Cardinal Tobin: The Church is one, but includes everyone

My dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

The Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium #23, describes the pope, the successor of Saint Peter, as “the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity of both the bishops and of the faithful.” In the past year since his election, Pope Leo XIV has taken this responsibility seriously. A brief review of his written and spoken statements since last May shows that “unity and peace” have been consistent themes in his young papacy.

In my last newsletter, dated April 10, I reflected on aspects of the Holy Father’s urgent call for peace. Now I would like to address the subject of unity, which is equally prominent in Pope Leo’s teaching. In fact, the motto chosen by the newly elected pope last year, In Illo Uno Unam (In the One Christ We are One), highlights the unity in Christ that is the basis of our oneness as God’s people.

“The Church is one but includes everyone,” Pope Leo says (see selection below). To say that the Church is one yet open to all means recognizing it as a single, unified community grounded in the mystical body of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit, yet inclusive and universal, embracing all people without distinction. This is the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church” that we profess in the Creed. The truth of this fundamental statement of Christian faith is a perplexing paradox because we cannot help but see with our own eyes the disunity, dysfunction, and discord that exist both within and outside the Church as we experience it day in and day out.

The Church’s oneness primarily refers to its spiritual unity, grounded in the shared participation in Christ’s body through the sacraments, especially baptism and the Eucharist. St. Paul explains this mystical unity in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, showing that all baptized believers are incorporated into one body, despite their diversity as members with different roles and gifts.

But even the spiritual unity that holds us together as sisters and brothers in Christ can be fractured by sin. Christ gathers and unites us through his Word, the Sacraments, and the works of healing and reconciliation performed in His Holy Name. It’s true that the Evil One seeks to scatter and divide us, but the grace of Christ effects unity and peace even in the most challenging circumstances. As Vatican II teaches (cf. LG 13 below), “the Catholic Church strives constantly and with due effect to bring all humanity and all its possessions back to its source In Christ, with Him as its head and united in His Spirit.”

Continue reading Cardinal Tobin’s latest newsletter.