Credo of the People of God

The Credo of the People of God is a profession of faith that Pope Paul VI published with the motu proprio Solemni hac liturgia ("This Solemn Liturgy") of 30 June 1968.

Nature and circumstances of the profession of faith

Pope Paul VI spoke of it as "a profession of faith, ... a creed which, without being strictly speaking a dogmatic definition, repeats in substance, with some developments called for by the spiritual condition of our time, the creed of Nicea, the creed of the immortal tradition of the holy Church of God".[1]

He published the profession of faith because of "the disquiet which agitates certain modern quarters with regard to the faith. They do not escape the influence of a world being profoundly changed, in which so many certainties are being disputed or discussed. We see even Catholics allowing themselves to be seized by a kind of passion for change and novelty. The Church, most assuredly, has always the duty to carry on the effort to study more deeply and to present, in a manner ever better adapted to successive generations, the unfathomable mysteries of God, rich for all in fruits of salvation. But at the same time the greatest care must be taken, while fulfilling the indispensable duty of research, to do no injury to the teachings of Christian doctrine. For that would be to give rise, as is unfortunately seen in these days, to disturbance and perplexity in many faithful souls."[2]

In view of this disquiet, Pope Paul wished his profession of faith "to be to a high degree complete and explicit, in order that it may respond in a fitting way to the need of light felt by so many faithful souls, and by all those in the world, to whatever spiritual family they belong, who are in search of the Truth."[3]

Content of the profession of faith

Pope Paul VI's profession of faith is arranged in the following sections:

God; the Father; the Son; the Holy Spirit.
Original Offense; Reborn of the Holy Spirit; Baptism.
The Church; the Word; One Shepherd.
Sacrifice of Calvary; Transubstantiation.
Temporal concern; Prospect of Resurrection.

References

  1. ↑ Solemni hac liturgia 3
  2. ↑ Solemni hac liturgia, 4
  3. ↑ Solemni hac liturgia, 7

See also

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, January 16, 2013. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.