A renewed Church is one with a compelling vision for mankind transformed by grace. We see this in the vision of the institutional Church’s embracing her heavenly identity rather than her settling for worldly mediocrity. We see this in the vision of the ministry and example of the saints, who are living icons of the power of grace. We see this in the vision of the parish as the peace-filled home of the people of God and an example of a more beautiful, more real way of being in the world. And we can see this in the vision of the family as a school of grace.
All of these visions, however, fit the generally prescribed role of the Church in a liberal secular society: occupied with her own institutions and her own people, forming individuals and families in their spirituality. But a genuinely, confidently renewed Church would not allow herself to be so hemmed in. The Church cannot merely articulate but needs to also demonstrate that grace can heal, elevate, and perfect society just as surely as it can souls.
We can see this firstly in the Church’s social teaching, which explodes the categories of “right- wing” versus “left-wing,” “conservative” versus “liberal” that dominate our politics. The Church’s thinking about our common life transcends our everyday (and clearly failing) politics. It’s precisely for this reason that we need to boldly assert Catholic Social Teaching. As we do this, we must remember that there’s no strict separation between the Church’s social teaching and her teaching on the nature and morality of sexuality, marriage, and family.
To this end, it’s best not to think of the great documents on marriage and family of the last century—such as Pius XI’s Casti Connubii,1 St. Paul VI’s…
