It can happen that one of the spouses is the innocent victim of a divorce deCreed by civil law; this spouse therefore has not contravened the moral law. There is a considerable difference between a spouse who has sincerely tried to be Faithful to the sacrament of marriage and is unjustly abandoned, and one who through his own grave fault destroys a canonically valid marriage. 178

To Believe that the Church is "holy" and "Catholic," and that she is "one" and "Apostolic" (as the Nicene Creed adds), is inseparable from belief in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In the Apostles' Creed we profess "one Holy Church" (Credo . . . Ecclesiam), and not to believe in the Church, so as not to confuse God with his works and to attribute clearly to God's goodness all the gifts he has bestowed on his Church. 138

The entire mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the fullness of time, is contained in this: that the Son is the one anointed by the Father's Spirit since his Incarnation - Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. Everything in the second chapter of the Creed is to be read in this light. Christ's whole work is in fact a joint mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Here, we shall mention only what has to do with Jesus' promise of the Holy Spirit and the gift of him by the glorified Lord.

Jesus "descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens." 475 The Apostles' Creed confesses in the same article Christ's descent into hell and his Resurrection from the dead on the third day, because in his Passover it was precisely out of the depths of death that he made life spring forth:

Concerning Christ's life the Creed speaks only about the mysteries of the Incarnation (conception and birth) and Paschal mystery (passion, crucifixion, death, burial, descent into hell, resurrection and ascension). It says nothing explicitly about the mysteries of Jesus' hidden or public life, but the Articles of Faith concerning his Incarnation and Passover do shed light on the whole of his earthly life. "All that Jesus did and taught, from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven", 171 is to be seen in the light of the mysteries of Christmas and Easter.

The first heresies denied not so much Christ's divinity as his true humanity (Gnostic Docetism). From Apostolic times the Christian Faith has insisted on the true incarnation of God's Son "come in the flesh". 87 But already in the third century, the Church in a Council at Antioch had to affirm against Paul of Samosata that Jesus Christ is Son of God by nature and not by adoption. the first ecumenical council of Nicaea in 325 confessed in its Creed that the Son of God is "begotten, not made, of the same substance (homoousios) as the Father", and condemned Arius, who had affirmed that the Son of God "came to be from things that were not" and that he was "from another substance" than that of the Father. 88

With the Nicene Creed, we answer by confessing: "For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man."

From this loving knowledge of Christ springs the desire to proclaim him, to "evangelize", and to lead others to the "yes" of Faith in Jesus Christ. But at the same time the need to know this faith better makes itself felt. To this end, following the order of the Creed, Jesus' principal titles - "Christ", "Son of God", and "Lord" (article 2) - will be presented. the Creed next confesses the chief mysteries of his life - those of his Incarnation (article 3), Paschal mystery (articles 4 and 5) and glorification (articles 6 and 7).

The Apostles' Creed professes that God is "creator of heaven and earth". the Nicene Creed makes it explicit that this profession includes "all that is, seen and unseen".

"This is the sole Church of Christ, which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic." 256 These four characteristics, inseparably linked with each other, 257 indicate essential features of the Church and her mission. the Church does not possess them of herself; it is Christ who, through the Holy Spirit, makes his Church one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, and it is he who calls her to realize each of these qualities.

After confessing "the holy Catholic Church," the Apostles' Creed adds "the communion of saints." In a certain sense this article is a further explanation of the preceding: "What is the Church if not the assembly of all the saints?" 477 The communion of saints is the Church.

The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by liturgical life. the obligatory character of these positive laws deCreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the Faithful the indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor:

The Magisterium of the Pastors of the Church in moral matters is ordinarily exercised in catechesis and preaching, with the help of the works of theologians and spiritual authors. Thus from generation to generation, under the aegis and vigilance of the pastors, the "deposit" of Christian moral teaching has been handed on, a deposit composed of a characteristic body of rules, commandments, and virtues proceeding from Faith in Christ and animated by charity. Alongside the Creed and the Our Father, the basis for this catechesis has Traditionally been the Decalogue which sets out the principles of moral life valid for all men.

Holy Communion, because by this sacrament we unite ourselves to Christ, who makes us sharers in his Body and Blood to form a single body. 149 We also call it: the holy things (ta hagia; sancta) 150 - the first meaning of the phrase "communion of saints" in the Apostles' Creed - the bread of angels, bread from heaven, medicine of immortality, 151 viaticum....

Thus the Creed's final "Amen" repeats and confirms its first words: "I Believe." To believe is to say "Amen" to God's words, promises and commandments; to entrust oneself completely to him who is the "Amen" of infinite love and perfect Faithfulness. the Christian's everyday life will then be the "Amen" to the "I believe" of our baptismal Profession Of Faith:

The Creed, like the last book of the Bible, 644 ends with the Hebrew word amen. This word frequently concludes prayers in the New Testament. the Church likewise ends her prayers with "Amen."

The term "flesh" refers to man in his state of weakness and mortality. 534 The "resurrection of the flesh" (the literal formulation of the Apostles' Creed) means not only that the immortal soul will live on after death, but that even our "mortal body" will come to life again. 535

The Christian Creed - the profession of our Faith in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and in God's creative, saving, and sanctifying action - culminates in the proclamation of the resurrection of the dead on the last day and in life everlasting.

The Creed links "the forgiveness of sins" with its Profession Of Faith in the Holy Spirit, for the risen Christ entrusted to the Apostles the power to forgive sins when he gave them the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle's Creed associates Faith in the forgiveness of sins not only with faith in the Holy Spirit, but also with faith in the Church and in the communion of saints. It was when he gave the Holy Spirit to his Apostles that the risen Christ conferred on them his own divine power to forgive sins: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 518

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." 116 Holy Scripture begins with these solemn words. the Profession Of Faith takes them up when it confesses that God the Father almighty is "Creator of heaven and earth" (Apostles' Creed), "of all that is, seen and unseen" (Nicene Creed). We shall speak first of the Creator, then of creation and finally of the fall into sin from which Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to raise us up again.

"Nothing is more apt to confirm our Faith and hope than holding it fixed in our minds that nothing is impossible with God. Once our reaSon has grasped the idea of God's almighty power, it will easily and without any hesitation admit everything that [the Creed] will afterwards propose for us to Believe - even if they be great and marvellous things, far above the ordinary laws of nature." 115

of all the divine attributes, only God's omnipotence is named in the Creed: to confess this power has great bearing on our lives. We Believe that his might is universal, for God who created everything also rules everything and can do everything. God's power is loving, for he is our Father, and mysterious, for only Faith can discern it when it "is made perfect in weakness". 103

The Apostles' Creed is so called because it is rightly considered to be a Faithful summary of the apostles' faith. It is the ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome. Its great authority arises from this fact: it is "the Creed of the Roman Church, the See of Peter the first of the apostles, to which he brought the common faith". 13

None of the Creeds from the different stages in the Church's life can be considered superseded or irrelevant. They help us today to attain and deepen the Faith of all times by means of the different summaries made of it. Among all the creeds, two occupy a special place in the Church's life:

Through the centuries many professions or symbols of Faith have been articulated in response to the needs of the different eras: the Creeds of the different Apostolic and ancient Churches, 8 e.g., the Quicumque, also called the Athanasian Creed; 9 The professions of faith of certain Councils, such as Toledo, Lateran, Lyons, Trent; 10 or the symbols of certain popes, e.g., the Fides Damasi 11 or the Credo of the People of God of Paul VI. 12

"These three parts are distinct although connected with one another. According to a compariSon often used by the Fathers, we call them articles. Indeed, just as in our bodily members there are certain articulations which distinguish and separate them, so too in this Profession Of Faith, the name "articles" has justly and rightly been given to the truths we must Believe particularly and distinctly." 6 In accordance with an ancient Tradition, already attested to by St. Ambrose, it is also customary to reckon the articles of the Creed as twelve, thus symbolizing the fullness of the Apostolic Faith by the number of the Apostles. 7

and so the Creed is divided into three parts: "the first part speaks of the first divine PerSon and the wonderful work of creation; the next speaks of the second divine Person and the mystery of his redemption of men; the final part speaks of the third divine Person, the origin and source of our sanctification." 4 These are "the three chapters of our [baptismal] seal". 5

The first "Profession Of Faith" is made during Baptism. the symbol of Faith is first and foremost the baptismal Creed. Since Baptism is given "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit", 3 The truths of faith professed during Baptism are articulated in terms of their reference to the three persons of the Holy Trinity.

Such syntheses are called "professions of Faith" since they summarize the faith that Christians profess. They are called "Creeds" on account of what is usually their first word in Latin: credo ("I Believe"). They are also called "symbols of faith".

"I Believe" (Apostles' Creed) is the Faith of the Church professed perSonally by each believer, principally during Baptism. "We believe" (Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed) is the faith of the Church confessed by the bishops assembled in Council or more generally by the liturgical assembly of believers. "I believe" is also the Church, our mother, responding to God by faith as she teaches us to say both "I believe" and "We believe".

We begin our Profession Of Faith by saying: "I Believe" or "We believe". Before expounding the Church's Faith, as confessed in the Creed, celebrated in the liturgy and lived in observance of God's commandments and in prayer, we must first ask what "to believe" means. Faith is man's response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man, at the same time bringing man a superabundant light as he searches for the ultimate meaning of his life. Thus we shall consider first that search (Chapter One), then the divine Revelation by which God comes to meet man (Chapter Two), and finally the response of faith (Chapter Three).

The Niceno-Constantinopolitan or Nicene Creed draws its great authority from the fact that it stems from the first two ecumenical Councils (in 325 and 381). It remains common to all the great Churches of both East and West to this day.

Our presentation of the Faith will follow the Apostles' Creed, which constitutes, as it were, "the oldest Roman Catechism". the presentation will be completed however by constant references to the Nicene Creed, which is often more explicit and more detailed.

As on the day of our Baptism, when our whole life was entrusted to the "standard of teaching", 14 let us embrace the Creed of our life-giving Faith. To say the Credo with faith is to enter into communion with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and also with the whole Church which transmits the faith to us and in whose midst we Believe:

The affirmation of the filioque does not appear in the Creed confessed in 381 at Constantinople. But Pope St. Leo I, following an ancient Latin and Alexandrian Tradition, had already confessed it dogmatically in 447, 76 even before Rome, in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon, came to recognize and receive the Symbol of 381. the use of this formula in the Creed was gradually admitted into the Latin liturgy (between the eighth and eleventh centuries). the introduction of the filioque into the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed by the Latin liturgy constitutes moreover, even today, a point of disagreement with the Orthodox Churches.

The Latin Tradition of the Creed confesses that the Spirit "proceeds from the Father and the Son (filioque)". the Council of Florence in 1438 explains: "The Holy Spirit is eternally from Father and Son; He has his nature and subsistence at once (simul) from the Father and the Son. He proceeds eternally from both as from one principle and through one spiration... And, since the Father has through generation given to the only-begotten Son everything that belongs to the Father, except being Father, the Son has also eternally from the Father, from whom he is eternally born, that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son." 75

The Apostolic Faith concerning the Spirit was confessed by the second ecumenical Council at Constantinople (381): "We Believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father." 71 By this confession, the Church recognizes the Father as "the source and origin of the whole divinity". 72 But the eternal origin of the Spirit is not unconnected with the Son's origin: "The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is God, one and equal with the Father and the Son, of the same substance and also of the same nature. . . Yet he is not called the Spirit of the Father alone,. . . but the Spirit of both the Father and the Son." 73 The Creed of the Church from the Council of Constantinople confesses: "With the Father and the Son, he is worshipped and glorified." 74

Following this Apostolic Tradition, the Church confessed at the first ecumenical Council at Nicaea (325) that the Son is "consubstantial" with the Father, that is, one only God with him. 66 The second ecumenical council, held at Constantinople in 381, kept this expression in its formulation of the Nicene Creed and confessed "the only-begotten Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father". 67

These are the words with which the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed begins. the confession of God's oneness, which has its roots in the divine revelation of the Old Covenant, is inseparable from the profession of God's existence and is equally fundamental. God is unique; there is only one God: "The Christian Faith confesses that God is one in nature, substance and essence." 3

"I Believe in God": this first affirmation of the Apostles' Creed is also the most fundamental. the whole Creed speaks of God, and when it also speaks of man and of the world it does so in relation to God. the other articles of the Creed all depend on the first, just as the remaining Commandments make the first explicit. the other articles help us to know God better as he revealed himself progressively to men. "The Faithful first profess their belief in God." 2

Our Profession Of Faith begins with God, for God is the First and the Last, 1 The beginning and the end of everything. the Credo begins with God the Father, for the Father is the first divine perSon of the Most Holy Trinity; our Creed begins with the creation of heaven and earth, for creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God's works.

The plan of this Catechism is inspired by the great Tradition of catechisms which build catechesis on four pillars: the baptismal Profession Of Faith (the Creed), the sacraments of Faith, the life of faith (the Commandments), and the prayer of the Believer (the Lord's Prayer).