|
Text
To the Patriarchs,
Primates, Archbishops, and
Bishops of the Catholic World in Grace and
Communion avith the Apostolic See.
When
by God's unsearchable design, We, though all unworthy, were raised to the
height of apostolic dignity, at once We felt Ourselves moved by an urgent
desire and, as it were, necessity, to address you by letter, not merely to
express to you Our very deep feeling of love, but further, in accordance with
the task entrusted to Us from heaven, to strengthen you who are called to share
Our solicitude, that you may help Us to carry on the battle now being waged on
behalf of the Church of God and the salvation of souls.
2.
For, from the very beginning of Our pontificate, the sad sight has presented
itself to Us of the evils by which the human race is oppressed on every side:
the widespread subversion of the primary truths on which, as on its
foundations, human society is based; the obstinacy of mind that will not brook
any authority however lawful; the endless sources of disagreement,whence arrive
civil strife, and ruthless war and bloodshed; the contempt of law which molds
characters and is the shield of righteousness; the insatiable craving for
things perishable, with complete forgetfulness of things eternal, leading up to
the desperate madness whereby so many wretched beings, in all directions,
scruple not to lay violent hands upon themselves; the reckless mismanagement,
waste, and misappropriation of the public funds; the shamelessness of those
who, full of treachery, make semblance of being champions of country, of
freedom, and every kind of right; in fine, the deadly kind of plague which
infects in its inmost recesses, allowing it no respite and foreboding ever
fresh disturbances and final disaster.1
3.
Now, the source of these evils lies chiefly, We are convinced, in this, that
the holy and venerable authority of the Church, which in God's name rules
mankind, upholding and defending all lawful authority, has been despised and set
aside. The enemies of public order, being fully aware of this, have thought
nothing better suited to destroy the foundations of society than to make an
unflagging attack upon the Church of God, to bring her into discredit and odium
by spreading infamous calumnies and accusing her of being opposed to genuine
progress. They labor to weaken her influence and power by wounds daily
inflicted, and to overthrow the authority of the Bishop of Rome, in whom the
abiding and unchangeable principles of right and good find their earthly
guardian and champion. From these causes have originated laws that shake the
structure of the Catholic Church, the enacting whereof we have to deplore in so
many lands; hence, too, have floured forth contempt of episcopal authority; the
obstacles thrown in the way of the discharge of ecclesiastical duties; the
dissolution of religious bodies; and the confiscation of property that was once
the support of the Church's ministers and of the poor. Thereby, public
institutions, vowed to charity and benevolence, have been withdrawn from the
wholesome control of the Church; thence, also, has arisen that unchecked
freedom to teach and spread abroad all mischievous principles, while the
Church's claim to train and educate youth is in every way outraged and baffled.
Such, too, is the purpose of the seizing of the temporal power, conferred many
centuries ago by Divine Providence on the Bishop of Rome, that he might without
let or hindrance use the authority conferred by Christ for the eternal welfare of
the nations.2
4.
We have recalled to your minds, venerable brothers, this deathly mass of ills,
not to increase the sorrow naturally caused by this most sad state of things,
but because we believe that from its consideration you will most plainly see
how serious are the matters claiming our attention as well as devotedness, and
with what energy We should work and, more than ever, under the present adverse
conditions, protect, so far as in Us lies, the Church of Christ and the honor
of the apostolic see-the objects of so many slanders-and assert their claims.
5.
It is perfectly clear and evident, venerable brothers, that the very notion of
civilization is a fiction of the brain if it rest not on the abiding principles
of truth and the unchanging laws of virtue and justice, and if unfeigned love
knit not together the wills of men, and gently control the interchange and the
character of their mutual service. Now, who would make bold to deny that the
Church, by spreading the Gospel throughout the nations, has brought the light
of truth amongst people utterly savage and steeped in foul superstition, and
has quickened them alike to recognize the Divine Author of nature and duly to
respect themselves? Further, who will deny that the Church has done away with
the curse of slavery and restored men to the original dignity of their noble
nature; and-by uplifting the standard of redemption in all quarters of the
globe, by introducing, or shielding under her protection, the sciences and
arts, by founding and taking into her keeping excellent charitable institutions
which provide relief for ills of every kind-has throughout the world, in
private or in public life, civilized the human race, freed it from degradation,
and with all care trained it to a way of Living such as befits the dignity and
the hopes of man? And if any one of sound mind compare the age in which We
live, so hostile to religion and to the Church of Christ, with those happy
times when the Church was revered as a mother by the nations, beyond all
question he will see that our epoch is rushing wildly along the straight road
to destruction; while in those times which most abounded in excellent
institutions, peaceful life, wealth, and prosperity the people showed themselves
most obedient to the Church's rule and laws. Therefore, if the many blessings
We have mentioned, due to the agency and saving help of the Church, are the
true and worthy outcome of civilization, the Church of Christ, far from being
alien to or neglectful of progress, has a just claim to all men's praise as its
nurse, its mistress, and its mother.
6.
Furthermore, that kind of civilization which conflicts with the doctrines and laws
of holy Church is nothing but a worthless imitation and meaningless name. Of
this those peoples on whom the Gospel light has never shown afford ample proof,
since in their mode of life a shadowy semblance only of civilization is
discoverable, while its true and solid blessings have never been possessed.
Undoubtedly, that cannot by any means be accounted the perfection of civilized
life which sets all legitimate authority boldly at defiance; nor can that be
regarded as liberty which, shamefully and by the vilest means, spreading false
principles, and freely indulging the sensual gratification of lustful desires,
claims impunity for all crime and misdemeanor, and thwarts the goodly influence
of the worthiest citizens of whatsoever class. Delusive, perverse, and
misleading as are these principles, they cannot possibly have any inherent
power to perfect the human race and fill it with blessing, for "sin maketh
nations miserable."3 Such principles, as a matter of course, must
hurry nations, corrupted in mind and heart, into every kind of infamy, weaken
all right order, and thus, sooner or later, bring the standing and peace of the
State to the very brink of ruin.
7.
Again, if We consider the achievements of the see of Rome, what can be more wicked than to
deny how much and how well the Roman bishops have served civilized society at
large? For Our predecessors, to provide for the peoples' good, encountered
struggles of every kind, endured to the utmost burdensome toils, and never hesitated
to expose themselves to most dangerous trials. With eyes fixed on heaven, they
neither bowed down their head before the threats of the wicked, nor allowed
themselves to be led by flattery or bribes into unworthy compliance. This
apostolic chair it was that gathered and held together the crumbling remains of
the old order of things; this was the kindly light by whose help the culture of
Christian times shone far and wide; this was an anchor or safety in the fierce
storms by which the human race has been convulsed; this was the sacred bond of
union that linked together nations distant in region and differing in
character; in short, this was a common center from which was sought instruction
in faith and religion, no less than guidance and advice for the maintenance of
peace and the functions of practical life. In very truth it is the glory of the
supreme Pontiffs that they steadfastly set themselves up as a wall and a
bulwark to save human society from falling back into its former superstition
and barbarism.
8.
Would that this healing authority had never been slighted or set aside!
Assuredly, neither would the civil power have lost that venerable and sacred
glory, the lustrous gift of religion, which alone renders the state of
subjection noble and worthy of man; nor would so many revolutions and wars have
been fomented to ravage the world with desolation and bloodshed; nor would
kingdoms, once so flourishing, but now fallen from the height of prosperity,
lie crushed beneath the weight of every kind of calamity. Of this the peoples
of the East also furnish an example, who, by breaking the most sweet yoke that
bound them to this apostolic see, forfeited the splendor of their former
greatness, their renown in science and art, and the dignity of their sway.
9.
Of these remarkable benefits, however, which illustrious monuments of all ages
prove to have flowed upon every quarter of the world from the apostolic see,
this land of Italy has had the most abounding experience. For it
has derived advantages from the see of Rome proportionate to the greater
nearness of its natural situation. Unquestionably, to the Roman Pontiffs it is
that Italy must own herself indebted for the substantial
glory and majesty by which she has been preeminent amongst nations. The
influence and fatherly care of the Popes have upon many occasions shielded her
from hostile attack and brought her relief and aid, the effect of which is that
the Catholic faith has been ever maintained inviolate in the hearts of Italians.
10.
These services of Our predecessors, to omit mention of many others, have been
witnessed to in a special manner by the records of the times of St. Leo the
Great, Alexander III, Innocent III, St. Pius V, Leo X, and other Pontiffs,4
by whose exertions or protection Italy has escaped unscathed from the utter
destruction threatened by barbarians; has kept unimpaired her old faith, and,
amid the darkness and defilement of the ruder age, has cultivated and preserved
in vigor the luster of science and the splendor of art. To this, furthermore,
bears witness Our own fostering city, the home of the
Popes, which, under their rule, reaped this special benefit, that it not only
was the strong citadel of the faith, but also became the refuge of the liberal
arts and the very abode of wisdom winning for itself the admiration and respect
of the whole world. As these facts in all their amplitude have been handed down
in historical records for the perpetual remembrance of posterity, it is easy to
understand that it is only with hostile design and shameless calumny-meant to
mislead men-that any one can venture in speech and in writing to accuse the
apostolic see of being an obstacle to the civil progress of nations and to the
prosperity of Italy.
11.
Seeing, therefore, that all the hopes of Italy and of the whole world lie in
the power, so beneficent to the common good and profit, wherewith the authority
of the apostolic see is endowed, and in the close union which binds all the
faithful of Christ to the Roman Pontiff, We recognize that nothing should be
nearer Our heart than how to preserve safe and sound the dignity of the Roman
see, and to strengthen ever more and more the union of members with the head,
of the children with their father.
12.
Wherefore, that We may above all things, and in every possible way, maintain
the rights and freedom of this holy see, We shall never cease to strive that
Our authority may meet with due deference; that obstacles may be removed which
hamper the free exercise of Our ministry and that We may be restored to that
condition of things in which the design of God's wisdom had long ago placed the
Roman Pontiffs. We are moved to demand this restoration, venerable brethren,
not by any feeling of ambition or desire of supremacy, but by the nature of Our
office and by Our sacred promise confirmed on oath; and further, not only
because this sovereignty is essential to protect and preserve the full liberty
of the spiritual power, but also because it is an ascertained fact that, when
the temporal sovereignty of the apostolic see is in question, the cause of the
public good and the well-being of all human society in general are also at
stake. Hence, We cannot omit, in the discharge of Our duty, which obliges Us to
guard the rights of holy Church, to renew and confirm in every particular by
this Our letter those declarations and protests which Pius IX,5
of sacred memory, Our predecessor, on many and repeated occasions published
against the seizing of the civil sovereignty and the infringement of rights
belonging to the Catholic Church. At the same time We address ourselves to
princes and chief rulers of the nations, and earnestly beseech them in the
august name of the Most High God, not to refuse the Church's aid, proffered
them in a season of such need, but with united and friendly aims, to join
themselves to her as the source of authority and salvation, and to attach
themselves to her more and more in the bonds of hearty love and devotedness.
God grant that-seeing the truth of Our words and considering within themselves
that the teaching of Christ is, as Augustine used to say, "a great
blessing to the State, if obeyed,"6 and that their own peace and
safety, as well as that of their people, is bound up with the safety of the
Church and the reverence due to her-they may give their whole thought and care
to mitigating the evils by which the Church and its visible head are harassed,
and so it may at last come to pass that the peoples whom they govern may enter
on the way of justice and peace, and rejoice in a happy era of prosperity and
glory.
13.
In the next place, in order that the union of hearts between their chief Pastor
and the whole Catholic flock may daily be strengthened, We here call upon you,
venerable brothers, with particular earnestness, and strongly urge you to
kindle, with priestly zeal and pastoral care, the fire of the love of religion
among the faithful entrusted to you, that their attachment to this chair of
truth and justice may become closer and firmer, that they may welcome all its
teachings with thorough assent of mind and will, wholly rejecting such opinion,
even when most widely received, as they know to be contrary to the Church's
doctrine. In this matter, the Roman Pontiffs, Our predecessors, and the last of
all, Pius IX, of sacred memory, especially in the General Council of the Vatican, have not neglected, so often as
there was need, to condemn widespreading errors and to smite them with the
apostolic condemnation. This they did, keeping before their eyes the words of St. Paul: "Beware lest any man cheat
you by philosophy and vain deceit, according to the tradition of men, according
to the elements of the world and not according to Christ."7 All
such censures, We, following in the steps of Our predecessors, do confirm and
renew from this apostolic seat of truth, whilst We earnestly ask of the Father
of lights8 that all the faithful, brought to thorough agreement in the
like feeling and the same belief, may think and speak even as Ourselves. It is
your duty, venerable brothers, sedulously to strive that the seed of heavenly
doctrine be sown broadcast in the field of God, and that the teachings of the
Catholic faith may be implanted early in the souls of the faithful, may strike
deep root in them, and be kept free from the ruinous blight of error. The more
the enemies of religion exert themselves to offer the uninformed, especially
the young, such instruction as darkens the mind and corrupts morals, the more
actively should we endeavor that not only a suitable and solid method of
education may flourish but above all that this education be wholly in harmony
with the Catholic faith in its literature and system of training, and chiefly
in philosophy, upon which the direction of other sciences in great measure
depends.9 Philosophy seeks not the overthrow of divine revelation, but
delights rather to prepare its way, and defend it against assailants, both by
example and in written works, as the great Augustine and the Angelic Doctor,
with all other teachers of Christian wisdom, have proved to Us.
14.
Now, the training of youth most conducive to the defense of true faith and
religion and to the preservation of morality must find its beginning from an
early stage within the circle of home life; and this family Christian training
sadly undermined in these our times, cannot possibly be restored to its due
dignity, save by those laws under which it was established in the Church by her
Divine Founder Himself. Our Lord Jesus Christ, by raising to the dignity of a
sacrament the contract of matrimony, in which He would have His own union with
the Church typified, not only made the marriage tie more holy, but, in
addition, provided efficacious sources of aid for parents and children alike,
so that, by the discharge of their duties one to another, they might with
greater ease attain to happiness both in time and in eternity. But when impious
laws, setting at naught the sanctity of this great sacrament, put it on the
same footing of mere civil contracts, the lamentable result followed, that,
outraging the dignity of Christian matrimony, citizens made use of legalized
concubinage in place of marriage; husband and wife neglected their bounden duty
to each other; children refused obedience and reverence to their parents; the
bonds of domestic love were loosened; and alas! the
worst scandal and of all the most ruinous to public morality, very frequently
an unholy passion opened the door to disastrous and fatal separations. These
most unhappy and painful consequences, venerable brothers, cannot fail to
arouse your zeal and move you constantly and earnestly to warn the faithful
committed to your charge to listen with docility to your teaching regarding the
holiness of Christian marriage, and to obey laws by which the Church controls
the duties of married people and of their offspring.10
15.
Then, indeed, will that most desirable result come about, that the character
and conduct of individuals also will be reformed; for, just as from a rotten
stock are produced healthless branches or worthless fruits, so do the ravages
of a pestilence which ruins the household spread wide their cruel infection to
the hurt and injury of individual citizens. On the other hand, when domestic
society is fashioned in the mould of Christian life, each member will gradually
grow accustomed to the love of religion and piety, to the abhorrence of false
and harmful teaching, to the persuit of virtue, to obedience to elders, and to
the restraint of the insatiable seeking after self interest alone, which so
spoils and weakens the character of men. To this end it will certainly help not
a little to encourage and promote those pious associations which have been
established, in our own times especially, with so great profit to the cause of
the Catholic religion.
16.
Great indeed and beyond the strength of man are these objects of our hopes and
prayers, venerable brothers; but, since God has "made the nations of the
earth for health,"11 when He founded the Church for the welfare of
the peoples, and promised that He will abide with her by His assistance to the
end of the world, We firmly trust that, through your endeavors, the human race,
taking warning from so many evils and visitations, will submit themselves at
length to the Church, and turn for health and prosperity to the infallible
guidance of this apostolic see.
17.
Meanwhile, venerable brothers, before bringing this letter to a close, We must express Our congratulations on the striking harmony
and concord which unites your minds among yourselves and with this apostolic
see. This perfect union We regard as not merely an impregnable bulwark against
hostile attacks, but also as an auspicious and happy omen, presaging better
times for the Church; and, while it yields great relief to Our weakness, it
seasonably encourages Us to endure with readiness all labors and all struggles
on behalf of God's Church in the arduous task which We have undertaken.
18.
Moreover, from the causes of hope and rejoicing which We have made known to you
We cannot separate those tokens of love and obedience which you, venerable
brethren, in these first days of Our pontificate, have shown Our lowliness, and
with you so many of the clergy and the faithful, who by letters sent, by
offerings given, by pilgrimages undertaken, and by other works of love, have
made it clear that the devotion and charity which they manifested to Our most
worthy predecessor still lasts, so strong and steadfast and unchanged as not to
slacken toward the person of a successor so much inferior. For these splendid
tokens of Catholic piety We humbly confess to the Lord that He is good and
gracious, while to you, venerable brothers, and to all Our beloved children
from whom We have received them, We publicly, from the bottom of Our heart,
avow the grateful feelings of Our soul, cherishing the fullest confidence that,
in the present critical state of things and in the difficulties of the times,
this your devotion and love and the devotion and love of the faithful will
never fail Us. Nor have We any doubt that these conspicuous examples of filial
piety and Christian virtue will be of such avail as to make Our most merciful
God, moved by these dutiful deeds, look with favor on His flock and grant the
Church peace and victory. But as We are sure that this peace and victory will
more quickly and more readily be given Us, if the faithful are unremitting in their
prayers and supplications to obtain it, We earnestly exhort you, venerable
brothers, to stir up for this end the zeal and ardor of the faithful, taking
the Immaculate Queen of Heaven as their intercessor with God, and having
recourse as their advocates to St. Joseph, the heavenly patron of the Church,
and to Sts. Peter and Paul, the Princes of the Apostles. To the powerful
patronage of all these We humbly commit Our lowliness,
all ranks of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and all the flock of Christ our Lord.
19.
For the rest, We trust that these days, on which We renew the memory of Jesus
Christ, risen from the dead, may be to you, venerable brothers, and to all the
fold of God, a source of blessing and salvation and fullness of holy joy,
praying our most gracious God that by the blood of the Lamb without spot, which
blotted out the handwriting that was against Us, the sins We have committed may
be washed away, and the judgment We are suffering for them may mercifully be
mitigated.
"The grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and the Charity of God, and the communication of the Holy Spirit
be with you all,"12 venerable brothers;
to each and all of whom, as well as to Our beloved children, the clergy and
faithful of your churches, as a pledge of Our special good-will and as an
earnest of the protection of heaven, We lovingly impart the apostolic
benediction.
Given at St. Peter's, in
Rome, on the solemnity of Easter, the twenty-first
day of April, 1878, in the first year of our pontificate.
LEO XIII
|