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Title: |
Inscrutabili Dei Consilio
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Descr.: |
On The Evils Of Society
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Pope: |
Pope Leo XIII
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Date: |
April 21, 1878
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To
the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops of the Catholic
World in Grace and Communion with the Apostolic See.
1.
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 flowed 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 of 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 owe 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 wide-spreading 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 lights(8) 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 pursuit 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 [Christ] 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 goodwill 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.
Endnotes:
1.
This description of what is usually called a "corrupt
government" or the government of a "corrupt party"
is, in fact, the description of what necessarily happens to any
government, or ruling party, when it rejects the moral rules
taught by the Church. A religious error is the main root of all
social and political evils. | 2. An allusion to the capture of the
Papal States by the Piedmontese army (1860) and to the usurpation
of the temporal power of the Popes by King Victor Emmanuel II, in
1870. | 3. Prov. 14:34. | 4. Pope St. Leo I, Leo the Great
(440-61), caused Attila, King of the Huns, to retreat without
having attacked Rome. Pope Alexander III (1159-81) fought against
the German Emperor Friedrick Barbarossa, to whom he opposed the
Lombard League. Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) strongly resisted
the French King Philip Augustus. St. Pius V was Pope from 1566 to
1572 and during his reign occurred the naval victory over the
Turks at Lepanto in 1571. Leo X (John of Medici), Pope from 1513
to 1521, presided over one of the most brilliant epochs in
history: the "century of Leo X." | 5. Pope Pius IX
(1846-78) proclaimed the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and
of the infallibility of the Popes in all matters related to faith
and morals; published the Syllabus, or conspectus of modern
errors; witnessed the usurpation by Victor Emmanuel II of the
temporal power of the Popes, but never acknowledged it. | 6.
Letter 138, to Marcellinus, 15 (PL 33, 532). | 7. Col. 2:8. | 8.
Jms. 1:17. | 9. This point is developed in the encyclical Aeterni
Patris. | 10. This point is developed in the encyclical Arcanum.
See also the encyclical letter of Pope Pius XI, Divini Illius
Magistri (December 31, 1929, On the Christian Education of Youth.)
| 11. Wis. 1:14: "For he created all things that they might
be: and he made the nations of the earth for health: and there is
no poison of destruction in them, nor kingdom of hell upon the
earth." | 12. 2 Cor. 13:13.
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