Selections from Section 11
On this basis, at the end of the Council
the Fathers addressed a greeting
and an appeal to artists:
“This world -- they said -- in which we live
needs beauty in order not to sink into despair.
Beauty, like truth, brings joy to the human heart
and is that precious fruit
which resists the erosion of time,
which unites generations and enables them
to be one in admiration!”….
In this spirit of profound respect for beauty,
the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
Sacrosanctum Concilium
recalled the historic friendliness of the Church
towards art and, referring more specifically
to sacred art, the “summit” of religious art,
did not hesitate to consider artists
as having “a noble ministry” when their works
reflect in some way the infinite beauty of God
and raise people's minds to him.