You are about to return to Rome, as this is written, for the most decisive session of the Second Vatican Council. Schema XIII on the Church in the Modern World is from a pastoral viewpoint, of such unique importance that one may believe the whole work of the Council stands or falls with it. You who have listened with patience to so many opinions will surely bear charitably with yet one more expression of Christian concern. It is written not in order to defend a merely partisan view, but to insure that the great work done by the previous sessions is not prejudiced by any ambiguity or hesitation in confronting one of the most crucial problems of our time.