|
Causes
of Society's Ills |
"The
sole reason why society is perishing is because it has refused to
hear the word of the Church, which is the word of life, the word of God. All plans for
salvation will be sterile if the great word of the Catholic Church
is not restored in all its fullness." (St. Anthony Mary
Claret)
"A
religious error is the main root of all social and political
evils." (Inscrutabili Dei Consilio, 1878)
"[M]any
evils generally arise from ignorance of divine matters essential
for salvation." (Pope Pius IX, "Quanto Conficiamur
Moerore", 1863)
"What
can be more fraught with danger for the world than the rejection
of Christ?" (St. Hilary)
"The
exile of God means the tyrannization of man." (Bishop Fulton
Sheen)
"As
with individuals, so with nations. These, too, must necessarily
tend to ruin if they go astray from 'The Way.'" (Pope Leo
XIII, "Tametsi Futura Prospicientibus", 1900)
"But
tear the very idea of God from the hearts of men, and they are
necessarily urged by their passions to the most atrocious
barbarity." (Pope Pius XI, "Divini Redemptoris",
1937)
"Nevertheless,
the struggle between good and evil remained in the world as a sad
legacy of the original fall. Nor has the ancient tempter ever
ceased to deceive mankind with false promises. It is on this
account that one convulsion following upon another has marked the
passage of the centuries, down to the revolution of our own
days." (Pope Pius XI, "Divini Redemptoris", 1937)
"[W]here
love is absent, there reigns that malice which we men have brought
about from the beginning of the human race." (Pope Clement
XIII, "A Quo Die", 1758)
"The
many sad aspects of our time and the unprecedented forms of
violence that unfortunately mark it are ultimately explained by
the closure of hearts to God's love." (Pope John Paul II,
1993)
"With
the Christian religion either neglected or cruelly destroyed,
morals, both public and private, clearly stray from the straight
way, and, following the tortuous path of error, end miserably in
vice." (Pope Pius XII, "Doctor Mellifluus", 1953)
"Where
God is denied and people live as though he did not exist, or his
commandments are not taken into account, the dignity of the human
person and the inviolability of human life also end up being
rejected or compromised." (Pope John Paul II)
"Take
away God, and all respect for civil laws, all regard for even the
most necessary institutions disappears; justice is scouted; the
very liberty that belongs to the law of nature is trodden
underfoot; and men go so far as to destroy the very structure of
the family, which is the first and firmest foundation of the
social structure." (Pope St. Pius X)
"There
are three influences which appear to Us to have the chief place in
effecting this downgrade movement of society. These are - first, the
distaste for a simple and laborious life; secondly, repugnance to
suffering of any kind; thirdly, the forgetfulness of the future
life." (Pope Gregory XVI, "Probe Nostis", 1840)
"But
who does not see and clearly perceive that human society, when set
loose from the bonds of religion and true justice, can have, in
truth, no other end than the purpose of obtaining and amassing
wealth, and that (society under such circumstances) follows no
other law in its actions, except the unchastened desire of
ministering to its own pleasure and interests?" (Pope Pius
IX, "Quanta Cura", 1864)
"Whoso
turns his attention to the bitter strifes of these days and seeks
a reason for the troubles that vex public and private life must
come to the conclusion that a fruitful cause of the evils which
now afflict, as well as those which threaten, us lies in this:
that false conclusions concerning divine and human things, which
originated in the schools of philosophy, have now crept into all
the orders of the State, and have been accepted by the common
consent of the masses." (Pope Leo XIII, "Aeterni Patris",
1879)
"We
were terrified beyond all else by the disastrous state of human
society today. For who can fail to see that society is at the
present time, more than in any past age, suffering from a terrible
and deep-rooted malady which, developing every day and eating into
its inmost being, is dragging it to destruction? You understand,
Venerable Brethren, what this disease is - apostasy from God, than
which in truth nothing is more allied with ruin, according to the
word of the Prophet: 'For behold they that go far from Thee shall
perish' (Ps. 1xxii., 17)." (Pope St. Pius X, "E Supremi",
1903)
"But
it seems to Us, Venerable Brethren, that while we should not
overlook other considerations, We are forced to agree with those
who hold that the chief cause of the present indifference and, as
it were, infirmity of soul, and the serious evils that result from
it, is to be found above all in ignorance of things divine. This
is fully in accord with what God Himself declared through the
Prophet Osee: 'And there is no knowledge of God in the land.
Cursing and lying and killing and theft and adultery have
overflowed: and blood hath touched blood. Thereafter shall the
land mourn, and everyone that dwelleth in it shall
languish.'" (Pope St. Pius X, "Acerbo Nimis", 1905)
"For,
when men do not have the proper love for their Creator, from Whom
comes everything they have, when they do not love one another,
then, as often happens, they are separated from one another by
hatred and deceit, and so quarrel bitterly among themselves. Now
God is the most loving Father of us all, and we are all brethren
in Christ, we whom he redeemed by shedding His precious Blood.
Hence, as often as we fail to return God's love or to recognize
His divine fatherhood with all due reverence, the bonds of
brotherly love are unfortunately shattered and - as, alas, is so
often evident, - discord, strife and enmity unhappily are the
result, so much so as to undermine and destroy the very
foundations of human society." (Pope Pius XII, "Doctor
Mellifluus", 1953)
"But
once holy religion is rejected, once the Divine Majesty,
establishing what is good and evil, is ignored, it is plain that
laws and public authority have little or no value. Then again,
once hope and expectation of eternal reward are lost through these
fallacious doctrines, men will greedily and without restraint seek
the things of earth, vehemently covet their neighbor's goods, and
even take them by force as often as occasion or opportunity is
given. Hence hatred, envy, discord and rivalries arise among men;
hence public and private life is perturbed; hence the very
foundations of society which can scarcely be held together and
maintained by the authority of government are gradually
undermined; hence, deformation of morals by evil theatrical
performances, books, periodicals and actual crime." (Pope
Pius XII, "Fulgens Corona", 1953)
"Furthermore,
if anyone will diligently examine into the causes of the evils of
our day, he will find that they arise from this, that as charity
towards God has grown cold, the mutual charity of men among
themselves has likewise cooled. Men have forgotten that they are
children of God and brethren in Jesus Christ; they care for
nothing except their own individual interests; the interests and
the rights of others they not only make light of, but often attack
and invade. Hence frequent disturbances and strifes between class
and class: arrogance, oppression, fraud on the part of the more
powerful: misery, envy, and turbulence among the poor. These are
evils for which it is in vain to seek a remedy in legislation, in
threats of penalties to be incurred, or in any other device of
merely human prudence." (Pope Leo XIII, "Mirae Caritatis",
1902)
"This
is not now the time and place to inquire whether and how far the
inertness and internal dissensions of Catholics have contributed
to the present condition of things; but it is certain at least
that the perverse-minded would exhibit less boldness, and would
not have brought about such an accumulation of ills, if the faith
'which worketh by charity' had been generally more energetic and
lively in the souls of men, and had there not been so universal a
drifting away from the divinely established rule of morality
throughout Christianity. May at least the lessons afforded by the
memory of the past have the good result of leading to a wiser mode
of acting in the future." (Pope Leo XIII, "Sapientiae
Christianae", 1890)
"Why
do frustrated vocations so abound? Whence come the multitude of
unfinished saints, that lie all around us like the broken models
of a sculptor's studio? Whence so little perseverance in the
devout life, and such wearying and untying even of the vows and
promises whereby men have bound themselves to God? Whence but from
the lack of [holy] fear!" (Fr. Faber)
"We
have good reason to deplore the public institutions in which the
teaching of the sciences and arts is purposely so organized that
the name of God is passed over in silence or visited with
vituperation; to deplore the license - growing more shameless by
the day - of the press in publishing whatever it pleases, and the
license of speech in addressing any kind of insult to Christ our
God and His Church. And We deplore no less the consequent laxity
and apathy in the practice of the Catholic religion which if not
quite open apostasy from the Faith, is certainly going to prove an
easy road to it, since it is a manner of life having nothing in
common with faith. Nobody who ponders this disorder and the
surrender of the most fundamental principles will be astonished if
afflicted nations everywhere are groaning under the heavy hand of
God's vengeance and stand anxious and trembling in fear of worse
calamities." (Pope Leo XIII, "Magnae Dei Matris",
1892)
"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.' 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." (Pope Leo XIII, "Inscrutabili
Dei Consilio", 1878)
"Individual
liberty, freed from all bonds and all laws, all objective and
social values, is in reality only a death-dealing anarchy."
(Pope Pius XII)
"But
many there are who follow in the footsteps of Lucifer, and adopt
as their own his rebellious cry, 'I will not serve'; and
consequently substitute for true liberty what is sheer and most
foolish license. Such, for instance, are the men belonging to that
widely spread and powerful organization, who, usurping the name of
liberty, style themselves liberals." (Pope Leo XIII, "Libertas
Praestantissimum", 1888)
"But
it is easy to see at a glance the greatness of the evil which
unhallowed marriages have brought, and ever will bring, on the
whole of human society." (Pope Leo XIII, "Arcanum",
1880)
"Disorder
in society is the result of disorder in the family." (St.
Angela Merici)
"[J]ust
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." (Pope Leo XIII, "Inscrutabili
Dei Consilio", 1878)
"[A]s
history testifies, the prosperity of the State and the temporal
happiness of its citizens cannot remain safe and sound where the
foundation on which they are established, which is the moral
order, is weakened and where the very fountainhead from which the
State draws its life, namely, wedlock and the family, is
obstructed by the vices of its citizens." (Pope Pius XI,
"Casti Connubii", 1930)
"Oh!
If only your country [America] had come to know from the
experience of others rather than from examples at home of the
accumulation of ills which derive from the plague of divorce; let
reverence for religion, let fidelity towards the great American
people counsel energetic action that this disease, alas so
widespread, may be cured by extirpation. The consequences of this
evil have been thus described by Pope Leo XIII, in words whose
truth is incisive: 'Because of divorce, the nuptial contract
becomes subject to fickle whim; affection is weakened; pernicious
incentives are given to conjugal infidelity; the care and
education of offspring are harmed; easy opportunity is afforded
for the breaking up of homes; the seeds of discord are sown among
families; the dignity of woman is lessened and brought down and
she runs the risk of being deserted after she has served her
husband as an instrument of pleasure. And since it is true that
for the ruination of the family and the undermining of the State
nothing is so powerful as the corruption of morals, it is easy to
see that divorce is of the greatest harm to the prosperity of
families and of states'." (Pope Pius XII, "Sertum
Laetitiae", 1939)
"Now,
those who deny that marriage is holy, and who relegate it, striped
of all holiness, among the class of common secular things, uproot
thereby the foundations of nature, not only resisting the designs
of Providence, but, so far as they can, destroying the order that
God has ordained. No one, therefore, should wonder if from such
insane and impious attempts there spring up a crop of evils
pernicious in the highest degree both to the salvation of souls
and to the safety of the commonwealth." (Pope Leo XIII,
"Arcanum", 1880)
"There
exists not, indeed, in the projects and enactments of men any
power to change the character and tendency which things have
received from nature. Those men, therefore, show but little wisdom
in the idea they have formed of the well-being of the commonwealth
who think that the inherent character of marriage can be perverted
with impunity; and who, disregarding the sanctity of religion and
of the sacrament, seem to wish to degrade and dishonor marriage
more basely than was done even by heathen laws. Indeed, if they do
not change their views, not only private families, but all public
society, will have unceasing cause to fear lest they should be
miserably driven into that general confusion and overthrow of
order which is even now the wicked aim of socialists and
communists. Thus we see most clearly how foolish and senseless it
is to expect any public good from divorce, when, on the contrary,
it tends to the certain destruction of society." (Pope Leo
XIII, "Arcanum", 1880)
"Truly,
it is hardly possible to describe how great are the evils that
flow from divorce. Matrimonial contracts are by it made variable;
mutual kindness is weakened; deplorable inducements to
unfaithfulness are supplied; harm is done to the education and
training of children; occasion is afforded for the breaking up of
homes; the seeds of dissension are sown among families; the
dignity of womanhood is lessened and brought low, and women run
the risk of being deserted after having ministered to the
pleasures of men. Since, then, nothing has such power to lay waste
families and destroy the mainstay of kingdoms as the corruption of
morals, it is easily seen that divorces are in the highest degree
hostile to the prosperity of families and States, springing as
they do from the depraved morals of the people, and, as experience
shows us, opening out a way to every kind of evil-doing in public
and in private life. Further still, if the matter be duly
pondered, we shall clearly see these evils to be the more
especially dangerous, because, divorce once being tolerated, there
will be no restraint powerful enough to keep it within the bounds
marked out or presurmised. Great indeed is the force of example,
and even greater still the might of passion. With such incitements
it must needs follow that the eagerness for divorce, daily
spreading by devious ways, will seize upon the minds of many like
a virulent contagious disease, or like a flood of water bursting
through every barrier. These are truths that doubtlessly are all
clear in themselves, but they will become clearer yet if we call
to mind the teachings of experience. So soon as the road to
divorce began to be made smooth by law, at once quarrels,
jealousies, and judicial separations largely increased; and such
shamelessness of life followed that men who had been in favor of
these divorces repented of what they had done, and feared that, if
they did not carefully seek a remedy by repealing the law, the
State itself might come to ruin... For whenever at any time
divorce was introduced, the abundance of misery that followed far
exceeded all that the framers of the law could have
foreseen." (Pope Leo XIII, "Arcanum", 1880)
"In
these latter times especially, a policy has been followed which
has resulted in a sort of wall being raised between the Church and
civil society. In the constitution and administration of States
the authority of sacred and divine law is utterly disregarded,
with a view to the exclusion of religion from having any constant
part in public life. This policy almost tends to the removal of
the Christian faith from our midst, and, if that were possible, of
the banishment of God Himself from the earth. When men's minds are
raised to such a height of insolent pride, what wonder is it that
the greater part of the human race should have fallen into such
disquiet of mind and be buffeted by waves so rough that no one is
suffered to be free from anxiety and peril? When religion is once
discarded it follows of necessity that the surest foundations of
the public welfare must give way, whilst God, to inflict on His
enemies the punishment they so richly deserve, has left them the
prey of their own evil desires, so that they give themselves up to
their passions and finally wear themselves out by excess of
liberty." (Pope Leo XIII, "Annum Sacrum", 1899)
"The
fundamental doctrine of rationalism is the supremacy of the human
reason, which, refusing due submission to the divine and eternal
reason, proclaims its own independence, and constitutes itself the
supreme principle and source and judge of truth. Hence, these
followers of liberalism deny the existence of any divine authority
to which obedience is due, and proclaim that every man is the law
to himself; from which arises that ethical system which they style
independent morality, and which, under the guise of liberty,
exonerates man from any obedience to the commands of God, and
substitutes a boundless license. The end of all this it is not
difficult to foresee, especially when society is in question. For,
when once man is firmly persuaded that he is subject to no one, it
follows that the efficient cause of the unity of civil society is
not to be sought in any principle external to man, or superior to
him, but simply in the free will of individuals; that the
authority in the State comes from the people only; and that, just
as every man's individual reason is his only rule of life, so the
collective reason of the community should be the supreme guide in
the management of all public affairs. Hence the doctrine of the
supremacy of the greater number, and that all right and all duty
reside in the majority. But, from what has been said, it is clear
that all this is in contradiction to reason. To refuse any bond of
union between man and civil society, on the one hand, and God the
Creator and consequently the supreme Law-giver, on the other, is
plainly repugnant to the nature, not only of man, but of all
created things; for, of necessity, all effects must in some proper
way be connected with their cause" (Pope Leo XIII, "Libertas
Praestantissimum", 1888)
"We
must now consider briefly liberty of speech, and liberty of the
press. It is hardly necessary to say that there can be no such
right as this, if it be not used in moderation, and if it pass
beyond the bounds and end of all true liberty. For right is a
moral power which - as We have before said and must again and
again repeat - it is absurd to suppose that nature has accorded
indifferently to truth and falsehood, to justice and injustice.
Men have a right freely and prudently to propagate throughout the
State what things soever are true and honorable, so that as many
as possible may possess them; but lying opinions, than which no
mental plague is greater, and vices which corrupt the heart and
moral life should be diligently repressed by public authority,
lest they insidiously work the ruin of the State. The excesses of
an unbridled intellect, which unfailingly end in the oppression of
the untutored multitude, are no less rightly controlled by the
authority of the law than are the injuries inflicted by violence
upon the weak. And this all the more surely, because by far the
greater part of the community is either absolutely unable, or able
only with great difficulty, to escape from illusions and deceitful
subtleties, especially such as flatter the passions. If unbridled
license of speech and of writing be granted to all, nothing will
remain sacred and inviolate; even the highest and truest mandates
of natures, justly held to be the common and noblest heritage of
the human race, will not be spared. Thus, truth being gradually
obscured by darkness, pernicious and manifold error, as too often
happens, will easily prevail. Thus, too, license will gain what
liberty loses; for liberty will ever be more free and secure in
proportion as license is kept in fuller restraint." (Pope Leo
XIII, "Libertas Praestantissimum", 1888)
"This
state of things may perhaps be attributed to a certain slowness
and timidity in good people, who are reluctant to engage in
conflict or oppose but a weak resistance; thus the enemies of the
Church become bolder in their attacks. But if the faithful were
generally to understand that it behooves them ever to fight under
the banner of Christ the King, then, fired with apostolic zeal,
they would strive to win over to their Lord those hearts who are
bitter and estranged from Him, and would valiantly defend His
rights." (Pope Pius XI, "Quas primas", December 11,
1925 A.D.)
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