And by the communication of his Spirit he constituted his sisters and brothers, gathered from all nations, as his own mystical body.

The task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether in its written form or in that of tradition, 8 has been entrusted only to those charged with the church’s ongoing teaching function,9 whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, even when occupied with temporal cares, the laity can and must perform the valuable task of evangelising the world. Some lay people, when there is a shortage of sacred ministers or when these are impeded by a persecuting government, supply some of the sacred offices in so far as they can; a greater number are engaged totally in apostolic

The ancient tradition of both the eastern and the western rites tells of a heartfelt and living love for scripture. This love must be allowed to grow if there is to be a renewal, development and adaptation of the liturgy.

In the sacred books the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children and talks with them.

Hence sacred tradition and scripture are bound together in a close and reciprocal relationship. They both flow from the same divine wellspring, merge together to some extent, and are on course towards the same end. Scripture is the utterance of God as it is set down in writing under the guidance of God’s Spirit; tradition preserves the word of God

This church, set up and organised in this world as a society, subsists in the catholic church, governed by the successor of Peter and the bishops in communion with him,13 although outside its structure many elements of sanctification and of truth are to be found which, as proper gifts to the church of Christ, impel towards catholic unity.

evangelisation—that is, the message of Christ proclaimed by word and the witness of life

On the contrary, it was certainly the Council’s intention to overcome erroneous or superfluous contradictions in order to present to our world the requirement of the Gospel in its full greatness and purity.