Question 7.120

7.120 How are we to understand the quest for universality that runs through the entire history of Christianity?

Man always seeks to be in a group larger than himself, so as to strengthen and develop his life. Now, from her origins, the Church has wished to include everyone in this great community of the baptized which was willed by God. She wants to gather them into a common dignity, the same destiny. In this, the Bride of Christ magnificently echoes a quest that is inherent in man himself. This is always about a desire for enrichment by turning to the other. The Holy Spirit unites and gives rise to distinct charisms: there is diversity in this unity. The other is always a treasure offered to me by God in order to enrich my humanity and to help me to grow in my own vocation. I in turn, however poor I may be, owe it to myself to promote the riches and unique qualities of the other. I, too, am a gift-as modest as it may be-for the other. We form one human family, each one contributing his own richness, in a marvelous mosaic of cultures and traditions. There are treasures of mankind that are not empty words.

Moreover, the universal must not destroy the particular identity. Over the centuries, the Church has taken care to give a dominant place to local expressions. The finest example of this has been the specific liturgical rites, such as the Ambrosian Rite, the Lyonese Rite, or the Mozarabic Rite.

The Church is one and different at each place on earth.