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IV. UNICITY
AND UNITY OF THE CHURCH
16.
The Lord Jesus, the only Saviour, did not only establish a simple community of
disciples, but constituted the Church as a salvific mystery: he himself is in
the Church and the Church is in him (cf. Jn 15:1ff.; Gal 3:28; Eph 4:15-16;
Acts 9:5). Therefore, the fullness of Christ's salvific mystery belongs also to
the Church, inseparably united to her Lord. Indeed, Jesus Christ continues his
presence and his work of salvation in the Church and by means of the Church
(cf. Col 1:24-27),47 which is his body (cf. 1 Cor 12:12-13, 27; Col
1:18).48 And thus, just as the head and members of a living body,
though not identical, are inseparable, so too Christ and the Church can neither
be confused nor separated, and constitute a single "whole
Christ".49 This same inseparability is also expressed in the New
Testament by the analogy of the Church as the Bride of Christ (cf. 2 Cor 11:2;
Eph 5:25-29; Rev 21:2,9).50
Therefore,
in connection with the unicity and universality of the salvific mediation of
Jesus Christ, the unicity of the Church founded by him must be firmly believed
as a truth of Catholic faith. Just as there is one Christ, so there exists a
single body of Christ, a single Bride of Christ: "a single Catholic and
apostolic Church".51 Furthermore, the promises of the Lord that he
would not abandon his Church (cf. Mt 16:18; 28:20) and that he would guide her
by his Spirit (cf. Jn 16:13) mean, according to Catholic faith, that the
unicity and the unity of the Church — like everything that belongs to the
Church's integrity — will never be lacking.52
The
Catholic faithful are required to profess that there is an historical
continuity — rooted in the apostolic succession53 — between the Church
founded by Christ and the Catholic Church: "This is the single Church of
Christ... which our Saviour, after his resurrection, entrusted to Peter's
pastoral care (cf. Jn 21:17), commissioning him and the other Apostles to extend
and rule her (cf. Mt 28:18ff.), erected for all ages as ‘the pillar and
mainstay of the truth' (1 Tim 3:15). This Church, constituted and organized as
a society in the present world, subsists in [subsistit in] the Catholic Church,
governed by the Successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with
him".54 With the expression subsistit in, the Second Vatican
Council sought to harmonize two doctrinal statements: on the one hand, that the
Church of Christ, despite the divisions which exist among Christians, continues
to exist fully only in the Catholic Church, and on the other hand, that
"outside of her structure, many elements can be found of sanctification
and truth",55 that is, in those Churches and ecclesial communities
which are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church.56 But
with respect to these, it needs to be stated that "they derive their
efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic
Church".57
17.
Therefore, there exists a single Church of Christ, which subsists in the
Catholic Church, governed by the Successor of Peter and by the Bishops in
communion with him.58 The Churches which, while not existing in perfect
communion with the Catholic Church, remain united to her by means of the
closest bonds, that is, by apostolic succession and a valid Eucharist, are true
particular Churches.59 Therefore, the Church of Christ is present and
operative also in these Churches, even though they lack full communion with the
Catholic Church, since they do not accept the Catholic doctrine of the Primacy,
which, according to the will of God, the Bishop of Rome objectively has and
exercises over the entire Church.60
On the
other hand, the ecclesial communities which have not preserved the valid
Episcopate and the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic
mystery,61 are not Churches in the proper sense; however, those who are
baptized in these communities are, by Baptism, incorporated in Christ and thus
are in a certain communion, albeit imperfect, with the Church.62
Baptism in fact tends per se toward the full development of life in Christ,
through the integral profession of faith, the Eucharist, and full communion in
the Church.63
"The
Christian faithful are therefore not permitted to imagine that the Church of
Christ is nothing more than a collection — divided, yet in some way one — of
Churches and ecclesial communities; nor are they free to hold that today the
Church of Christ nowhere really exists, and must be considered only as a goal
which all Churches and ecclesial communities must strive to
reach".64 In fact, "the elements of this already-given Church
exist, joined together in their fullness in the Catholic Church and, without
this fullness, in the other communities".65 "Therefore, these
separated Churches and communities as such, though we believe they suffer from
defects, have by no means been deprived of significance and importance in the
mystery of salvation. For the spirit of Christ has not refrained from using
them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very fullness
of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic Church".66
The lack
of unity among Christians is certainly a wound for the Church; not in the sense
that she is deprived of her unity, but "in that it hinders the complete
fulfilment of her universality in history".67
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