Peace is not merely the absence of war; nor can it be reduced solely to the maintenance of a balance of power between enemies; nor is it brought about by dictatorship. It is rightly and appropriately called an enterprise of justice. —Gaudium et Spes §78

The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. —Gaudium et Spes §1

Gaudium et spes, luctus et angor hominum huius temporis, pauperum praesertim et quorumvis afflictorum, gaudium sunt et spes, luctus et angor etiam Christi discipulorum. —Gaudium et Spes §1

Let there be unity in what is necessary; freedom in what is unsettled, and charity in any case. —Gaudium et Spes §92

Christians are convinced that the triumphs of the human race are a sign of God's grace and the flowering of His own mysterious design. —Gaudium et Spes §34

Through Christ and in Christ, the riddles of sorrow and death grow meaningful. Apart from His Gospel, they overwhelm us. —Gaudium et Spes §22

The imbalances under which the modern world labors are linked with that more basic imbalance which is rooted in the heart of man. —Gaudium et Spes §10

Man comes to a true and full humanity only through culture, that is through the cultivation of the goods and values of nature. —Gaudium et Spes §53

Children are really the supreme gift of marriage and contribute very substantially to the welfare of their parents. —Gaudium et Spes §50

Omnis homo interea sibi ipsi remanet quaestio insoluta, subobscure percepta. —Gaudium et Spes §21

Every man remains to himself an unsolved puzzle, however obscurely he may perceive it. —Gaudium et Spes §21

Human labor, expended in the production and exchange of goods or in the performance of economic services, is superior to the other elements of economic life, for the latter have only the nature of tools. —Gaudium et Spes §67

The family is a kind of school of deeper humanity. —Gaudium et Spes §52

Ipse enim, Filius Dei, incarnatione sua cum omni homine quodammodo Se univit. Humanis manibus opus fecit, humana mente cogitavit, humana voluntate egit, humano corde dilexit. —Gaudium et Spes §22

By His incarnation the Son of God has united Himself in some fashion with every man. He worked with human hands, He thought with a human mind, acted by human choice and loved with a human heart. —Gaudium et Spes §22

Man is the source, the center, and the purpose of all economic and social life. —Gaudium et Spes §63

The common good embraces the sum of those conditions of the social life whereby men, families and associations more adequately and readily may attain their own perfection. —Gaudium et Spes §74

Iure arbitrari possumus futuram humanitatis sortem in illorum manibus reponi, qui posteris generationibus vivendi et sperandi rationes tradere valent. —Gaudium et Spes §31

We can justly consider that the future of humanity lies in the hands of those who are strong enough to provide coming generations with reasons for living and hoping. —Gaudium et Spes §31

Fecisti nos ad Te, Domine, et inquietum est cor nostrum, donec requiescat in Te. (S. Augustinus) —Gaudium et Spes §21

Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless till they rest in Thee. (quoting St. Augustine) —Gaudium et Spes §21

The artisans of peace are blessed, because they will be called the sons of God. (quoting Matthew 5:9) —Gaudium et Spes §77

The Church is not identified in any way with the political community nor bound to any political system. She is at once a sign and a safeguard of the transcendent character of the human person. —Gaudium et Spes §76

It is inhuman for public authority to fall back on dictatorial systems or totalitarian methods which violate the rights of the person or social groups. —Gaudium et Spes §75

Dignitatis humanae eximia ratio in vocatione hominis ad communionem cum Deo consistit. —Gaudium et Spes §19

The root reason for human dignity lies in man's call to communion with God. —Gaudium et Spes §19

Men should be convinced that the arms race is not a safe way to preserve a steady peace, nor is the so-called balance resulting from this race a sure and authentic peace. —Gaudium et Spes §81

Ordine enim valorum turbato et malo cum bono permixto, singuli homines ac coetus solummodo quae propria sunt considerant, non vero aliorum. —Gaudium et Spes §37

When the order of values is jumbled and bad is mixed with the good, individuals and groups pay heed solely to their own interests, and not to those of others. Thus the world ceases to be a place of true brotherhood. —Gaudium et Spes §37

Every type of discrimination, whether social or cultural, whether based on sex, race, color, social condition, language or religion, is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God's intent. —Gaudium et Spes §29

At nonnisi libere homo ad bonum se convertere potest. —Gaudium et Spes §17

Only in freedom can man direct himself toward goodness. —Gaudium et Spes §17

In seipso divisus est homo. Quapropter tota vita hominum, sive singularis sive collectiva, ut luctationem et quidem dramaticam se exhibet inter bonum et malum, inter lucem et tenebras. —Gaudium et Spes §13

Man is split within himself. As a result, all of human life, whether individual or collective, shows itself to be a dramatic struggle between good and evil, between light and darkness. —Gaudium et Spes §13

It does government officials no good to work for peace as long as feelings of hostility, contempt and distrust, as well as racial hatred and unbending ideologies, continue to divide men and place them in opposing camps. —Gaudium et Spes §82

Magis valet homo propter id quod est quam propter id quod habet. —Gaudium et Spes §35

A man is more precious for what he is than for what he has. —Gaudium et Spes §35

Periclitatur enim sors futura mundi nisi sapientiores suscitentur homines. —Gaudium et Spes §15

Our era needs such wisdom more than bygone ages if the discoveries made by man are to be further humanized. For the future of the world stands in peril unless wiser men are forthcoming. —Gaudium et Spes §15

Feed the man dying of hunger, because if you have not fed him, you have killed him. (quoting the Fathers) —Gaudium et Spes §69

God intended the earth with everything contained in it for the use of all human beings and peoples. Under the leadership of justice and in the company of charity, created goods should be in abundance for all in like manner. —Gaudium et Spes §69

We all need a change of heart as we regard the entire world and those tasks which we can perform in unison for the betterment of our race. —Gaudium et Spes §82

Discidium illud inter fidem quam profitentur et vitam quotidianam multorum, inter graviores nostri temporis errores recensendum est. —Gaudium et Spes §43

This split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age. —Gaudium et Spes §43

Coram morte aenigma condicionis humanae maximum evadit. —Gaudium et Spes §18

It is in the face of death that the riddle of human existence grows most acute. —Gaudium et Spes §18

Whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself, poisons human society, and does more harm to those who practice such things than those who suffer the injury. —Gaudium et Spes §27

Homo vero non fallitur, cum se rebus corporalibus superiorem agnoscit, et non tantum ut particulam naturae aut anonymum elementum civitatis humanae seipsum considerat. —Gaudium et Spes §14

Man is not wrong when he regards himself as superior to bodily concerns, and as more than a speck of nature or a nameless constituent of the city of man. For by his interior qualities he outstrips the whole sum of mere things. —Gaudium et Spes §14

Moving gradually together and everywhere more conscious already of its unity, the human family cannot accomplish its task of constructing a world more genuinely human unless each person devotes himself to the cause of peace with renewed vigor. —Gaudium et Spes §77