"to share in the faith of the mother of God and in doing so he supports his spouse in the faith of the divine annunciation" (5b). In the same paragraph, RC asserts that "the incarnation and the redemption constitute an organic and indissoluble unity." What this will mean is that somehow, yet in a more distant but still real way, Joseph also saved us under Christ even though he was not present for the saving action of Christ's passion and death. It is also clear that Joseph is not a foster father in the strict sense, but rather he is adopted by God himself to be the juridical father of Jesus. This is why RC teaches that it would be wrong to assert that Joseph is merely an apparent or substitute father (21a): "Rather, it [his fatherhood] is one that fully shares in authentic fatherhood and the mission of a father in the family" (ibid.). Moreover, the Pope, citing a discourse of Paul VI reminds us that although Joseph did not give his genetic makeup to his Son through authentic conjugal intercourse, he nevertheless gave Jesus "by a special gift from heaven, all the natural love, all the affectionate solicitude that a father's heart can know" (8c). In other words, his fatherly authority over Jesus required a corresponding love. Parenthetically, since Joseph had this special ministry over Jesus, one can easily conclude that his ministry was higher than that of the ecclesiastical hierarchy for Joseph was head of the Head