The Church and Modernity: Gaudium et Spes Insights

Ecclesiological Keys of the GS Constitution

Recognition and acceptance of the world: The Church accepts the world as it is today, moving beyond nostalgia for the past while trying to incarnate in the modern world. This means the Church is present in the world, especially alongside the poorest. Man and society become a theological locus; that is, everything becomes a source of inspiration.
New conception of time: Referring to the previous model of Christendom—where the world remained subordinate to the Church—the world now regains its autonomy. This indicates that the previous dependence is severed, removing the requirement of subordination to the Church.
Cooperation for a common goal: The Church and society (the world) coincide in the search for a common goal: the production of man. Both aim to carry out this end, though from different levels and with different instruments. The Church is submitted to the service of man and society as a selfless service; as the Gospel of John describes, it is "being in the world but not of the world."
Differentiation from temporal powers: The Church is clearly differentiated from the world to eliminate any identification of the Church with temporal powers.
Pastoral style: A change in the style by which the Church relates to the world introduces a more pastoral approach, favoring "benign pastoral care over moral rigor."

The Christian vision offered in this document develops the following ideas:

Qualitative development: Development is not reduced to mere economic growth (PP, 14); the concept of development is qualitative rather than quantitative.
Integral and universal scope: To be authentic, development must be comprehensive and universal. This means developing the whole person (integral) and all people (universal). This implies that development should never be reduced to economics (purely economic irreducibility).
Primacy of being over having: This is the subordination of having to being. We recognize the ambivalence of growth, noting that it can have both positive and negative aspects.
Dynamic character of human development: Development means passing from less human conditions to more humane living conditions. Development is truly Christian if it follows and meets this ethical vision.