IV

40. The Christian faithful, members of a living organism, cannot remain aloof and think that they have done their duty when they have satisfied their own spiritual needs; every individual must give his assistance to those who are working for the increase and propagation of God's kingdom. Our predecessor Pius XII reminded all of their common duty in these words: "A principal note of the Church is catholicity; consequently, a man is no true member of the Church unless he is likewise a true member of the entire body of Christian believers and is filled with an ardent desire to see her take root and flourish in every land."⁷⁰

The Duty of Teaching the Faith

41. In this matter, therefore, all Christians must compete in pious rivalry, and give constant proof of their concern for the spiritual well-being of other people by defending their Faith and teaching it to those who either do not know it at all, or do not know it well enough and therefore misjudge it. It is necessary that priests, families, and local apostolic organizations instill this religious duty in the young, from early childhood and adolescence, even in newly established Christian communities. Nor is there a dearth of favorable opportunities for stressing, in a suitable and effective manner, this duty of an apostolate: as for example, the preparation of children or newly baptized adults for the sacrament of Confirmation, through which "new strength is granted to the faithful courageously to guard and defend their Mother Church and the Faith they received from her.''⁷¹ This preparation is especially suited for populations who have in their local customs special initiation rites, through which adolescents are officially received into their tribal groups.

Catechists

42. We cannot neglect here to give credit to the work of catechetical organizations, which, in the course of the long history of the Catholic missions, have always given them special, necessary help. There was never a time when catechists were not excellent assistants to missionaries, sharing their labors and relieving them. Our predecessors have openly affirmed that "for the propagation of the Gospel, it is important that their numbers be multiplied,"⁷² and have stated that their function was "perhaps the most shining example of the apostolate to be carried out by the laity."⁷³ We, too, while again giving catechists Our warmest praise, exhort them to meditate even more attentively on the happiness of soul which this work brings, and never to cease from making the greatest efforts, under the guidance of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, to cultivate better the study of religion and their own spiritual formation. Catechists must learn from the hierarchy not only the rudimentary elements of the Faith, but also the practice of virtue and a fervent, sincere love for Christ. Instrumental in the establishment and subsequent abundant growth of new Christian communities is the care devoted to increasing the numbers of those who effectively help the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and to perfecting their formation for any other labors they may have to perform in order to carry out their task in the most effective and perfect manner.

Catholic Action

43. In Our first Encyclical Letter, We already recalled various important reasons which make it imperative, in our time, to recruit in all parts of the world "the laity to the ranks of a peaceful militia, Catholic Action, so that the laity should cooperate in the apostolate of the hierarchy."⁷⁴ We commented on this with the following words: "It gives Us great comfort that, over the years, in lands that are still mission territories, these valuable aides to bishops and priests have worked so hard for the success of their projects."⁷⁵ And now, impelled "by the love of Christ,"⁷⁶ We wish to renew urgently the exhortations and appeals of Our predecessor Pius XII: "It is necessary that laymen give their generous, zealous, and active cooperation, joining the clergy in their apostolic work and swelling to large numbers the ranks of Catholic Action."⁷⁷ The bishops of mission countries endeavored to do their best to carry out the directives of the Supreme Pontiff, together with the regular and religious clergy, and the most generous and well-trained laymen; We can state that splendid successes in this field are being achieved all over the earth.

Adaptation to Local Conditions

44. However, it is necessary-and We can never warn sufficiently of this-that this form of apostolate be carefully adapted to local conditions and needs. What has been done in one country cannot be carried over indiscriminately to another. The people concerned, submitting in all things to the directives of the ecclesiastical hierarchy and willingly obeying their pastors, must beware of defeating the purposes of the apostolate by carrying the burden of an excessive number of activities. For thus they thwart valuable efforts and dissipate valuable energy through compartmentalized and overly specialized projects, which, while satisfactory elsewhere, may be less useful where different conditions and needs prevail. In Our first encyclical, We also promised to deal with the subject of Catholic Action in more detail and at greater length; when We do, We trust that the mission territories will receive additional support and a new incentive. In the meantime, let everyone work in perfect harmony and with supernatural inspiration, in the certainty that only thus will they be able to say that they are serving the divine cause and the common good of their people.

Training for Leadership

45. Catholic Action is an association of laymen "who are entrusted with certain duties, which involve executive responsibilities, to be carried out in submission to the hierarchy";⁷⁸ thus laymen do hold executive offices therein. For this reason it is necessary to train men who are capable of enkindling different organizations with apostolic zeal and insuring their most efficient operation; men and women, We say, who in order to be worthy of managerial and executive roles in these organizations, entrusted to them by the ecclesiastical hierarchy, must furnish convincing proof that they possess a solid Christian formation, both intellectual and moral, in order that "they may impart to others what, with the help of God's grace, they have won for themselves."⁷⁹

The Christian School

46. It can rightly be said that the natural seat and, as it were, the training ground, where these lay executives of Catholic Action are prepared for their functions, is the Christian school; and this school will achieve its purposes, and fulfill its task, only insofar as its teachers, whether priests, religious, or laymen, educate and turn out true Christians.

Schools of the Apostolate

47. Everyone is aware of the great importance, present and future, of the mission country schools, and of how much effort and work the Church has devoted to establishing schools of every description and level and to defending their existence and well-being. It is obviously difficult to add to school curricula a program of formation for Catholic Action executives, and therefore it will often be necessary to resort to extracurricular methods to bring together the most promising youths, and train them in the theory and practice of the apostolate. The local ordinaries must, therefore, use their prudent judgment in assessing the best ways and means for opening schools of the apostolate, in which, obviously, the type of instruction will be different from that in ordinary schools. Sometimes the task will be to preserve from false doctrine children and adolescents who must attend non-Catholic schools; in any event, it will always be necessary to balance the humanistic and technological education offered by the public schools with a formation based on spiritual values, so that the schools may not turn out falsely educated men, swollen with arrogance, who can hurt the Church and their own people instead of helping them. Their spiritual education must always be commensurate with their intellectual development, and must be planned to make them lead a life inspired by Catholic principles in their particular social and professional environments; in time, they must be able to take their places in Catholic organizations. To this end, if Catholic youths should be forced to leave their communities and attend public schools in other towns and cities, it will be expedient to open social centers and boarding houses, in which Christian life and morals are safely preserved, and the talents and energies of the young people are directed toward lofty apostolic ideals. By thus entrusting to the schools the special and highly useful tasks of preparing Catholic Action executives, We do not, however, intend to exempt families from their responsibilities, or to minimize in any way their influence, which at times equips them even better for nurturing apostolic fervor in the souls of their children, for instructing them in Christian precepts, and for preparing them for action. The home is, in fact, an excellent and irreplaceable school.

Problems in Public Life

48. The "good fight"⁸⁰ in the cause of the Faith is fought not only in the secrecy of the individual conscience or in the privacy of the home, but also in public life in all of its forms. In all the different parts of the world there exist nowadays problems of various kinds. There is no solution to these problems in exclusively human advice nor in principles which are often in contrast with the precepts of Christian law. Several mission countries are now "undergoing such speedy changes in social, economic, and political life that their entire future appears to depend on the outcome of those changes."⁸¹ Indeed, problems which some countries have already solved or are solving with the help of their experience and traditions, are urgently in need of solution in other countries. There the problems are beset by serious dangers, inasmuch as they could be approached with deplorable levity, by resorting to certain doctrines which disregard, or even oppose, the religious values of individuals and nations. In order to safeguard both their private interests and those of the Church, Catholics must not ignore such problems, or wait until they are given the wrong solutions, which would thereafter require a much greater expenditure of energy in order to correct them and would place further obstacles in the path of the propagation of the Christian religious in the world.

Christians in Public Life

49. The laymen of mission countries exert their most direct and effective influence in the field of public activity, and it is necessary that Christian communities take urgent, timely measures to bring laymen into the public life of their countries for the common good-men who not only acquit themselves creditably in their professions and trades, but are also an asset to the Church which re-created them in her grace. Thus may their pastors praise them with the words which we read in the writings of St. Basil: "I thanked the Most Holy God for the fact that, even though busily attending to public affairs, you did not neglect the interests of the Church: on the contrary, each one of you has been solicitous of her affairs just as though they had been your own private affairs, and, indeed, as though your life depended on it."⁸²

50. Particularly in the held of education, in organized public welfare, in trade unions, and in public administration, will the talents of local Catholic experts play a paramount role, if they, following the duty imposed by their consciences-a duty whose neglect would be traitorous-base their thinking and action on Christian principles. These, as we learn from experience acquired in the course of many centuries, possess the highest power and influence for the pursuit of the common good.

Aid to Missions from Catholic Groups

51. Everybody knows how the mutual assistance which is exchanged among Catholic organizations established all over the world can be-as Our predecessor Pius XII has pointed out-of great use and much value to the apostolate of the laity in mission territories. On the educational plane, these organizations can help by devising Christian solutions to current problems, especially social problems, in the newly established nations; on the apostolic plane, they can help by recruiting and organizing a body of laymen, willing to serve under Christ's banner. We know that this has been done, and is being done, by lay missionaries who chose to leave their countries, either temporarily or for life, in order to contribute, by manifold activities, to the social and religious welfare of mission countries. Let us pray fervently to God that the numbers of these generous Christians be multiplied, and that God's support will never be absent in their difficulties and labors, which they are meeting with truly apostolic spirit. The Secular Institutes will be able to give the local laity in mission territories generous and loyal help, if, by their example, they attract imitators, and if they place their talents and work, promptly and willingly, at the disposal of the local ordinaries, in order to speed the growing-up process of the new Christian communities.

Lay Help From Afar

52. We appeal especially to all Catholic laymen everywhere who are distinguishing themselves in their professions and in public life to consider seriously how they can help their newly acquired brethren in the Faith, even without leaving their countries. They can do this by giving them the benefit of their advice, their experience, and their technical assistance; they can, without too much labor or grave inconvenience, sometimes give them help that will be decisive. Good men will surely find a way to fulfill this fatherly desire of Ours. They will make Our wish known to those whom they find favorably disposed, in order first to arouse good will, and then to channel it into the most suitable work.

Students from Abroad

53. Our immediate predecessor exhorted the bishops "with the same affectionate interest that shares work with others in fraternal harmony and excludes all selfish considerations" to provide for the spiritual assistance of young Catholics who come to their dioceses from mission countries to study and to acquire the necessary experience for assuming leadership in their own nations.⁸³ All of you, Venerable Brethren, are aware of the intellectual and moral dangers to which they will be exposed in a society which is not only different from their own but also, alas, may be unfavorable ground for the growth of their Faith, and not capable of attracting them to the practice of Christian virtue. Each one of you, moved by the missionary spirit which is a conscientious duty of all pastors, will meet this situation with the greatest charity and zeal, using the most suitable means. It will not be difficult for you to find these students and entrust them to the care of priests and laymen who are equipped for this task. It should not be difficult to assuage their spiritual needs, and, last but not least, to have them experience the sweet consolations of Christian charity in which we are all brothers, ministering to one another's welfare. Therefore, to the many kinds of help which you are now giving the missions, add this particular one, which brings close to your hearts those regions of the world which, although far away, are entrusted to your care.

54. To these students We would like not only to reveal the affection We feel for them, but also to exhort them, urgently and lovingly, to carry their heads high and proud, marked with the sign of Jesus' blood and with the sacred chrism; We would like to exhort them during their stay abroad never to bypass an opportunity not only to acquire the right professional training but also to achieve perfection in their religious education. Although they will be exposed to dangers and evils, they will nevertheless have a wonderful opportunity to share in many spiritual advantages while living in Catholic countries, if all the faithful remember that, whoever and wherever they are, they must be a good example to others and bring mutual edification to one another.