ECCLESIA AD INTRA AND ECCLESIA AD EXTRA:
Cardinal Leo Josef Suenens officially introduced the distinction between the Church ecclesia ad intra and the Church ecclesia ad extra, with the former pertaining to the internal workings of the Church and the latter, applying to the Church’s connection with the external world. These two contrasting directions were recognised most prominently in the Church doctrines of The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen gentium), which predominantly reflected the interior ad intra mechanisms of the Church and the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et spes), which mainly focused on the peripheral ad extra fundamentals of relations outside the realm of the Church (Lawler, Salzman & Burke-Sullivan, 2014). The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium) and the Decree on Ecumenism (Unitatis Redintegratio) also significantly contributed to the ad intra and ad extra guidelines of the church.
The inclusion of these documents represented the true essence of a pastoral council, as they functioned to remove blockades and borders between the Catholic Church and the secular world concerning its culture and its theology (Fagglioli, 2015). The positions adopted from the Second Vatican, which include the redefining of how the Church sees its relationship towards other Christian faiths, non-Christians and in particular the Jewish faith are central to its reframed identity that focuses on unity and is essential if it is to remain relevant in the modern world with its unique challenges (Fagglioli, 2015).
The inclusion of these documents represented the true essence of a pastoral council, as they functioned to remove blockades and borders between the Catholic Church and the secular world concerning its culture and its theology (Fagglioli, 2015). The positions adopted from the Second Vatican, which include the redefining of how the Church sees its relationship towards other Christian faiths, non-Christians and in particular the Jewish faith are central to its reframed identity that focuses on unity and is essential if it is to remain relevant in the modern world with its unique challenges (Fagglioli, 2015).