Modern man is generally man in the modern world–that is, the post industrial revolution world and especially in the world directly after the two World Wars. He is mentioned by the Council because one of its goals was to reach out to modern man who, while often having good aspiriations (such as peace, etc.), was wounded and seeking their fulfillment in all the wrong places–whereas the Catholic faith contained the fulfillment modern man was seeking. However, as was mentioned earlier, this attempt was thwarted to a great extent because there was also present in modern man an underestimated spirit of pride sprouting from a kind of evolutionism (later=better) which led to the rebellion against convention and authority we saw in society and the Church in the 1960s and 70s. Post-modern man has become apathetic and often no longer even has aspirations beyond immediate gratification. While pride may still be there to some extent, it’s often overwhelmed by sloth.
