John 8, 12-20 + CSDC and CV

 John 8, 12-20 + CSDC and CV 

 CV 78d God's love calls us to move beyond the limited and the ephemeral, it gives us the courage to continue seeking and working for the benefit of all, even if this cannot be achieved immediately and if what we are able to achieve, alongside political authorities and those working in the field of economics, is always less than we might wish [158]. God gives us the strength to fight and to suffer for love of the common good, because he is our All, our greatest hope.

Notes: [158] Cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Spe Salvi, 35: loc. cit., 1013-1014.

The need to establish some universal public authority endowed with effective power

CSDC 441. Concern for an ordered and peaceful coexistence within the human family prompts the Magisterium to insist on the need to establish “some universal public authority acknowledged as such by all and endowed with effective power to safeguard, on the behalf of all, security, regard for justice, and respect for rights”.[913] In the course of history, despite the changing viewpoints of the different eras, there has been a constant awareness of the need for a similar authority to respond to worldwide problems arising from the quest for the common good: it is essential that such an authority arise from mutual agreement and that it not be imposed, nor must it be understood as a kind of “global super-State”.[914] Political authority exercised at the level of the international community must be regulated by law, ordered to the common good and respectful of the principle of subsidiarity. “The public authority of the world community is not intended to limit the sphere of action of the public authority of the individual political community, much less to take its place. On the contrary, its purpose is to create, on a world basis, an environment in which the public authorities of each political community, their citizens and intermediate associations can carry out their tasks, fulfil their duties and exercise their rights with greater security”.[915] 

 Notes: [913] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 82: AAS 58 (1966), 1105; cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris: AAS 55 (1963), 293; Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 78: AAS 59 (1967), 295. [914] John Paul II, Message for the 2003 World Day of Peace, 6: AAS 95 (2003), 344. [915] John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris: AAS 55 (1963), 294-295.

(John 8, 12-20) Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness

[12] Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." [13] So the Pharisees said to him, "You testify on your own behalf, so your testimony cannot be verified." [14] Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I do testify on my own behalf, my testimony can be verified, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I come from or where I am going. [15] You judge by appearances, but I do not judge anyone. [16] And even if I should judge, my judgment is valid, because I am not alone, but it is I and the Father who sent me. [17] Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two men can be verified. [18] I testify on my behalf and so does the Father who sent me." [19] So they said to him, "Where is your father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also." [20] He spoke these words while teaching in the treasury in the temple area. But no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

CSDC 39. The salvation offered by God to his children requires their free response and acceptance. It is in this that faith consists, and it is through this that “man freely commits his entire self to God”[40], responding to God's prior and superabundant love (cf. 1 Jn 4:10) with concrete love for his brothers and sisters, and with steadfast hope because “he who promised is faithful” (Heb 10:23). In fact, the divine plan of salvation does not consign human creatures to a state of mere passivity or of lesser status in relation to their Creator, because their relationship to God, whom Jesus Christ reveals to us and in whom he freely makes us sharers by the working of the Holy Spirit, is that of a child to its parent: the very relationship that Jesus lives with the Father (cf. Jn 15-17; Gal 4:6-7).

Notes: [40] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum, 5: AAS 58 (1966), 819.

[Initials and Abbreviations.- CSDC: Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church; -  SDC: Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in truth)]