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Title: |
Fin Dal Principio
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Descr.: |
On The Education Of The Clergy
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Pope: |
Pope Leo XIII
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Date: |
December 8, 1902
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To
the Bishops of Italy.
Venerable
Brethren, Health and Apostolic Benediction.
1.
From the beginning of our Pontificate having gravely considered
the serious conditions of society, we are not slow to recognize,
as one of the most urgent duties of the Apostolic office, that of
devoting a most special care to the education of the clergy.
2.
We see in fact that all our designs to bring about a restoration
of Christian life among our people, would be in vain if in the
ecclesiastical state the sacerdotal spirit was not preserved
intact and vigorous. This we have not ceased to do, as far as was
possible to us, both with institutions and writings directed to
that end. And now a particular solicitude regarding the clergy of
Italy moves us, venerable brethren, again to treat on this subject
of so great importance. It is true, beautiful and continued
testimonies have been shown of learning, piety and zeal, among
which we are glad to praise the alacrity with which, seconding the
impulse and direction of their bishops, they cooperate in that
Catholic movement which we have so much at heart. We cannot
altogether, however, hide the preoccupation of our soul at seeing
for some time past a certain desire of innovation insinuating
itself here and there, as regards the constitution as well as the
multiform actions of the sacred ministry. Now it is easy to
foresee the grave consequences which we should have to deplore if
a speedy remedy were not applied to this innovating tendency.
3.
Therefore, in order to preserve the Italian clergy from the
pernicious influences of the times, we deem it opportune,
venerable brethren, to recall in this our letter, the true and
invariable principles that should regulate ecclesiastical
education and the entire sacred ministry. The Catholic priesthood
- divine in its origin, supernatural in its essence,
immutable in its character, is not an institution that can
accommodate itself with ease to human systems and opinions. A
participation of the eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ, it must
perpetuate even to the consummation of ages the same mission that
the Eternal Father confided to His Incarnate Word: "Sicut
misit me Pater, et ego mitto vos."(1) To work the eternal
salvation of souls will always be the great commandment of which
it must never fall short, as to faithfully fulfil it, it must
never cease to have recourse to those supernatural aids and those
divine rules of thought and of action which Jesus Christ gave His
Apostles when He sent them throughout the whole world to convert
the nations to the Gospel. Therefore St. Paul in his letters
reminds us that the priest can never be anything but the legate,
the minister of Christ, the dispenser of His mysteries,(2) and he
represents him to us as dwelling in a high place,(3) as a mediator
between heaven and earth, to treat with God, about the supreme
interests of the human race, which are those of everlasting life.
The idea that holy books give us of the Christian priesthood, is
that it is a supernatural institution superior to all those of
earth, and as far separated from them as the divine is from the
human.
4.
This same high idea is clearly brought out by the works of the
Fathers, the laws of the Roman Pontiffs, and the Bishops, by the
decrees of the Councils, and by the unanimous teaching of the
Doctors and of the Catholic schools. Above all, the tradition of
the Church with one voice proclaims that the priest is another
Christ, and that the priesthood though exercised on earth merits
to be numbered among the orders of heaven(4); because it is given
to them to administer things that are wholly celestial and upon
them is conferred a power that God has not trusted even to the
angels(5); a power and ministry which regard the government of
souls, and which is the art of arts.(6) Therefore, education,
studies, customs, and whatever comprises the sacerdotal discipline
have always been considered by the Church as belonging entirely to
herself, not merely distinct, but altogether separate from the
ordinary rules of secular life. This distinction and separation
must, therefore, remain unaltered, even in our own times, and any
tendency to accommodate or confound the ecclesiastical life and
education with the secular life and education must be considered
as reproved, not only by the traditions of Christian ages, but by
the apostolic doctrine itself and the ordinances of Jesus Christ.
5.
Certainly in the formation of the clergy and the sacerdotal
ministry, it is reasonable that regard should be had to the varied
conditions of the times. Therefore we are far from rejecting the
idea of such changes as would render the work of the clergy still
more efficacious in the society in which they live, and it is for
that reason that it has seemed necessary to us to promote among
them a more solid and finished culture, and to open a still wider
field to their ministry; but every other innovation which could in
any way prejudice what is essential to the priest must be regarded
as altogether blameworthy. The priest is above all constituted
master, physician and shepherd of souls, and a guide to an end not
enclosed within the bounds of this present life. Now he can never
fully correspond if he is not well versed in the science of divine
and sacred things, if he is not furnished with that piety which
makes a man of God; and if he does not take every care to render
his teachings valuable by the efficacy of his example, conformable
to the admonition given to the sacred pastor by the Prince of the
Apostles: "Forma facti gregis ex animo."(7) For those
who watch the times and the changeable condition of society, these
are the right and the greatest gifts that could shine in the
Catholic priest, together with the principles of faith; every
other quality natural and human would certainly be commendable,
but would not have with regard to the sacerdotal office anything
but secondary and relative importance. If, therefore, it is
reasonable and just that the clergy should accommodate themselves
as far as is permitted to the needs of the present age, it is
still more necessary that the present depravity of the century
should not be yielded to, but strongly resisted; and this while
corresponding naturally to the high end of the priesthood, will
also render their ministry still more fruitful by increasing its
dignity, and therefore gaining it respect. It is seen everywhere
how the spirit of naturalism tends to penetrate every part of the
social body, even the most healthy; a spirit which fills the minds
with pride and causes them to rebel against every authority;
depraves the heart and turns it after the desire of earthly goods,
neglecting those eternal.
6.
It is greatly to be feared that some influence of this spirit, so
evil, and already so widely diffused, might insinuate itself even
among ecclesiastics, particularly among those of less experience.
What sad effects would not arise if that gravity of conduct which
belongs to the priest, should be in any way lessened; if he should
yield with lightness to the charm of every novelty; if he should
deport himself with pretentious indocility towards his superiors;
if he should lose that weight and measure in discussion which is
so necessary, particularly in matters of faith and morals.
7.
Would it not be a still more deplorable thing, causing as it would
the ruin of Christian people, if he, in the sacred ministry of the
pulpit, should introduce language not conformable to his character
of a preacher of the Gospel? Moved by such considerations we feel
it our duty again and still more warningly to recommend that above
all things the Seminaries should with jealous care keep up a
proper spirit with regard to the education of the mind as well as
to that of the heart. They must never lose sight of the fact that
they are exclusively destined to prepare young men not for merely
human offices, however praiseworthy and honorable, but for that
higher mission, which we lately spoke of, as ministers of Christ
and dispensers of the mysteries of God.(8) From such a reflection
altogether supernatural, it will be easy, as we have already said
in our Encyclical to the clergy of France, dated September 8,
1899, to draw precious rules, not merely for the correct education
of clerics, but also to remove far from the institutes in which
they are educated, every danger, whether external or internal, or
of a moral or religious order.
8.
With respect to the studies, in order that the clergy should not
be strangers to the advancement of all good discipline, everything
that is truly useful or good will be recognized in the new
methods; every age can contribute to the knowledge of human
learning. However, we desire that on this subject, great attention
shall be paid to our prescriptions regarding the study of classic
literature, principally philosophy, theology, and the like
sciences - prescriptions which we have given in many writings,
chiefly in the above-mentioned Encyclical, of which we send you an
extract, together with the present. It would certainly be
desirable that the young ecclesiastics should all follow the
course of studies always under the shadow of the sacred
institutes. However, as grave reasons sometimes render it
necessary that some of them should frequent the public
universities, let it not be forgotten with what and how great
caution bishops should permit this.(9)
9.
We desire likewise that they should insist on the faithful
observance of the rules contained in a still more recent document,
which in a particular manner regards the lectures on anything else
that could give occasion to the young men to take part in external
agitations.(10) Thus the students of the seminaries, treasuring up
this time, so precious and full of the greatest tranquillity for
their souls, will be able to devote themselves entirely to those
studies which will render them fitted for the grand duties of the
priesthood, particularly that of the ministry of preaching and the
confessional. They should reflect well on the gravity of the
responsibilities of those priests who in spite of the great need
of the Christian people neglect to devote themselves to the
exercise of the sacred ministry, and of those also who, not
bringing to it an enlightened zeal for both the one and the other,
correspond sadly with their vocation in things which are of the
greatest importance in the salvation of souls.
10.
Here we must call your attention, venerable brethren, to the
special instruction which we wish given regarding the ministry of
the Divine Word;(11) and from which we desire they should draw
copious fruit. With respect to the ministry of the confession: let
them remember how severe are the words of the most enlightened and
mildest of moralists towards those who, without purifying their
own souls, do not hesitate to seat themselves in the tribunal of
Penance,(12) and how not less severe is the lament of the late
great Pontiff, Benedict XIV, who numbers among the greatest
calamities of the Church the defect in confessors of a science,
both theological and moral, added to the gravity that such a holy
office requires.
11.
To the noble end of preparing worthy ministers of the Lord, it is
necessary, venerable brethren, to watch with an ever-increasing
vigor and vigilance not only over the scientific instruction, but
also over the disciplinary and educative systems of your
seminaries. Do not accept young men other than those who exhibit
well-founded desires of consecrating themselves forever to the
ecclesiastical ministry.(13) Keep them removed from contact and
still more from living together with youths who are not aspiring
to the sacred ministry. Such intercourse may, for certain just and
grave reasons, be allowed for a time, and with great caution,
until they can be properly provided for according to the spirit of
ecclesiastical discipline. Those who during the course of their
education shall manifest tendencies little suited to the priestly
vocation, must be dismissed, and in admitting clerics to the
sacred orders the utmost discretion must be used, according to the
grave admonition of St. Paul to Timothy, "Manus cito nemini
imposueris."(14) In this matter it is only right that every
consideration should be put on one side that is inferior to the
most important one of the dignity of the sacred ministry. It is,
therefore, of the greatest importance that in order to render the
pupils of the sanctuary living images of Jesus Christ (which is
the end of ecclesiastical education), that the directors and
teachers should unite to the diligent fulfillment of their office
the example of a truly priestly life. The exemplary conduct of
those in authority is, especially to young men, the most eloquent
and persuasive language to inspire in their souls the conviction
of their own duties and the love of virtue.
12.
A work of such importance requires from the directors of souls a
more than ordinary prudence and an indefatigable care; and it is
our desire that this office, which we wish should not be lacking
in any seminary, should be confided to an ecclesaistic of great
experience in the ways of Christian perfection. It can never be
sufficiently recommended to him to found and cultivate in his
pupils that piety which is for all, but especially for the clergy,
of the greatest fruitfulness and inestimable utility.(15)
Therefore, he will be solicitous to warn them against a pernicious
snare not infrequent among young men - that of giving themselves so
entirely and with such ardor to their studies as to neglect their
advancement in the science of the saints. The deeper root piety
has taken in clerics' souls, so much the more will they be filled
with that strong spirit of sacrifice which is altogether necessary
to work for the divine glory in the salvation of souls. Thanks be
to God, there are not lacking among the Italian clergy priests who
give noble proof of what a minister of God, penetrated with that
spirit, can do; wonderful, indeed, is the generosity of many who
to spread the Kingdom of Jesus Christ voluntarily hasten to
distant countries, there to encounter fatigues, privations and
hardships of every kind and even martyrdom itself.
13.
In this manner, aided by loving care and fitting culture of soul
and mind, step by step the young Levite will be brought up to
recognize both the sanctity of his vocation and the needs of the
Christian people. The training, it is true, is not short; and yet
it is to be wished that the time in the seminary could be
prolonged. It is necessary, indeed, that the young priests are not
left without guidance in their first labors, but should be
strengthened by the experience of their seniors, who will ripen
their zeal, their prudence and their piety; and it is expedient
also that either with academic exercises or with periodical
conferences they should be encouraged to continue with their
sacred studies.
14.
It is plain, venerable brethren, that what we have here
recommended will aid in a singular manner that social usefulness
of the clergy which we have on many occasions inculcated as
necessary to our times. Therefore, by exacting the faithful
observance of those rules this usefulness will draw therefrom its
spirit and life.
15.
We repeat again, and still more warmly, that the clergy go to a
Christian people tempted on every side, and with every kind of
fallacious promise offered by Socialism to apostatize from the
true faith. They must therefore submit all their actions to the
authority of those whom the Holy Spirit has constituted Bishops,
to rule the Church of God, without which would follow confusion
and the most grave disorders to the detriment even of the cause
they have at heart to defend and promote. It is for this end that
we desire that the candidates for the priesthood, on the
conclusion of their education in the seminary, should be suitably
instructed in the pontifical documents relating to the social
question, and the Christian democracy, abstaining, however, as we
have already said, from taking any part whatever in the external
movement. When they are made priests they will direct themselves
with particular care to the people, always the object of the
Church's loving care. They will raise the children of the people
from the ignorance of things both spiritual and eternal, and with
industrious tenderness they will lead them to an honest and
virtuous life. They will strengthen the adults in their faith,
dissipating the contrary prejudices and confirm them in the
practices of Christian life. They will promote among the Catholic
laity those institutions which they all recognize as really
efficacious in the moral and material improvement of the
multitude. Above all they will propose to them the principles of
justice and evangelical charity, to which are equally united all
the rights and duties of civil and social life, such should be the
way in which they fulfil their noble part in the social action.
16.
Let them, however, have it always present to their minds that the
priest even in the midst of his people must preserve intact his
august character as a minister of God, being as he is placed at
the head of his brethren.(16) Any manner whatever, in which he
employs himself among the people, to the loss of the sacerdotal
dignity, or with danger to the ecclesiastical duties and
discipline, can only be warmly reproved.
17.
This, then, venerable brethren, is what the conscience of the
Apostolic Office has imposed on us to make known, regarding the
present condition of the Italian clergy. We do not doubt that in a
thing of such gravity and importance you will add your zealous and
loving care to our solicitude, inspired thereto especially by the
bright example of the great Archbishop, St. Charles Borromeo.
Therefore, to give effect to our admonitions, make them the
subject of your diocesan conferences, and inform yourselves on
such means as are necessary according to the needs of your
respective diocese. To all these designs and deliberations you
will not lack the aid of our authority.
18.
And now, with words that rise from the depths of our fatherly
heart, we turn to you, priests of Italy, and recommend to each and
all of you to use every effort to correspond still more worthily
with your high vocation. To you, ministers of Christ, we can say
with more reason than did St. Paul to the mere faithful, "Obsecro
itaque vos ego vinctus in Domino, ut digne ambuletis vocatione qua
vocati estis."(17) The love of our common mother the Church
renews and reinvigorates between you that concord of thought and
action which redoubles the strength and renders the work more
fruitful. In these times, so dangerous to religion and society,
when the clergy of every nation are called on to unite together in
defense of the Faith and Christian morals, it belongs to you,
beloved sons, joined by a special bond to this Apostolic See, to
give to all an example and be the first in unlimited obedience to
the voice and command of the Vicar of Jesus Christ; and so may the
blessing of God which we invoke descend copiously and preserve the
Italian clergy ever worthy of their illustrious traditions.
19.
May the Apostolic Benediction be a pledge of the divine favor
which, with the affection of our heart, we impart to you and to
the entire clergy trusted to your care.
Given
at Rome, at St. Peter's, on the sacred day of the Immaculate
Conception of the Blessed Virgin, December 8, 1902, in the
twenty-fifth year of our Pontificate.
Endnotes:
1.
Jn. 20:21 | 2. 2 Cor. 5:20; 6:4; 1 Cor. 4:1 | 3. Heb. 5:1 | 4.
John Chrysostom, De sacerdorio III, n. 4 | 5. Ibid. n. 5 | 6.
Gregory the Great, Regula pastoralis, pars 1, cap. 1 | 7. 1 Pt.
5:5 | 8. 1 Cor. 4:1 | 9. Instructio Perspectum est, S. Congr. EE.
et RR. (21 Iulii 1896) | 10. Istruzione, S. Congr. degli AA. EE.
SS. (27 gennaio 1902) | 11. Istruzione, S. Congr. dei VV. a RR.
(31 luglio 1894) | 12. S. Alfonso Maria de Liguori, Practica del
confessore, c. 1, III.n. 18 | 13. Conc. Trident. Sess. XXIII, c.
XVIII, De Reformat | 14. 1 Tm. 5:22 | 15. 1 Tm. 4:7, 8 | 16.
Gregory the Great, Regula pastoralis, ps. 2, cap. 7 | 17. Eph. 4:1
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