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General Audience of 26 November 2008: Saint Paul (14). The Doctrine of Justification: The Apostle's Teaching on Faith and Works

Pope Benedict XVI

General Audience of 26 November 2008: Saint Paul (14). The Doctrine of Justification: The Apostle's Teaching on Faith and Works
Pope Benedict XVI
2008-11-26
Magisterial
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Document summary

Benedict XVI welcomes Catholicos Aram I to the Vatican and recalls the shared history of faith and martyrdom between the Catholic and Armenian Churches, praying that ecumenical dialogue may advance full Christian unity. He then presents Paul's teaching on justification: human beings do not earn salvation by their own deeds but are made just through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith is a living communion rather than mere intellectual assent, and therefore expresses itself in charity and the fruits of the Spirit. Works cannot establish salvation independently, but true faith necessarily becomes active in love through the Spirit.

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Document details

Document name
General Audience of 26 November 2008: Saint Paul (14). The Doctrine of Justification: The Apostle's Teaching on Faith and Works
Citation title
General Audience
Author
Pope Benedict XVI
Language
English
Year
2008-11-26
Publisher
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Publisher Location
Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City
Document Category
Address
Corpus classification
Magisterial
License
Public domain