Pope John The Xxiii And His Contribution To Catholic Church

The expression and development of the Catholics church’s teachings on morality, justice and world peace are significantly shaped by religious leaders in history. More specifically within the role of Pope John XXIII in his encyclicals, social teachings and his contributions to the Vatican. Through his efforts, and creating the Vatican 2 he was able to modernise the church. Thus, through Pope John XXIII's contribution he had the flexibility to further detail the importance of morality, justice and world peace. 

Pope John the XXIII lived through many horrific events in history like World War Two, the Cuban missile crisis which all influenced his perspective on the globe. Pope John XXIII was also 'Born poor, but of humble and revered folk, i'm particularly happy to die poor.” This suggests how he was happy and felt fulfilled about how he lived out his life. Coming from a poor family influenced how he saw the globe and strengthened his faith which influenced him to measure his life like Jesus. Being an envoy to Paris and to carry other Vatican diplomatic positions in Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey he helped save Jews from deportation to Nazi concentration camps during the Second war. His warmth and affection for the Jewish people, and his determination to maneuver the Church into a brand new era of Catholic-Jewish relations is why he was called the ‘Pope of the Jews. ’ this is often shown also through “We are all sons of the identical Heavenly Father. Among us there must ever be the brightness of love” reinforcing the symbolic idea of agape love. This states that we are all made within the “image of God” Genesis 1:27 and want to spread love rather than hatred. As mentioned within the gospel of John, “God so loved the globe, that he gave his only Son.” The death of Christ shows that love is an act of will and not a sense of the center. Therefore Pope John the XXIII life experiences shaped his beliefs and concepts of peace, justice and morality. 

Pope John communicated on to the globe together with his 2 papal encyclicals “pacem in Terris” and “Mater et magistra” to assist with the Cuban missile crisis in 1963. Pacem in Terris, (On Establishing Universal Peace in fact, Justice, Charity and Liberty) was publicised by Pope John XXIII on eleventh April, 1963, 2 months before his death. John XXIII wrote the Pacem in Terris meaning“Peace on earth” to emphasise the requirement for universal peace and therefore the right to life for all humans and therefore the “Mater et magistra”, “mother and teacher', relating the role of the church. Pope John XXIII wrote Mater et Magistra (Mother and Teacher) explained the requirement for society to push human dignity, christianity and social progress. The encyclical is best appreciated against the background of the event of the globe organisation, the conflict and also the nuclear race. This is supported through “they must be settled in a very truly human way, not by armed force nor by deceit or trickery” reinforcing Pope John the XXIII idea on world peace. He expressed that violence and armed force wasn’t the solution and that we must unite. this is often further shown in “Just as individual men might not pursue their own private interests in a very way that's unfair and detrimental to others, so too it'd be criminal in a very State to aim at improving itself by the employment of methods which involve other nations in injury and unjust oppression” stating we must have consider morality and justice to guide us through right and wrong yet as fair and unfair. Therefore all linking back to god's golden rule “Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you” found in Leviticus 19:18 meaning treat others with the identical respect you'd respect reciprocally. Therefore the encyclicals were read and embraced by readers outside the church and raised weariness with the constant threat of the conflict, and uncertainty about where it'd next lead. 

Pope John XXIII’s most important contribution to the Church was calling the Second Vatican Council, to unite denominations by gathering the world’s bishops. Pope John stressed the importance of ecumenism. His council eventually approved significant reforms to the Church and its practices, including allowing priests to celebrate Mass in laity's vernacular language rather than in Latin only. Priest would also now face the parishioners making it a more involved, welcoming and making it a relevant ceremony. This was significant because it made modifications and updates to the Mass shown through “it is now for the church to bend herself to her work with calmness and generosity. It's for you to observe her with renewed and friendly attention”. John XXIII knew that times had changed, and it had been time for popes to stop acting royally, which that they had been doing for too some years. Through the Vatican 2, the church established a definition for itself, A Church for all people. The roles of people within the church were redefined, because the Pope established himself clearly as an individual of action, and not an unreachable “God-like” figure. Pope John also invited members of other faiths including Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Lutheran, Anglican etc, to the Vatican 2 proceedings. They weren't allowed to participate, but it had been an indication that has led to the unity of faiths. His contribution was publicly acknowledged with Time Magazine awarding him their distinguished “Man of The Year” award for 1965 and he was declared ‘blessed’ by Pope John Paul II in 2000. He united the church, introduced harmony among faiths, kept the peace, was incredibly humble, created Vatican 2, helped within the avoidance of nuclear war, was an full friend to many regular people, and always had the best interest of everyone but himself in mind. Therefore highlighting the importance of Vatican II and its importance.