Although within the People of God there are members who are far from vivifying grace and are even a cause of scandal for many, the Church herself, nevertheless, is free from all sin. Of her it can be said, in an analogical and adapted way, what is said of Christ: she is from above, not from below; she is of divine origin. Christ took her "as his bride, handing Himself over for her to sanctify her, united her to Himself as his body, and enriched her with the gift of the Holy Spirit, for the glory of God (...). This holiness of the Church is continuously manifested and must manifest itself in the fruits of grace that the Holy Spirit produces in the faithful; it is expressed in the most diverse ways in each of those who, according to their condition of life, tend toward the perfection of charity, building up others"4. She knows that she is not a formation of this world, nor a cultural-religious power, nor a political institution, nor a scientific school, but a creation of the Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ. "In her, Christ, the Envoy of the Father, has deposited his word and his work, his life and his salvation, and in her He left them for all future generations"5.
Sinners belong to the Church, despite their sins; they can still return to the Father's house, even if it is at the very last moment of their lives. Through Baptism, they carry within themselves a hope of reconciliation that not even the most serious sins can erase. The sin that the Church encounters in her midst is not part of her; on the contrary, it is the enemy against which she will have to fight until the end of time, especially through the sacrament of Confession. Her children stained by sin do belong to her, but not their stains. It would be very sad if we, her children, allowed the Church to be judged precisely by what she is not.
As John Paul II once recalled, the Church "is Mother, in whom we are reborn to new life in God; a mother must be loved. She is holy in her Founder, means, and doctrine, but formed by sinful men; one must contribute positively to improve her, to help her toward an ever-renewed fidelity, which is not achieved through corrosive criticism"6.
When speaking of the flaws of the Church in the past or in the present, or when it is said that the Church must purify her faults, it is forgotten that those faults and errors occurred and occur precisely through individuals, with personal responsibility, who did not live out their Christian vocation and did not carry out the doctrine that Christ left to his Church; it is forgotten that Christ has acquired her for Himself, through his Blood7, that He has purified her from the beginning so that she may appear in his presence entirely resplendent, without stain, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but holy and immaculate8, that she is the House of God, the pillar and foundation of truth9.
HCD