[Catholic Caucus] Faith should ‘become culture,’ Pope Leo emphasizes at audience on Vatican II

Catholic Culture ^ | October 29, 2026 | Catholic Culture

[ebb tide]

[Catholic Caucus] Faith should ‘become culture,’ Pope Leo emphasizes at audience on Vatican II

Continuing his series of Wednesday general audiences on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, Pope Leo XIV devoted his October 28 audience (video) to the relationship between faith and culture.

The audience, which took place in St. Peter’s Square, was the thirtieth audience in the series and the seventh devoted to the Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (1965). The audience was devoted to the second chapter of Part II of the pastoral constitution; the chapter is entitled “The proper development of culture” (nos. 53-62).

“The Catholic Church has always been concerned with accompanying the preaching of the Gospel with the establishment of schools of every kind, aimed at advancing the human, cultural and spiritual formation of men and women,” Pope Leo told the 30,000 people in attendance. “At the same time, the progress of culture and knowledge raises ever new and deeper questions, prompting believers to give an account of their faith. Finally, as expressions of the spiritual dimension of the human being, the various manifestations of culture contribute to opening minds to the perennial questions on the meaning of the world and of human existence, thus preparing people to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

“The relationship between faith and culture finds its primary foundation in the Incarnation: if the divine Word became flesh and came to dwell among us, then faith too is an incarnate reality, interwoven with the culture in which it is immersed,” the Pope continued. “It is also required to become culture [emphasis in original], that is, to reach the person in their living environment, made up of human words, traditions, religious meaning, art and poetry, thought and science.

Pope Leo then commented on three paragraphs of Gaudium et Spes:

• on n. 58: “Faith can be embodied in all cultures, because it does not identify itself with any of them in a specific one. It dwells within them, shaping them from within according to the ‘form’ of Jesus Christ; that is, through charity, service and the filial recognition of God’s fatherhood. In this way, the Church draws from the various cultures all that is good, beautiful and true, in order to embody and transmit the message of the Gospel.”
• on n. 60: “The Church promotes culture because it is a good in itself, a service to the human being and to the fulfilment of her vocation on earth. For this reason, Gaudium et Spes exhorts the international community to ensure that everyone has access to fundamental cultural goods, by overcoming illiteracy and the lack of education.”
• on n. 61: “Gaudium et Spes upholds the need to direct teaching towards a certain unity of knowledge, even though changing living conditions may make this more difficult. Christians are the first who must strive to bring about this unity of wisdom, first and foremost within themselves. Although they have received from Revelation the answers to the great questions of existence, they are not thereby exempt from patient intellectual and cultural formation; on the contrary, their human and scientific knowledge must go hand in hand with the substance of their faith, which must be continually deepened with age and in accordance with their level of study.”

Turning to n. 62, he concluded:

Brothers and sisters, the Constitution Gaudium et Spes reminds us not to live the faith in a spirit of opposition or hostility towards the world, culture and its human expressions, but rather exhorts us as follows: “May the faithful, therefore, live in very close union with the other men of their time and may they strive to understand perfectly their way of thinking and judging, as expressed in their culture” (GS, 62).

Achieving a mature and responsible synthesis between faith and culture is, in fact, a necessary condition for persevering in the Christian vocation, as well as an essential requirement for bearing witness to the faith before the world and communicating it to others in a credible manner.

---

TOPICS: Catholic; Theology
KEYWORDS: ebbspam; maximaquisquilia; synodalchurch; vcii; worldlychurch; worldlypope; yetmoreebbspam

[ebb tide]

Turning to n. 62, he (Pope Leo XIV) concluded:

Brothers and sisters, the Constitution Gaudium et Spes reminds us not to live the faith in a spirit of opposition or hostility towards the world, culture and its human expressions, but rather exhorts us as follows: “May the faithful, therefore, live in very close union with the other men of their time and may they strive to understand perfectly their way of thinking and judging, as expressed in their culture” (GS, 62).

Compare to:

Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world. John 18:36

======================================================

If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. John 15:9

=======================================================

 13 And now I come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy filled in themselves.  14 I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world; as I also am not of the world.  15 I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from evil.

 16 They are not of the world, as I also am not of the world.  17 Sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth.  18 As thou hast sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.  19 And for them do I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.  20 And not for them only do I pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in me; John 17:13-20

[ebb tide]

Ping

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Pope Gay Commie II wants a Superfun Rockband Church.

[alternatives?]

The New Testament warns repeatedly against false teachers.

[caddie]

Even little kids in Catholic religion class can see that this Pope is teaching error.

His babbling BS isn't getting traction with any real Catholics.

He needs to go back to South America and worship pack-a-mama or some other pagan goddess.