The Authority of Bishops and the Respect Due to Them

10. The fundamental principle of this concord of which We speak is at once the same in religion and in every rightly constituted State; it is obedience to the lawful authority which orders, forbids, directs, legislates, and thus establishes harmonious union amid the diverse minds of men. We shall here have to repeat some well-known truths, which, however, ought not to be the subjects of mere speculative knowledge, but should become rules applicable to the practice of life.