Kościół świętych – Kościół grzeszników według Josepha Ratzingera – Benedykta XVI

Abstract

Any analysis of the problem of “the Church of saints and the Church of sinners” must start from defi ning the Church as such. First and foremost, the Church cannot be conceptually reduced to hierarchical structures, nor should be put on equal with the ecclesiastic institution. Instead, it must be seen as the personal communion of people with Jesus Christ. This view is originally expressed in Joseph Ratzinger’s claim that “The Church is the people of God as the Body of Christ.” This claim means that the Church does not create herself, that she is not a human creation, but she comes from God and it comprises the human co-element in the realization of the Divine Plan. In this sense, the Church is holy, yet, at the same time, she gathers sinners. This holiness relies on the unconditional grace of God’s Incarnation. Indeed, the Holy Church realizes the will of God and she is His envoy to the universe, while the Church of sinners is a Church made of people, trying to transmit God’s message to the world, despite the limits and sins of her members.