Appendix I (part 2 of 2)

De religione autem putare, nihil inter formas dispares et contrarias interesse, hunc plane habet exitum, nolle ullam probare judicio, nolle usu. Atqui istud ab atheismo, si nomine aliquid differt, re nihil differt. Quibus enim Deum esse persuasum est, ii, modo constare sibi, nec esse perabsurdi velint, necessario intelligunt, usitatas in cultu divino rationes, quarum tanta est differentiæ maximisque etiam de rebus

But to think with regard to religion that there is no difference between unlike and contrary forms, clearly will have this issue—an unwillingness to test any one form in theory and practice. This, if it differs from atheism in name, is in fact the same thing. Men who really believe in the existence of God, if they are to be consistent and not supremely ridiculous, will of necessity understand that different methods of divine worship involving

dissimilitudo et pugna, æque probabiles, æque bonas, æque Deo acceptas esse omnes non posse. dissimilarity and conflict, even on the most important points, cannot be all equally probable, equally good, and equally accepted by God.

Sic illa quidlibet sentiendi litterarumque formis quidlibet exprimendi facultas, omni moderatione posthabita, non quoddam est propria vi sua bonum, quo societas humana jure lætetur: sed multorum malorum fons et origo.—Libertas, ut quæ virtus est hominem perficiens, debet in eo quod verum sit, quodque bonum, versari: boni autem verique ratio mutari ad hominis arbitrium non potest, sed manet semper eadem, neque minus est quam ipsa rerum natura, incommutabilis. Si mens adsentiatur opinionibus falsis, si malum voluntas adsumat et ad id se applicet, perfectionem sui neutra consequitur, sed excidunt dignitate naturali et in corruptum ambæ delabuntur. Quæcumque sunt igitur virtuti veritatique contraria, ea in luce atque in oculis hominum ponere non est æquum; gratia tutelave legum defendere, multo minus. Sola bene acta vita via est in cælum, quo tendimus universi: ob eamque rem aberrat civitas a regula et præscriptione naturæ, si licentiam opinionum praveque factorum

And thus that faculty of thinking whatever you like and expressing whatever you like to think in writing, without any thought of moderation, is not of its own nature a good in which human society can rightly rejoice, but on the contrary a fount and origin of many ills. Liberty, as being a virtue perfecting man, must have for its sphere the good and the true; but the true and the good cannot be changed at the pleasure of man, but remains ever the same, and is not less unchangeable than nature herself. If the mind assent to false opinions, if the will choose for itself evil, and apply itself thereto, neither attains its perfection, but both fall from their natural dignity, and both lapse by degrees into corruption. Whatever things, therefore, are contrary to virtue and truth, these it is no right to place in the light before the eyes of men, far less to defend by the favor and protection of the laws. A well-spent life is the only path to that heaven wither we all direct our steps; and on this account the State departs from the law and the ruling of nature if it allows license

in tantum lascivire sinat, in impune liceat mentes a veritate, animos a virtute deducere. Ecclesiam vero, quam Deus ipse constituit ah actione vitæ excludere, a legibus, ab institutione adolescentium, a societate domestica, magnus et perniciosus est error. of opinion and of evil doing to run riot to such a degree as to lead minds astray with impunity from the truth, and hearts from the practice of virtue. But to exclude the Church which God himself has constituted from the business of life, from the laws, from the teaching of youth, from domestic society, is a great and pernicious error.

Bene morata civitas esse, sublata religione, non potest: jamque plus fortasse quam oporteret, est cognitum, qualis in se sit et quorsum pertineat, illa de vita et moribus philosophia, quam civilem nominant. Vera est magistra virtutis et morum custos Ecclesia Christi: ea est, quæ incolumia tuetur principia unde officia ducuntur, propositisque causis ad honesti vivendum efficacissimis, jubet non solum fugere prave facta, sed regere motus animi rationi contrarios etiam sine affectu.

A State cannot be well regulated when religion is taken away; and by this time more perhaps is known than need be of that philosophy of life and morals which men call civil—what its nature is, and what its results are. The Church of Christ is the true teacher of virtue and guardian of morals; it is she who keeps in safety the principles of duty, and by proposing most efficacious reasons for an honest life, bids us not only fly from wicked deeds, but rule the motions of the mind which are contrary to reason even though no act should follow.

Ecclesiam vero in suorum officiorum munere potestati civili velle esse subjectam, magna quidem injuria, magna temeritas est. Hoc facto perturbatur ordo, quia quæ naturalia sunt præponuntur iis quæ sunt supra naturam: tollitur aut certe magnopere minuitur frequentia bonorum, quibus, si nulla re impediretur, communem

To wish the Church in the discharge of her offices to be subject to the civil power is great rashness, great injustice. If this were done order would be disturbed, since things natural would thus be put before those which are above nature; a multitude of benefits, with which, if there were nothing to hinder her, the Church would enrich the life of

vitam Ecclesia compleret: prætereaque via ad inimicitias munitur et certamina, quæ, quanquam utrique reipublicæ perniciem afferant, nimis sæpe eventus demonstravit. the community, either disappears or at all events is considerably diminished, and besides, a way is opened to enmities and conflicts—and how great the evils are that they have brought on both governments (the ecclesiastical and the civil) the course of history has too frequently shown.

Hujusmodi doctrinas, quæ nec humanæ rationi probantur, et plurimum habent in civilem disciplinam momenti, Romani pontifices decessores nostri, cum probe intelligerent quid a se postularet apostolicum munus, impune abire nequaquam passi sunt. Sic Gregorius XVI per Encyclicas litteras hoc initio Mirari vos, die xv Augusti anno MDCCCXXXII, magna sententiarum gravitate ea perculit, quæ jam prædicabantur, in cultu divino nullum adhibere delectum oportere: integrum singulis esse, quod malint, de religione judicare: solam cuique suam esse conscientiam judicem: præterea edere quæ quisque senserit, itemque res moliri novas in civitate licere. De rationibus rei sacræ reique civilis distrahendis sic idem pontifex: "Neque lætiora et religioni et principatui ominari possemus ex eorum votis, qui Ecclesiam a regno separari, mutuamque imperii cum sacerdotio

Such doctrines, which are not approved by human reason, and are of the greatest gravity as regards civil discipline, the Roman pontiffs, our predecessors—well understanding what the apostolic office required of them—by no means suffered to go without condemnation. Thus Gregory XVI., by Encyclical Letter beginning Mirari vos, of August 15, 1832, inveighed with weighty words against those doctrines which were already being preached, namely, that in divine worship no preference should be made; and that it was left to individuals to judge of religion according to their personal preferences, that each man's conscience was to himself his sole sufficient guide, and that it was lawful to promulgate whatsoever each man might think, and to make a revolution in the State. Concerning the reasons for the separation of Church and State, the same pontiff speaks thus: "Nor can we hope happier results either

concordiam abrumpi discupiunt. Constat quippe pertimesci ab impudentissimæ libertatis amatoribus concordiam illam, quæ semper rei et sacræ et civili fausta, extitit et salutaris." for religion or government from the wishes of those who are eagerly desirous that the Church should be separated from the State, and the mutual good understanding of the sovereign secular power and the sacerdotal authority be broken up. It is evident that these lovers of most shameless liberty dread that concord which has always been fortunate and wholesome, both for sacred and civil interests."

Non absimili modo Pius IX., ut sese opportunitas dedit, ex opinionibus falsis, quæ maxime valere coepissent, plures notavit, easdemque postea in unum cogi jussit, ut scilicet in tanta errorum colluvione haberent Catholici homines, quod sine offensione sequerentur.³⁸⁰

To the like effect Pius IX., as opportunity offered, noted many false opinions which had begun to be of great strength, and afterwards ordered them to be collected together in order that in so great a conflux of errors Catholics might have something which they might follow without stumbling.

Ex iis autem pontificum præscriptis illa omnino intelligi necesse est, ortum publicæ potestatis a Deo ipso, non a multitudine repeti oportere: seditionum licentiam cum ratione pugnare: officia

From these decisions of the popes it is clearly to be understood that the origin of public power is to be sought from God himself and not from the multitude; that free play for sedition is repugnant to reason;

religionis nullo loco numerare, vel uno modo esse in disparibus generibus affectos, nefas esse privatis hominibus, nefas civitatibus: immoderatam sentiendi sensusque palam jactandi potestatem non esse in civium juribus neque in rebus gratia patrocinioque dignis ulla ratione ponendam.—Similiter intelligi debet, Ecclesiam societatem esse, non minus quam ipsum civitatem, genere et jure perfectam: neque debere, qui summam imperii teneant, committere ut sibi servire aut subesse Ecclesiam cogant, aut minus esse sinant ad suas res agendas liberam, aut quicquam de ceteris juribus detrahant, quæ in ipsam a Jesu Christo collata sunt. that it is a crime for private individuals and a crime for States to make no account of the duties of religion, or to treat different kinds of religion in the same way; that the uncontrolled power of thinking and publicly proclaiming one's thoughts has no place among the rights of citizens, and cannot in any way be reckoned among those things which are worthy of favor or defense. Similarly it ought to be understood that the Church is a society, no less than the State itself, perfect in kind and right, and that those who exercise sovereignty ought not to act so as to compel the Church to be their slave or subject, or suffer her to have less than liberty to transact her own affairs, or detract aught from the other rights which have been conferred upon her by Jesus Christ.

In negotiis autem mixti juris, maxime esse secundum naturam itemque secundum Dei consilia non secessionem alterius potestatis ab altera, multoque minus contentionem, sed plane concordiam, eamque cum caussis proximis cengruentem, quæ caussæ utramque societatem genuerunt.

That in matters, however, of mixed jurisdiction, it is in the highest degree in accordance with nature and also with the counsels of God—not that one power should secede from the other, still less come into conflict, but that that harmony and concord should be preserved which is most akin to the proximate cause and end of both societies.

Hæc quidem sunt, quæ de constituendis temperandisque civitatibus

These, then, are the things taught by the Catholic Church concerning

ab Ecclesia Catholica præcipiuntur.—Quibus tamen dictis decretisque si recte dijudicare velit, nulla per se reprehenditur ex variis reipublicæ formis, ut quæ nihil habent, quod doctrinæ Catholicæ repugnet, eædemque possunt, si sapienter adhibeantur et juste, in optimo statu tueri civitatem.—Immo neque illud per se reprehenditur, participem plus minus esse populum reipublicæ: quod ipsum certis in temporibus certisque legibus potest non solum ad utilitatem, sed etiam ad officium pertinere civium.—Insuper neque caussa justa nascitur, ut Ecclesiam quisquam criminetur, aut esse in lenitate facilitateque plus æquo restrictam, aut ei, quæ germana et legitima sit, libertati inimicam.—Revera si divina cultus varia genera eodem jure esse quo veram religionem, Ecclesia judicat non licere, non ideo tamen eos damnat rerum publicarum moderatores, qui magni alicujus aut adipiscendi boni, aut prohibendi caussa mali, moribus atque usu patienter ferunt, ut ea habeant singula in civitatem locum.—Atque illud quoque magnopere cavere Ecclesia solet ut ad amplexandam fidem Catholicam nemo invitus cogatur, quia quod sapienter Augustinus monet, credere the constitution and government of States. Concerning these sayings and decrees, if a man will only judge dispassionately, no form of government is, per se, condemned so long as it has nothing repugnant to Catholic doctrine, and is able, if wisely and justly administered, to preserve the State in the best condition. Nor is it, per se, to be condemned whether the people have a greater or less share in the government; for at certain times and with the guarantee of certain laws, such participation may appertain, not only to the usefulness, but even to the duty of the citizens. Moreover, there is no just cause why any one should condemn the Church as being too restricted in gentleness, or inimical to that liberty which is natural and legitimate. In truth, though the Church judges it not lawful that the various kinds of divine worship should have the same right as the true religion, still it does not therefore condemn those governors of States who, for the sake of acquiring some great good, or preventing some great ill, patiently bear with manners and customs so that each kind of religion has its place in the State. Indeed, the Church is wont diligently to take heed that no one be compelled against his will to embrace the Catholic

non potest homo nisi volens.³⁸¹ faith, for, as Augustin wisely observes, "no one can believe if he is not willing."³⁸²

Simili ratione nec potest Ecclesia libertatem probare eam, quæ fastidium gignat sanctissimarum Dei legum, debitamque potestati legitimæ obedientiam exuat. Est enim licentia verius, quam libertas rectissimeque ab Augustino libertas perditionis,³⁸³ a Petro Apostolo velamen malitiæ³⁸⁴ appellatur: immo, cum sit præter rationem, vera servitus est: qui, enim, facit peccatum, servus est peccati.³⁸⁵ Contra illa germana est atque expetenda libertas quæ, si privatim spectetur, erroribus et cupiditatibus teterrimis dominis hominem servire non sinit: si publice, civibus sapienter præest, facultatem augendorum commodorum large ministrat: remque publicam ab alieno arbitrio defendit.—Atqui honestam hanc et homine dignam libertatem, Ecclesia probat omnium maxime, eamque ut tueretur in populis firmam atque integram eniti et contendere nunquam destitit.

For a similar reason the Church cannot approve of that liberty which generates a contempt of the most sacred laws of God and puts away the obedience due to legitimate power. For this is license rather than liberty, and is most correctly called by Augustin "the liberty of perdition;"³⁸⁶ by the Apostle Peter, "a cloak for malice,"³⁸⁷ indeed, since it is contrary to reason, it is a true servitude, for "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin."³⁸⁸ On the other hand, that is the genuine and desirable liberty which, if it be considered in relation to the individual, suffers not men to be the slaves of errors and evil desires, the worst of masters; and, in relation to the State, presides wisely over the citizens, greatly facilitates the increase of public advantages, and defends the public interest from alien rule. This blameless liberty, worthy of man, the Church approves above all, and has never ceased striving and contending to keep sound and whole among the people.

Revera quæ res in civitate plurimum ad communem salutem possunt: quæ sunt contra licentiam

In very truth whatever things in the State chiefly avail for the common safety; whatever have been

principum populo male consulentium utiliter institutæ: quæ summam, rempublicam vetant in municipalem, vel domesticam rem importunius invadere: quæ valent ad decus, ad personam hominis, ad æquabilitatem juris in singulis civibus conservandam, earum rerum omnium Ecclesiam Catholicam vel inventricem, vel auspicem, vel custodem semper fuisse superiorum ætatum monumenta testantur. usefully instituted against the license of princes who have not their people's good at heart; whatever forbid the intervention of the supreme authority in municipal or domestic affairs; whatever avail to preserve the dignity of man and his personal rights, or to maintain the equality of rights in individual citizens, of all these things the monuments of former ages declare the Catholic Church to have been either the author, the promoter, or the perpetual guardian.

Sibi igitur perpetuo consentiens, si ex altera parte libertatem respuit immodicam quæ et privatis et populis in licentiam vel in servitutem cadit, ex altera volens et libens amplectitur res meliores, quas dies afferat, si vere prosperitatem contineant hujus vitæ, quæ quoddam est velut stadium ad alteram eamque perpetuo mansuram.

Ever therefore consistent with herself, if on the one hand she rejects immoderate liberty, which both in the case of individuals and peoples results in license or in servitude; on the other she willingly and with pleasure embraces those happier circumstances which the age brings if they truly contain the prosperity of this life, which is, as it were, a stage in the journey to that other which is to endure everlastingly.

Ergo quod inquiunt Ecclesiam recentiori civitatem invidere disciplinæ, et quæcumque horum temporum ingenium peperit, omnia promiscue repudiare, inanis est et jejuna calumnia. Insaniam quidem repudiat opinionum: improbat nefaria seditionum studia illumque nominatim habitum animorum,

Therefore when men say that the Church views with disfavor all modern statecraft, and repudiates without distinction all modern progress, it is an empty and contemptible calumny. She does, indeed, repudiate the madness of opinion; she reprobates the wicked plans of sedition, and especially that habit of

morum, in quo initia perspiciuntur voluntarii discessus a Deo: sed quia omne, quod verum est, a Deo proficisci necesse est, quidquid, indagando, veri attingatur, agnoscit Ecclesia velut quoddam divinæ mentis vestigium. Cumque nihil sit in rerum natura veri, quod doctrinis divinitus traditis fidem abroget, multa quæ adrogent, omnisque possit inventio veri ad Deum ipsum vel cognoscendum vel laudandum impellere, idcirco quidquid accedat ad scientiarum fines proferendos, gaudente et libente Ecclesia semper accedet: eademque studiose, ut solet, sicut alias disciplinas, ita illas etiam fovebit ac provehet, quæ positæ sunt in explicatione naturæ. Quibus in studiis, non adversatur Ecclesia si quid mens repererit novi: non repugnat quin plura quærantur ad decus commoditatemque vitæ: immo inertiæ desidiæque inimica, magnopere vult ut hominum ingenia uberes ferant exercitatione et cultura fructus: incitamenta præbet ad omne genus artium atque operam: omniaque harum rerum studia ad honestatem salutemque virtute sua dirigens impedire nititur, quominus a Deo bonisque cælestibus sua hominem intelligentia atque industria deflectat. mind in which the beginnings of a voluntary departing from God are visible; but since every true thing must necessarily proceed from God, whatever of truth is by search attained, the Church acknowledges as a certain token of the divine mind. And since there is no truth in the world which can take away belief in the doctrines divinely handed down and many things which confirm it, and since every finding of truth may impel man to the knowledge or praise of God himself, therefore whatever may happen to extend the range of knowledge, the Church will always willingly and joyfully accept; and she will, as is her wont in the case of other studies, steadily encourage and promote those also which are concerned with the investigation of nature. If the mind finds anything new in them, the Church offers no opposition; she fights, not against the search after more things for the grace and convenience of life—nay, a very foe to inertness and sloth, she earnestly wishes that the talents of men should, by being cultivated and exercised, bear still richer fruits; she offers inducements to every sort of art and craft, and directing by her own innate worth all the pursuits of these things to virtue and salvation, she strives to save man's own intelligence

Sed hæc tametsi plena rationis et consilii, nimis probantur hoc tempore, cum civitates non modo recusant sese ad Christianæ sapientiæ referre formam, sed etiam videntur quotidie longius ab ea velle discedere. and industry from turning him away from God and the good things of heaven.

But these things, although full of reasonableness and foresight, are not so well approved of in these days, when States not only refuse to defer to the laws of Christian wisdom, but seem even to wish to depart each day farther from them.

Nihilominus quia in lucem prolata veritas solet sua sponte late fluere, hominumque mentes sensim pervadere, idcirco nos conscientia maximi sanctissimique officii, hoc est apostolica, qua fungimur ad gentes universas, legatione permoti, ea quæ vera sunt, libere, ut debemus, eloquimur; non quod non perspectam habeamus rationem temporum, aut repudianda ætatis nostræ honesta atque utilia incrementa putemus, sed quod rerum publicarum tutiora ab offensionibus itinera ac firmiora fundamenta vellemus: idque incolumi populorum germana libertate; in hominibus enim mater et custos optima libertatis veritas est: Veritas liberabit vos.³⁸⁹

Nevertheless, because truth brought to light is wont of its own accord to spread widely, and by degrees to pervade the minds of men, we, therefore, moved by the consciousness of our exalted and most sacred office, that is our apostolic commission to all nations, speak the truth freely as we ought to speak: not that we have no perception of the spirit of the times, or that we think the honest and useful improvements of our age are to be repudiated, but because we would wish the highways of public affairs to be safer from attacks, and their foundations more stable, and that without detriment to the true freedom of the peoples; for amongst men the mother and best guardian of liberty is truth: "The truth shall make you free."³⁹⁰

Itaque in tam difficili rerum cursu Catholici homines, si nos, ut oportet, audierint, facile videbunt

Therefore at so critical a juncture of events, Catholic men, if, as it behooves them, they will listen to us,

quæ sua cujusque sint tam in opinionibus, quam in factis officia.—Et in opinando quidem, quæcumque pontifices Romani tradiderint vel tradituri sunt, singula necesse est et tenere judicio stabili comprehensa, et palam, quoties res postulaverit, profiteri, ac nominatim de iis, quas libertates vocant novissimo tempore quæsitas, oportet Apostolicæ Sedis stare judicio, et quod ipsa senserit, idem sentire singulos. Cavendum, ne quem fallat honesta illarum species: cogitandumque quibus ortæ initiis, et quibus passim sustententur atque alantur studiis. Satis jam est experiendo cognitum, quarum illæ rerum effectrices sint in civitate eos quippe passim genuere fructus, quorum probos viros et sapientes jure poeniteat. will easily see what are their own and each other's duties in matters of opinion as well as of action. And as regards opinion, it is necessary both to hold all things whatsoever the Roman pontiffs have delivered, or shall hereafter deliver, with firm grasp and clear apprehension, and also as often as occasion demands openly to profess the same. And, to give an instance, concerning those things which are called recently acquired liberties, it is proper to stand by the judgment of the Apostolic See, and for every one to hold what she holds. Take care lest any man be deceived by the honest outward appearance of these things; and think of the beginnings from which they are sprung; and by what desires they are sustained and fed in divers places. It is now sufficiently known by experience what they produce in the State; for in many a place they have borne fruit, over which wise and good men justly grieve.

Si talis alicubi aut reapse sit, aut fingatur cogitatione civitas quæ Christianum nomen insectetur proferre et tyrannice, cum eaque conferatur genus id reipublicæ recens, de quo loquimur, poterit hoc videri tolerabilius. Principia tamen, quibus nititur, sunt profecto ejusmodi, sicut ante diximus, ut

If there were in any place a State, either actual or hypothetical, that wantonly and tyrannically waged war upon the Christian name, and if such a modern kind of State as we are speaking of were compared with it, it is possible that this might be considered more tolerable; yet the principles

per se ipsa probari nemini debeant. upon which it rests are absolutely such that, of themselves, they ought to be approved by no men.

Potest tamen aut in privatis domesticisque rebus, aut in publicis actio versari. Privatim quidem primum officium est, præceptis evangelicis diligentissime conformare vitam et mores, nec recusare si quid Christiana virtus exigat ad patiendum tolerandumque paulo difficilius. Debent præterea singuli Ecclesiam sic diligere, ut communem matrem: ejusque et jura salva velle: conarique ut ab iis in quos quisque aliquid auctoritate potest, pari pietate colatur atque ametur.

Now the field of human conduct may lie either in private and domestic or in public affairs. In private life the first duty is to conform one's life and manners to the precepts of the Gospel, and not to refuse if Christian virtue requires of us to bear something more difficult than usual. Moreover, individuals are bound to love the Church as their common mother; to keep her laws obediently; to give her the service of due honor, and wish her rights respected, and endeavor to have her fostered and beloved with like piety by those over whom they may exercise authority.

Illud etiam publicæ salutis interest, ad rerum urbanarum administrationem conferre sapienter operam: in eaque studere maxime et efficere, ut adolescentibus ad religionem, ad probos mores informandis ea ratione, qua æquum est Christianis, publice consultum sit: quibus ex rebus magnopere pendet singularum salus civitatum.

It is also of great importance to the public welfare diligently and wisely to give attention to education and culture; to bestow careful attention upon them, and to take effectual care that public provision be made for the training of youth in religion and morality, as Christians are bound to provide; for upon these things depend very much the welfare of every State.

Item Catholicorum hominum operam ex hoc tanquam angustiore campo longius excurrere, ipsamque summam rempublicam complecti,

And further, to speak generally, it is useful and honorable for the attention of Catholic men to pass beyond this narrower field, and to embrace

generatim utile est atque honestum. Generatim eo dicimus quia hæc præcepta nostra gentes universas attingunt. Ceterim potest alicubi accidere, ut, maximis justissimisque de causis, rempublicam capessere, in muneribusque politicis versari, nequaquam expediat. Sed generatim, ut diximus, nullam velle rerum publicarum partem attingere tam esset in vitio, quam nihil ad communem utilitatem afferre studii, nihil operæ: eo vel magis quod Catholici homines ipsius, quam profitentur admonitione doctrinæ, ad rem integre et ex fide gerendam impelluntur. Contra ipsis otiosis, facile habenas accepturi suntii quorum opiniones spem salutis haud sane magnam afferant. Idque esset etiam cum pernicie conjunctum Christiani nominis: propterea quod plurimum possent qui male essent in Ecclesiam animati: minimum qui bene. every branch of public administration. Generally, we say, because these our precepts reach unto all the nations. But it may happen in some particular place, for the most urgent and just reasons, that it is by no means expedient to engage in public affairs, or to take an active part in political functions. But generally, as we have said, to wish to take no part in public affairs would be wrong in proportion as it contributed neither thought nor work to the common weal; and the more so on this account, because Catholic men are bound by the admonitions of the doctrine which they profess, to do what has to be done with integrity and with faith. If, on the contrary, they are idle, those whose opinions assuredly do not give any great hope of safety will easily get possession of the reins of government. This would be attended with danger to the Christian name, because they who are badly disposed towards the Church would become most powerful; and those least powerful who are well disposed.

Quamobrem perspicuum est, ad rempublicam adeundi causam esse justam Catholicis: non enim adeunt, neque adire debent ob eam causam, ut probent quod est hoc tempore in rerum publicarum rationibus non honestum; sed ut

Wherefore it is evident there is just cause for Catholics to undertake the conduct of public affairs; for they do not assume these responsibilities in order to approve of what is not lawful in the methods of government at this time; but in

has ipsas rationes, quoad fieri potest, in bonum publicum transferant sincerum atque verum, destinatum animo habentes, sapientiam virtutemque Catholicæ religionis, tanquam saluberrimum succum ac sanguinem, in omnes reipublicæ venas inducere. order that they may turn these very methods, as far as may be, to the unmixed and true public good, holding this purpose in their minds, to infuse into all the veins of the commonwealth the most healthy sap and blood as it were—the wisdom and virtue of the Catholic religion.

Haud aliter actum in primis Ecclesiæ ætatibus. Mores enim et studia ethnicorum quam longissime a studiis abhorrebant moribusque evangelicis: Christianos tamen cernere erat in media superstitione incorruptos semperque suî similes animose, quacumque daretur aditus, inferre sese. Fideles in exemplum principibus, obedientesque, quoad fas esset, imperio legum, fundebant mirificum splendorem sanctitatis usquequaque, prodesse studebant fratribus, vocare ceteros ad sapientiam Christi, cedere tamen loco atque emori fortiter parati, si honores, si magistratus, si imperia retinere, incolumi virtute nequivissent.

Such was the course adopted in the first ages of the Church. For the ways and aspirations of the heathen were as widely divergent as possible from the ways and aspirations of the Gospel; yet Christians were seen to be incorrupt in the midst of superstition, and always true to themselves, entering with spirit every walk in life which was open to them. Models of fidelity to their princes, obedient, where lawful, to the sovereign power, they exhibited the wonderful splendor of holiness everywhere; they sought the good of their neighbor, and to call others to the wisdom of Christ; bravely prepared to renounce public life, and even to die, if it was impossible for them to retain their offices, or magistracies, or commands with unsullied virtue.

Qua ratione celeriter instituta Christiana non modo in privatas domos, sed in castra, in curiam, in ipsam regiam invexere. "Hesterni sumus, et vestra omnia implevimus,

And thus Christian customs soon found their way, not only into private houses, but into the camp, the senate, and even the imperial palace. "We are of yesterday

urbes, insulas, castella, municipia, conciliabula, castra ipsa, tribus, decurias, palatium, senatum, forum,"³⁹¹ ita ut fides Christiana, cum evangelium publice profiteri lege licuit, non in cunis vagiens, sed adulta et jam satis firma in magna civitatum parte apparuit. and we have filled all that you have, cities, great tenements, military stations, municipalities, councils, the very camps, the rank and file of the army, the officerships, the palace, the senate, the forum,"³⁹² so that the Christian faith, as soon as it was lawful to profess the Gospel publicly, was manifest at once in a great part of the empire, no longer as a babe crying in its cradle, but grown up to robust manhood.

Jamvero his temporibus consentaneum est, hæc majorum exempla renovari.—Catholicos quidem, quotquot digni sunt eo nomine, primum omnium necesse est amantissimos Ecclesiæ filios et esse et videri velle: quæ res nequeant cum hac laude consistere, eas sine cunctatione respuere: institutis populorum, quantum honeste fieri potest, ad veritatis justitiæque patrocinium uti: elaborare, ut constitutum naturæ Deique lege modum libertas agendi ne transiliat: dare operam ut ad eam, quam diximus, Christianam similitudinem et formam omnis respublica traducatur.

Now in these times it is desirable to renew these examples of our forefathers. Catholics indeed, as many as are worthy of the name, must before all things be, and be willing to be seen to be, most loving sons of the Church; whatsoever is inconsistent with this good report, they must without hesitation reject; they must use popular institutions as far as honestly can be to the advantage of truth and justice; they must take care that liberty of action shall not transgress the bounds ordained by the law of nature and God; and so work that the whole of public life shall be transformed into what we have called a Christian image and likeness.

Harum rerum adipiscendarum ratio constitui uno certoque modo haud commode potest cum debeat singulis locis temporibusque, quæ

The means to these ends can scarcely be laid down upon one uniform plan, since they must suit places and times very different from

sunt multum inter se disparia, convenire. Nihilominus conservanda in primis est voluntatum concordia, quærendaque agendorum similitudo. Atque optime utrumque impetrabitur, si prescripta Sedis Apostolicæ legem vitæ singuli putent, atque Episcopis obtemperent, quos Spiritus Sanctus posuit regere Ecclesiam Dei.³⁹³ each other. Nevertheless, in the first place, let concord of wills be preserved and unity of aim be maintained. And each will be best attained if all consider the admonitions of the Apostolic See a law of conduct, and obey the bishops whom "the Holy Spirit has placed to rule the Church of God."³⁹⁴

Defensio quidem Catholici nominis necessario postulat ut in profitendis doctrinis, quæ ab Ecclesia traduntur una sit omnium sententia, et summa constantia, et hac ex parte cavendum ne quis opinionibus falsis aut ullo modo conniveat, aut mollius resistat, quam veritas patiatur. De iis quæ sunt opinabilia, licebit cum moderatione studioque indagandæ veritatis disputare, procul tamen suspicionibus injuriosis, criminationibusque mutuis.—Quam ob rem ne animorum conjunctio criminandi temeritate dirimatur, sic intelligant universi: integritatem professionis Catholicæ consistere nequaquam posse cum opinionibus ad naturalismum vel rationalismum accedentibus, quarum summa est tollere funditus instituta Christiana, hominisque stabilire in societate principatum posthabito Deo.

The defence of the Catholic name, indeed, of necessity demands that in the profession of doctrines which are handed down by the Church the opinion of all shall be one, and their constancy perfect, and under this head care must be taken that no one connives in any degree at false opinions or resists with less vigor than truth requires. Concerning those things which are matters of opinion, it will be lawful to hold different views with moderation and with a desire of investigating the truth, without injurious suspicions and mutual incriminations. For which purpose, lest unity of spirit be broken by temerity of accusation, let all understand that integrity of the Catholic profession can by no means be reconciled with any opinions approaching naturalism or rationalism, whose sum total is the uprooting of Christian institutions altogether, and the establishment of the

supremacy of man upon the dethronement of God.

Pariter non licere aliam officii formam privatim sequi, aliam publice, ita scilicet ut Ecclesiæ auctoritas in vita privata observetur, in publica respuatur. Hoc enim esset honesta et turpia conjungere, hominemque secum facere digladiantem, cum contra debeat sibi semper constare, neque ulla in re ullove in genere vitæ a virtute Christiana deficere.

Likewise it is unlawful to follow one line of duty in private and another in public, so that the authority of the Church shall be observed in private, and spurned in public. For this would be to join together things honest and disgraceful, and to make a man play a game of fence with himself, when on the contrary he ought always to be consistent, and never in any the least thing or any rank of life decline from Christian virtue.

Verum si quæratur de rationibus mere politicis, de optimo genere reipublicæ, de ordinandis alia vel alia ratione civitatibus, utique de his rebus potest honesta esse dissensio. Quorum igitur cognita ceteroqui pietas est, animusque decreta Sedis Apostolicæ obedienter accipero paratus, iis vitio verti dissentaneum de rebus, quas diximus sententiam, justitia non patitur: multoque est major injuria, si in crimen violatæ suspectæve fidei Catholicæ, quod non semel factum dolemus, adducantur.

But if it be a question of principles merely political, concerning the best form of government, of civil regulations of one kind or another, concerning these things, of course, there is room for disagreement without harm. Those whose piety, therefore, is known on other accounts, and whose minds are ready to accept the decrees of the Apostolic See, justice will not allow to be reproached because they differ on these subjects; and much greater is the injury if they are charged with having violated the Catholic faith, or being of doubtful orthodoxy—a thing we have had to deplore more than once.

Omninoque istud præceptum teneant qui cogitationes suas solent mandare litteris, maximeque ephemeridum

And let all hold this precept absolutely who are wont to commit their thoughts to writing, especially

auctores. In hac quidem de rebus maximis contentione nihil est intestinis concertationibus, vel partium studiis relinquendum loci, sed conspirantibus animis studiisque id debent universi contendere, quod est commune omnium propositum, religionem remque publicam conservare. Si quid igitur dissidiorum antea fuit, oportet voluntaria quadam oblivione conterere: si quid temere, si quid injuria actum, ad quoscumque demum ea culpa pertineat, compensandum est caritate mutua, et præcipuo quodam omnium in Apostolicam Sedem obsequio redimendum. journalists and writers for the press. In this contention for the highest things no room should be left for intestine conflicts or the greed of parties, but let all, uniting together, seek the common object of all, the preservation of religion and the commonwealth. If, therefore, there have been dissensions, let them be obliterated in willing forgetfulness; if there has been anything rash, anything injurious, to whomsoever this fault belongs let reparation be made by mutual charity, and especially by obedience to the Apostolic See.

Hac via duas res præclarissimas Catholici consecuturi sunt: alteram, ut adjutores sese impertiant Ecclesiæ in conservanda propagandaque sapientia Christiana: alteram ut beneficio maximo afficiant societatem civilem, cujus malarum doctrinarum cupiditatumque caussa, magnopere periclitatur salus.

In this way Catholics will obtain two things that are most excellent: one that they will make themselves helps to the Church in preserving and propagating Christian knowledge; the other that they will benefit civil society, whose safety is gravely compromised by evil doctrines and inordinate cupidity.

Hæc quidem, Venerabiles Fratres, habuimus, quæ universis Catholici orbis gentibus traderemus de civitatum constitutione Christiana, officiisque civium singulorum.

These then, Venerable Brethren, are the teachings that we have had to transmit to all nations of the Catholic world concerning the Christian constitution of States and the duties of individual citizens.

Ceterum implorare summis precibus

But it behooves us to implore

oportet cæleste presidium, orandusque Deus, ut hæc, quæ ad ipsius gloriam communemque humani generis salutem cupimus et conamur, optatos ad exitus idem ipse perducat, cujus est illustrare hominum mentes, permovere voluntates. Divinorum autem beneficiorum auspicium, et paternæ benevolentiæ Nostræ testem vobis, Venerabiles Fratres, et clero populoque universo vestræ fidei vigilantiæque commisso apostolicam benedictionem peramanter in Domino impertimus. with most earnest prayers the protection of Heaven, and to beseech almighty God, whose alone it is to enlighten the minds of men and move their wills, himself to bring these our longing and efforts for his glory and for man's salvation to the issue that we hope for. As a pledge of the divine favors, and in witness of our paternal benevolence to you, Venerable Brethren, to the clergy, and to all the people committed to your faith and vigilance, we lovingly bestow in the Lord the apostolic benediction.

Datum Romæ apud S. Petrum die 1 novembris anno MDCCCLXXXV, pontificatus nostri anno octavo.

Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, on the first day of November, in the year of our Lord MDCCCLXXXV, of our pontificate the eight. LEO PP. XIII. LEO PP. XIII.

NOTE.

The Encyclical of 1888.

In a more recent Encyclical, "Libertas præstantissimum naturæ donum," issued June 20, 1888, Leo XIII.—one of the wisest, most moderate, and most liberal popes of modern times—reiterates the same doctrine on civil government, liberty, and the relation of Church and State, even more strongly than in the bull of 1885. He begins by praising liberty as the most excellent gift of nature, which belongs only to intellectual or rational beings, but he makes true liberty to consist in submission to the will of God, as expressed in an infallible Church with an infallible head. He severely condemns what he calls the modern liberties (1) of worship, (2) of speech and of the press, (3) of teaching, and (4) of conscience, because they tacitly assume the absence of truth as the law of our reason, and of authority as the law of our will. He first misstates the liberal theory, which he seems to know only in the form of infidel radicalism, and then denounces it.

In the same document the pope incidentally calls the separation of Church and State "a pernicious maxim."³⁹⁵ And he concludes: "From what has been said, it follows that it is in no way lawful to demand to defend, or to grant, promiscuous freedom of thought, of speech, of writing, or of religion, as if they were so many rights which nature had given to man."

Cardinal Manning, in a preface to the English translation of this Encyclical,³⁹⁶ fully approves of its sentiments, and predicts that "the pontificate of Leo XIII. will be known in history as the time when, upon a world torn and tossed by anti-Christian and anti-social revolutions, the abundant seeds of divine truths sown broadcast revived the conscience of Christendom." He also predicts that the two Encyclical letters of 1885 and 1888 "will be recorded as the pronouncements which have vindicated the political order of society from confusion, and the liberty of men from the license of liberalism."

But we venture to say that Pope Pius IX. (by the Syllabus of 1864) and Pope Leo XIII. (by these two Encyclicals) have seriously injured the cause of the Roman Church by placing her in open antagonism to the irresistible progress of history, which is a progress of liberty. By declaring the separation of Church and State "a pernicious maxim," Leo XIII. has unwisely as well as unjustly condemned the Constitution of the United States, which makes such separation the law of the land, not from indifference or hostility to religion, but from respect for religion, and which secures to the Roman Catholic Church a greater amount of liberty and prosperity than she enjoys in Italy or Spain or Austria or France or Mexico or Brazil. American Roman Catholics generally are well satisfied with the freedom they enjoy. The highest American dignitary of that Church, Cardinal Gibbons, of Baltimore, who attended the centennial celebration of the Constitution at Philadelphia, September, 1887, said in his letter of acceptance: "The Constitution of the United States is worthy of being written in letters of gold. It is a charter by which the liberties of sixty millions of people are secured, and by which, under Providence, the temporal happiness of countless millions yet unborn will be perpetuated."

The crowning feature of the American Constitution is contained in the First Amendment, which forbids Congress to establish any Church as a state religion, and to prohibit the free exercise of religion. This is the magna charta of religious liberty within the jurisdiction of the United States.