Cardinal Tobin: The Church is one, but includes everyone
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Vol. 7. No. 18
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.”
So, unity in Christ is our inheritance as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. This unity is a precious gift that we must constantly safeguard and protect as “good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” The danger is that we will neglect this responsibility, taking it for granted, even as we slip into the kind of divisive talk and behavior that separate us from one another and from God.
We must not take for granted our unity in Christ. As Pope Leo says, “It is a great sign of hope – especially in our times, traversed by so many conflicts and wars – to know that the Church is a people in which women and men of different nationalities, languages and cultures live together in faith: it is a sign placed in the very heart of humanity, a reminder and prophecy of that unity and peace to which God the Father calls all his children.” Even when we are most in danger of being divided into warring factions, the sign of the cross stops us in our tracks. It reminds us that our Redeemer lives and calls us together as children of God and as sisters and brothers to one another.
“This means that in the Church there is, and there must be, a place for everyone,” Pope Leo reminds us, “and that every Christian is called to proclaim the Gospel and bear witness in every environment in which he or she lives and works.” We are all one in Christ, and we strengthen and safeguard this gift of unity by doing our part to carry out the evangelical mission entrusted to us by our Redeemer: “Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15).
As we continue this season of Easter joy, let us proclaim the Risen Christ as people united in Him. And may God’s gifts of unity and peace be a sign of hope for all nations and peoples everywhere.
Sincerely yours in Christ the Redeemer,
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R.
Archbishop of Newark
A selection from the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, promulgated by Pope Saint Paul VI on November 21, 1964
13. All men are called to belong to the new people of God. Wherefore this people, while remaining one and only one, is to be spread throughout the whole world and must exist in all ages, so that the decree of God’s will may be fulfilled. In the beginning, God made human nature one and decreed that all His children, scattered as they were, would finally be gathered together as one. (117) It was for this purpose that God sent His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, (118) that he might be teacher, king and priest of all, the head of the new and universal people of the sons of God. For this, too, God sent the Spirit of His Son as Lord and Life-giver. He it is who brings together the whole Church and each and every one of those who believe, and who is the well-spring of their unity in the teaching of the apostles and in fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers. (119)
It follows that though there are many nations, there is but one people of God, which takes its citizens from every race, making them citizens of a kingdom which is of a heavenly rather than of an earthly nature. All the faithful, scattered though they be throughout the world, are in communion with each other in the Holy Spirit, and so, he who dwells in Rome knows that the people of India are his members”(9*). Since the kingdom of Christ is not of this world (120), the Church or people of God, in establishing that kingdom, takes nothing away from the temporal welfare of any people. On the contrary, it fosters and takes to itself, insofar as they are good, the ability, riches and customs in which the genius of each people expresses itself. Taking them to itself it purifies, strengthens, elevates and ennobles them. The Church in this is mindful that she must bring together the nations for that king to whom they were given as an inheritance,(121) and to whose city they bring gifts and offerings.(122) This characteristic of universality which adorns the people of God is a gift from the Lord Himself. By reason of it, 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. (10*)
In virtue of this catholicity, each individual part contributes through its special gifts to the good of the other parts and of the whole Church. Through the common sharing of gifts and through the common effort to attain fullness in unity, the whole and each of the parts receive increase. Not only, then, is the people of God made up of different peoples, but in its inner structure also it is composed of various ranks. This diversity among its members arises either by reason of their duties, as is the case with those who exercise the sacred ministry for the good of their brethren, or by reason of their condition and state of life, as is the case with those many who enter the religious state and, tending toward holiness by a narrower path, stimulate their brethren by their example.
Moreover, within the Church, particular Churches hold a rightful place; these Churches retain their own traditions, without in any way opposing the primacy of the Chair of Peter, which presides over the whole assembly of charity (11*) and protects legitimate differences, while at the same time assuring that such differences do not hinder unity but rather contribute toward it. Between all the parts of the Church, there remains a bond of close communion whereby they share spiritual riches, apostolic workers and temporal resources. For the members of the people of God are called to share these goods in common, and of each of the Churches the words of the Apostle hold good: “According to the gift that each has received, administer it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God”.(123)
A Message from Pope Leo XIV: In the One Christ, We are One
In the Church, there is, and there must be, a place for everyone
Unified in Christ, Lord and Savior of every man and woman, the Church can never turn inwards on herself but is open to everyone and is for everyone. If believers in Christ belong to it, the Council reminds us that “All men are called to belong to the new people of God. Wherefore this people, remaining one and unique, must extend to the whole world and to all ages, so that the intention of God’s will may be fulfilled, who in the beginning created human nature as one and wants to gather together his children who were scattered” (LG, 13). Even those who have not yet received the Gospel are, therefore, in some way, oriented towards the people of God, and the Church, cooperating in Christ’s mission, is called upon to spread the Gospel everywhere and to everyone (cf. LG, 17), so that every person may enter into contact with Christ.
This means that in the Church there is, and there must be, a place for everyone, and that every Christian is called to proclaim the Gospel and bear witness in every environment in which he or she lives and works. Thus, this people shows its catholicity, welcoming the wealth and resources of different cultures and, at the same time, offering them the newness of the Gospel to purify them and to raise them up (cf. LG, 13).
In this regard, the Church is one but includes everyone. A great theologian described it thus: “The unique Ark of Salvation must welcome all human diversity into its vast nave. The only banquet hall, the food it distributes is drawn from all of creation. The seamless garment of Christ, it is also – and it is the same thing – the garment of Joseph, with its many colors.”
It is a great sign of hope – especially in our times, traversed by so many conflicts and wars – to know that the Church is a people in which women and men of different nationalities, languages and cultures live together in faith: it is a sign placed in the very heart of humanity, a reminder and prophecy of that unity and peace to which God the Father calls all his children.
(A selection from the catechesis of Pope Leo XIV during his General Audience on March 11, 2026.)
My Prayer for You
Please join me in this simple prayer for unity and peace:
Lord, you are the Prince of Peace. Calm our storms, heal our divisions, and fill our hearts with your mercy so that we may forgive one another and live together in harmony as diverse but united members of God’s family.