jesus' mission.
To know God, as we are well aware, is not in the first place an abstract exercise of human reason, but an irrepressible desire present in the heart of every person. This knowledge comes from love, for we have encountered the Son of God on our journey (cf Lumen Fidei, 28). Jesus of Nazareth walks at our side and introduces us, by his words and the signs he performs, to the great mystery of the Father’s love. This knowledge is strengthened daily by faith’s certainty that we are loved and, for this reason, part of a meaningful plan. Those who love long to know better the beloved, and therein to discover the hidden richness that appears each day as something completely new.
For this reason, our Catechism unfolds in the light of love, as an experience of knowledge, trust, and abandonment to the mystery. In explaining its structure, the Catechism of the Catholic Church borrows a phrase from the Roman Catechism and proposes it as the key to its reading and application: The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends. Whether something is proposed for belief, for hope or for action, the love of our Lord must always be made accessible, so that anyone can see that all the works of perfect Christian virtue spring from love and have no other objective than to arrive at love (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 25).
Along these same lines, I would like now to bring up a subject that ought to find in the Catechism of the Catholic Church a more adequate and coherent treatment in the light of these expressed aims. I am speaking of the death penalty. This issue cannot be reduced to a mere résumé of traditional teaching without taking into account not only the doctrine as it has developed in the teaching of recent Popes, but also the change in the awareness of the Christian people which rejects an attitude of complacency before a punishment deeply injurious of human dignity. It must be clearly stated that the death penalty is an inhumane measure that, regardless of how it is carried out, abases human dignity. It is per se contrary to the Gospel, because it entails the willful suppression of a human life that never ceases to be sacred in the eyes of its Creator and of which – ultimately – only God is the true judge and guarantor. No man, not even a murderer, loses his personal dignity (Letter to the President of the International Commission against the Death Penalty, 20 March 2015), because God is a Father who always awaits the return of his children who, knowing that they have made mistakes, ask for forgiveness and begin a new life. No one ought to be deprived not only of life, but also of the chance for a moral and existential redemption that in turn can benefit the community.
In past centuries, when means of defence were scarce and society had yet to develop and mature as it has, recourse to the death penalty appeared to be the logical consequence of the correct application of justice. Sadly, even in the Papal States recourse was had to this extreme and inhumane remedy that ignored the primacy of mercy over justice. Let us take responsibility for the past and recognize that the imposition of the death penalty was dictated by a mentality more legalistic than Christian. Concern for preserving power and material wealth led to an over-estimation of the value of the law and prevented a deeper understanding of the Gospel. Nowadays, however, were we to remain neutral before the new demands of upholding personal dignity, we would be even more guilty.
Here we are not in any way contradicting past teaching, for the defence of the dignity of human life from the first moment of conception to natural death has been taught by the Church consistently and authoritatively. Yet the harmonious development of doctrine demands that we cease to defend arguments that now appear clearly contrary to the new understanding of Christian truth. Indeed, as Saint Vincent of Lérins pointed out, Some may say: Shall there be no progress of religion in Christ’s Church? Certainly; all possible progress. For who is there, so envious of men, so full of hatred to God, who would seek to forbid it? (Commonitorium, 23.1; PL 50). It is necessary, therefore, to reaffirm that no matter how serious the crime that has been committed, the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and the dignity of the person.
The Church, in her teaching, life and worship, perpetuates and hands on to all generations all that she herself is, all that she believes (Dei Verbum, 8). The Council Fathers could not have found a finer and more synthetic way of expressing the nature and mission of the Church. Not only in teaching, but also in life and worship, are the faithful able to be God’s People. Through a series of verbs the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation expresses the dynamic nature of this process: This Tradition develops … grows … and constantly moves forward toward the fullness of divine truth, until the words of God reach their complete fulfillment in her (DV, 8).
Tradition is a living reality and only a partial vision regards the deposit of faith as something static. The word of God cannot be moth-balled like some old blanket in an attempt to keep insects at bay! No. The word of God is a dynamic and living reality that develops and grows because it is aimed at a fulfilment that none can halt. This law of progress, in the happy formulation of Saint Vincent of Lérins, consolidated by years, enlarged by time, refined by age (Commonitorium, 23.9: PL 50), is a distinguishing mark of revealed truth as it is handed down by the Church, and in no way represents a change in doctrine.
Doctrine cannot be preserved without allowing it to develop, nor can it be tied to an interpretation that is rigid and immutable without demeaning the working of the Holy Spirit. God, who in many and various ways spoke of old to our fathers (Heb 1:1), uninterruptedly converses with the bride of his beloved Son (Dei Verbum, 8). We are called to make this voice our own by reverently hearing the word of God (DV, 1), so that our life as a Church may progress with the same enthusiasm as in the beginning, towards those new horizons to which the Lord wishes to guide us.
I thank you for this meeting and for your work, and to all of you I cordially impart my blessing.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
reflecting on the Apostolic Constitution
Fidei Depositum
Your Eminences,
Dear brothers in the Episcopate and the Priesthood,
Esteemed Ambassadors,
Illustrious Professors,
Brothers and sisters,
I cordially greet you and thank Archbishop Fisichella for the courteous words he has addressed to me.
Preserve and pursuing, by their very natures are in competition within the Church, so that the truth embodied in Jesus' proclamation of the gospel can attain its fullness to the end of time. This is the grace that has been entrusted to the People of God, but it is also a task and a mission that we are responsible for: to proclaim the gospel in new and more complete ways to the people of our time. With the joy that comes from Christian hope, and with the medicine of mercy (John XXIII, Opening Speech, 1 October 1962), we draw close to the men and women of our time in order to allow us to discover the inexhaustible wealth enclosed within the person of Jesus Christ.
Presenting the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Saint John Paul II said that it must take account of the explanations of the doctrine that throughout the passage of time, the Holy Spirit has suggested to the Church. It is also necessary to help illuminate new situations and problems with the light of faith, situations which in the past had not yet emerged (Fidei depositum, 3). This Catechism is therefore an important instrument, not only because it presents to believers the age-old teachings in order that they may grow in their understanding of faith, but also and above all because it intends to bring our contemporaries, with their new and diverse problems, to the Church, committed to presenting the faith as a significant response to human existence in this particular moment of history. It is not enough then to find a new language in order to speak about the faith; it is necessary and urgent that, faced with new challenges and perspectives that are offered to humanity, the Church can express the novelty of the Gospel of Christ which, although contained in the Word of God, has not yet been brought to light. This is the treasure of old and new things spoken of by Jesus when he invited his disciples to teach all the new-ness that he himself had taught without ignoring the ancient traditions (cf Mt 13:52).
The evangelist John offers one of the most beautiful pages in the gospel when he speaks of the so-called priestly prayer of Jesus. Before facing his passion and death, Jesus turns to the Father, demonstrating his obedience to fulfilling the mission that had been entrusted to him. His words are a hymn of love and also contain a request for his disciples to be cared for and protected (cf Jn 17:12-15). At the same time, however, Jesus prays for those who in the future will come to believe in him through the preaching of his disciples, that they too may be gathered together and kept in unity (cf Jn 17:20-23). In the expression: This is eternal life: those who know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent, Jesus Christ (Jn 17:3), we touch the culmination of Jesus' mission.
To know God, as we are well aware, is not in the first place an abstract exercise of human reason, but an irrepressible desire present in the heart of every person. This knowledge comes from love, for we have encountered the Son of God on our journey (cf Lumen Fidei, 28). Jesus of Nazareth walks at our side and introduces us, by his words and the signs he performs, to the great mystery of the Father’s love. This knowledge is strengthened daily by faith’s certainty that we are loved and, for this reason, part of a meaningful plan. Those who love long to know better the beloved, and therein to discover the hidden richness that appears each day as something completely new.
For this reason, our Catechism unfolds in the light of love, as an experience of knowledge, trust, and abandonment to the mystery. In explaining its structure, the Catechism of the Catholic Church borrows a phrase from the Roman Catechism and proposes it as the key to its reading and application: The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends. Whether something is proposed for belief, for hope or for action, the love of our Lord must always be made accessible, so that anyone can see that all the works of perfect Christian virtue spring from love and have no other objective than to arrive at love (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 25).
Along these same lines, I would like now to bring up a subject that ought to find in the Catechism of the Catholic Church a more adequate and coherent treatment in the light of these expressed aims. I am speaking of the death penalty. This issue cannot be reduced to a mere résumé of traditional teaching without taking into account not only the doctrine as it has developed in the teaching of recent Popes, but also the change in the awareness of the Christian people which rejects an attitude of complacency before a punishment deeply injurious of human dignity. It must be clearly stated that the death penalty is an inhumane measure that, regardless of how it is carried out, abases human dignity. It is per se contrary to the Gospel, because it entails the willful suppression of a human life that never ceases to be sacred in the eyes of its Creator and of which – ultimately – only God is the true judge and guarantor. No man, not even a murderer, loses his personal dignity (Letter to the President of the International Commission against the Death Penalty, 20 March 2015), because God is a Father who always awaits the return of his children who, knowing that they have made mistakes, ask for forgiveness and begin a new life. No one ought to be deprived not only of life, but also of the chance for a moral and existential redemption that in turn can benefit the community.
In past centuries, when means of defence were scarce and society had yet to develop and mature as it has, recourse to the death penalty appeared to be the logical consequence of the correct application of justice. Sadly, even in the Papal States recourse was had to this extreme and inhumane remedy that ignored the primacy of mercy over justice. Let us take responsibility for the past and recognize that the imposition of the death penalty was dictated by a mentality more legalistic than Christian. Concern for preserving power and material wealth led to an over-estimation of the value of the law and prevented a deeper understanding of the Gospel. Nowadays, however, were we to remain neutral before the new demands of upholding personal dignity, we would be even more guilty.
Here we are not in any way contradicting past teaching, for the defence of the dignity of human life from the first moment of conception to natural death has been taught by the Church consistently and authoritatively. Yet the harmonious development of doctrine demands that we cease to defend arguments that now appear clearly contrary to the new understanding of Christian truth. Indeed, as Saint Vincent of Lérins pointed out, Some may say: Shall there be no progress of religion in Christ’s Church? Certainly; all possible progress. For who is there, so envious of men, so full of hatred to God, who would seek to forbid it? (Commonitorium, 23.1; PL 50). It is necessary, therefore, to reaffirm that no matter how serious the crime that has been committed, the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and the dignity of the person.
The Church, in her teaching, life and worship, perpetuates and hands on to all generations all that she herself is, all that she believes (Dei Verbum, 8). The Council Fathers could not have found a finer and more synthetic way of expressing the nature and mission of the Church. Not only in teaching, but also in life and worship, are the faithful able to be God’s People. Through a series of verbs the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation expresses the dynamic nature of this process: This Tradition develops … grows … and constantly moves forward toward the fullness of divine truth, until the words of God reach their complete fulfillment in her (DV, 8).
Tradition is a living reality and only a partial vision regards the deposit of faith as something static. The word of God cannot be moth-balled like some old blanket in an attempt to keep insects at bay! No. The word of God is a dynamic and living reality that develops and grows because it is aimed at a fulfilment that none can halt. This law of progress, in the happy formulation of Saint Vincent of Lérins, consolidated by years, enlarged by time, refined by age (Commonitorium, 23.9: PL 50), is a distinguishing mark of revealed truth as it is handed down by the Church, and in no way represents a change in doctrine.
Doctrine cannot be preserved without allowing it to develop, nor can it be tied to an interpretation that is rigid and immutable without demeaning the working of the Holy Spirit. God, who in many and various ways spoke of old to our fathers (Heb 1:1), uninterruptedly converses with the bride of his beloved Son (Dei Verbum, 8). We are called to make this voice our own by reverently hearing the word of God (DV, 1), so that our life as a Church may progress with the same enthusiasm as in the beginning, towards those new horizons to which the Lord wishes to guide us.
I thank you for this meeting and for your work, and to all of you I cordially impart my blessing.
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