The Gospel of Peace and Justice: Catholic Social Teaching Since Pope John

This body of doctrine articulates the effort of the Church to address the needs and issues of today's world, a world which may indeed be passing through a vast turning point in history. These documents represent, too, a significant breakthrough in Christian thought. Discarding the exaggerated dualism which over the centuries has hampered the attempt of religion to relate to the secular order, they manifest a new awareness that it is an essential part of the Christian mission to humanize and thereby Christianize political, social, economic, cultural, and technological life. The "Church" and the "world" are not identical, but neither are they in irrevocable opposition. For while the "Church" transcends the "world," it also exists in the world. Existing there, it has a duty to seek to transform the world according to the mind and message of Christ.