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Causes of Society's Ills

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Current Issues

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Divine Providence

"I, for my part, will do my best... The rest is in the hand of Providence for, after all, the care of the Church is more the business of God than ours." (St. Robert Bellarmine, Doctor of the Church)

"In a way unspeakably strange and wonderful, even what is done in opposition to His will does not defeat His will." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church)

"Take away all evil, and much good would go with it. God's care is to bring good out of the evils that happen, not to abolish them." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the Church")

"God, despite his omnipotence and supreme goodness, allows evils he could prevent to exist in the world, if removing them would cause greater good to be lost or greater evil to ensue." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the Church")

"By the hidden dispensation of divine providence the course of earthly things is so guided that all things that happen to man turn out to the glory of God for the salvation of those who are true disciples of Jesus Christ." (Pope Leo XIII, "Exeunte Iam Anno", 1888)

Also See: Encouragement | Instructions / Social Remedies | State of Things / Laments | Warnings

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Encour-

agement

"Why are we sad? Why do we blame God? Evils abound in the world so that the world will fail to seduce us into loving it." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church)

"What has a person to fear who lives in the arms and bosom of God?" (St. Paul of the Cross)

"Let nothing disturb you, nothing frighten you; all things are passing; God never changes." (St. Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church)

"[W]e know from experience that, in the dispensation of Divine Providence, when evils reach their limit, deliverance is not far distant." (Pope St. Pius X, "Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum", 1904)

"Nor is it to be doubted but that especial aid of the great God will be vouchsafed, so long as the struggle endures, to the flock alike and to the pastors." (Pope Leo XIII, "Sapientiae Christianae", 1890)

"May the number, boldness, and strength of the enemy not frighten you, because God is stronger than they; if God is for you, who can be against you?" (Pope Leo XIII, "Custodi Di Quella Fede", 1892)

"Let them not, however, lose heart; to face bitter combats is a mark of Christians, and to endure grave labors to the end is a mark of them who, as good soldiers of Christ, follow Him closely." (Pope Pius XI, "Quadragesimo Anno", 1931)

"And, if by this power [the Church] has freed the world grown old in vice and lost in superstition, why should she not again recover it when gone astray?" (Pope Leo XIII, "Exeunte Iam Anno", 1888)

"The Church of Christ, built upon an unshakable rock, has nothing to fear for herself, as she knows for a certainty that the gates of hell shall never prevail against her. Rather, she knows full well, through the experience of many centuries, that she is wont to come forth from the most violent storms stronger than ever and adorned with new triumphs." (Pope Pius XI, "Quadragesimo Anno", 1931)

"For We know that if all the sorrows and calamities of these stormy times, by which countless multitudes are being sorely tried, are accepted from God's hands with calm submission, they naturally lift souls above the passing things of earth to those of heaven that abide forever, and arouse a certain secret thirst and intense desire for spiritual things." (Pope Pius XII, "Mystici Corporis Christi", 1943)

"It is always the will of God for us to struggle against what is evil and false. Whether we will prevail in our struggle, that we do not know, and here again we should say, 'Thy will be done'. As Pascal says so beautifully, we must fight with Christ, but we do not know whether we will conquer with Him. But that Christ will conquer in the end - that we know.'" (Dietrich von Hildebrand) 

"We may well admire in this the admirable wisdom of the Providence of God, who, ever bringing good out of evil, has from time to time suffered the faith and piety of men to grow weak, and allowed Catholic truth to be attacked by false doctrines, but always with the result that truth has afterwards shone out with greater splendor, and that men's faith, aroused from its lethargy, has shown itself more vigorous than before." (Pope Pius XI, "Quas Primas", 1925)

"We know very well, Venerable Brethren, that all these efforts will come to naught, since without doubt, and in His own appointed time, 'God shall arise, and his enemies shall be scattered' (Ps. Ixvii. 2); We know that the gates of Hell shall never prevail (cf. Matt. xvi. 18); We know that Our Divine Redeemer, as was foretold of Him, 'shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth' (cf. Isaias xi. 4); and there will be a dreadful hour for those wretched men, when they shall fall 'into the hands of the living God' (cf. Heb x. 31)." (Pope Pius XI, "Caritate Christi Compulsi", 1932)

"Nor can we Christians endure or exist any longer - if it has come to that - if we become overly frightened by the snares or threats of the damned. Therefore, trusting not in ourselves but in the God who raises the dead to life, we despise human affairs and cry out to the Lord: You are my hope in the day of disaster. Let us never be exhausted in body or in spirit, for we are fellow workers with God. The Lord Jesus is with us always even to the end of time. Therefore let us not be weakened by scandal or persecution, lest we seem ungrateful for God's favor, since his assistance is as strong as His promises are true." (Pope Clement XIII, "A Quo Die", 1758)

"Nevertheless, Venerable Brethren, though such great and numerous evils hang over us, and others still greater are to be feared for the future, we must not lose heart nor let the confident hope that rests solely on God become fainter. He who 'made the nations of the earth for health' (Cf. Wisdom i, 14) without doubt will not let those perish whom He has redeemed with His Precious Blood, nor will He abandon His Church. But rather, as We said in the beginning, shall We beseech God through the mediation of the Blessed Virgin, so acceptable to Him, since, to use the words of St. Bernard: 'Such is the will of God, who has wished that we should have all things through Mary.'" (Pope Pius XI, "Ingravescentibus Malis", 1937)

"Never will there be grief enough over the corruption of morals so extensively increasing and promoted by irreligious and obscene writings, theatrical spectacles and meretricious houses established almost everywhere; by other depraved arts and monstrous portents of every error disseminated in all directions; by the abominable impurities of all vices and crimes growing constantly and the deadly virus of unbelief and indifferentism spread far and wide; by contempt for ecclesiastical authority, sacred things, and laws and by the outrageous plundering of Church possessions; by the bitter and constant abuse of consecrated Church officials, of the students of religious communities, of virgins dedicated to God; by the diabolical hatred of Christ, his Church, teaching, and of this Apostolic See. These and almost innumerable other evils perpetrated by the embittered enemies of the Catholic Church and faith, we are daily compelled to lament. All these agonies seem to prolong and delay that most yearned for time when we shall see the full triumph of our most holy religion, of justice, and of truth. This triumph cannot fail us, however, even if it is not given us to know the time destined for it by almighty God. Even though our heavenly Father permits his holy Church to be afflicted and plagued by various tribulations and distresses while serving during this most miserable and earthly pilgrimage, nevertheless, because it has been founded by Christ, the Lord, upon an immovable and most firm rock, it cannot be shaken or overthrown by any force or violence." (Pope Pius IX, Quanto Conficiamur Moerore, 1863)

Also See: Divine Providence | Fallen Members of the Church | Instructions / Social Remedies | Persecution | State of Things / Laments | Vanities of the World | Warnings

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Fallen Members of the Church

"And if at times there appears in the Church something that indicates the weakness of our human nature, it should not be attributed to her juridical constitution, but rather to that regrettable inclination to evil found in each individual, which its Divine Founder permits even at times in the most exalted members of His Mystical Body, for the purpose of testing the virtue of the Shepherds no less than of the flocks, and that all may increase the merit of their Christian faith. For, as We said above, Christ did not wish to exclude sinners from His Church; hence if some of her members are suffering from spiritual maladies, that is no reason why we should lessen our love for the Church, but rather a reason why we should increase our devotion to her members. Certainly the loving Mother is spotless in the Sacraments by which she gives birth to and nourishes her children; in the faith which she has always preserved inviolate; in her sacred laws imposed on all; in the evangelical counsels which she recommends; in those heavenly gifts and extraordinary graces through which with inexhaustible fecundity, she generates hosts of martyrs, virgins and confessors. But it cannot be laid to her charge if some members fall, weak or wounded. In their name she prays to God daily: 'Forgive us our trespasses;' and with the brave heart of a mother she applies herself at once to the work of nursing them back to spiritual health." (Pope Pius XII, "Mystici Corporis Christi", 1943)

Also See: Causes of Society's Ills | Divine Providence | Encouragement | The Hardships of Life | Instructions / Social Remedies | State of Things / Laments | Warnings | Current Issues (Reflections)

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The Hardships of Life

"In like manner, the other pains and hardships of life will have no end or cessation on earth; for the consequences of sin are bitter and hard to bear, and they must accompany man so long as life lasts. To suffer and to endure, therefore, is the lot of humanity; let them strive as they may, no strength and no artifice will ever succeed in banishing from human life the ills and troubles which beset it. If any there are who pretend differently - who hold out to a hard-pressed people the boon of freedom from pain and trouble, an undisturbed repose, and constant enjoyment - they delude the people and impose upon them, and their lying promises will only one day bring forth evils worse than the present." (Pope Leo XIII, "Rerum Novarum", 1891)

"Let them remember that the world will never be able to rid itself of misery, sorrow and tribulation, which are the portion even of those who seem most prosperous. Patience, therefore, is the need of all, that Christian patience which comforts the heart with the divine assurance of eternal happiness." (Pope Pius XI, "Divini Redemptoris", 1937)

"To this it may be added that the expiatory passion of Christ is renewed and in a manner continued and fulfilled in His mystical body, which is the Church. For, to use once more the words of St. Augustine, 'Christ suffered whatever it behooved Him to suffer; now nothing is wanting of the measure of the sufferings. Therefore the sufferings were fulfilled, but in the head; there were yet remaining the sufferings of Christ in His body' (In Psalm lxxxvi). This, indeed, Our Lord Jesus Himself vouchsafed to explain when, speaking to Saul, 'as yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter' (Acts ix, 1), He said, 'I am Jesus whom thou persecutest' (Acts ix, 5), clearly signifying that when persecutions are stirred up against the Church, the Divine Head of the Church is Himself attacked and troubled. Rightly, therefore, does Christ, still suffering in His mystical body, desire to have us partakers of His expiation, and this is also demanded by our intimate union with Him, for since we are 'the body of Christ and members of member' (1 Corinthians xii, 27), whatever the head suffers, all the members must suffer with it (Cf. 1 Corinthians xii, 26)." (Pope Pius XI, "Miserentissimus Redemptor", 1928)

Also See: Divine Providence | Encouragement | Fallen Members of the Church | Instructions / Social Remedies | The Last Days | Persecution | State of Things / Laments | Warnings | Suffering / Death (Reflections)

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Instructions / Social Remedies

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A Just Society

"A society of men is just only if it obeys You." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church)

Also See: Causes of Society's Ills | Instructions / Social Remedies | Let the World Hear of the Rights of God | State of Things / Laments 

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The Last Days

"Or else; these words, In those days shall be affliction (Mk. 13:19), properly agree with the times of Antichrist, when not only tortures more frequent, and more painful than before are to be heaped on the faithful, but also, what is more terrible, the working of miracles shall accompany those who inflict torments. But in proportion as this tribulation shall be greater then those which preceded, by so much shall it be shorter. For it is believed, that during three years and a half, as far as may be conjectured from the prophecy of Daniel and the Revelations of John, the Church is to be attacked. In a spiritual sense, however, when we see the abomination of desolation standing where it ought not, that is, heresies and crimes reigning amongst them, who appear to be consecrated by the heavenly mysteries, then whosoever of us remain in Judea, that is, in the confession of the true faith, ought to mount the higher in virtue, the more men we see following the broad paths of vice." (St. Bede the Venerable, Doctor of the Church)

"And as darts, when foreseen, are less likely to hit, He adds, Lo, I have told you (Mt. 24:25). Our Lord announces the woes which are to precede the destruction of the world, that when they come they may alarm the less from having been foreknown." (St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Doctor of the Church)

Also See: Second Coming of Jesus (Topical Scripture) | Causes of Society's Ills | Divine Providence | Encouragement | Instructions / Social Remedies | Persecution | State of Things / Laments | Warnings | Current Issues

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Let the World Hear of the Rights of God

"The world has heard enough of the so-called 'rights of man.' Let it hear something of the rights of God." (Pope Leo XIII, "Tametsi Futura Prospicientibus", 1900)

Also See: Causes of Society's Ills | Instructions / Social Remedies | State of Things / Laments | Warnings  

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Persecution

"Nothing is more to be feared than too long a peace. You are deceived if you think that a Christian can live without persecution. He suffers the greatest persecution of all who lives under none. A storm puts a man on his guard and obliges him to exert his utmost efforts to avoid shipwreck." (St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church)

"The instance cannot be found in the history of mankind, in which an anti-Christian power could long abstain from persecution." (Cardinal Newman)

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The Press

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State of Things / Laments

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Vanities of the World

"All the preoccupation of men with the things of this life is but the game of children on the sands... For as soon as their labor is completed, the sand falls down and nothing is left of their buildings." (St. Gregory of Nyssa)

"Those who run after the vanities of the world which pass away like the wind give a great deal for very little profit; they give their eternity for the miserable smoke of the world." (St. John Vianney)

Also See: Causes of Society's Ills | Encouragement | The Hardships of Life | Instructions / Social Remedies | Let the World Hear of the Rights of God | Persecution | State of Things / Laments | Warnings | Current Issues

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Warnings

"The intellectual and political forces more or less impregnated with atheism are set to destroy Christian civilization." (Pope Pius XII)

"It is indeed to be greatly feared that if the light of the Gospel gradually fades and wanes in the minds of many, or if - what is even worse, - they utterly reject it, the very foundations of civil and domestic society will collapse, and more evil times will unhappily result." (Pope Pius XII, "Doctor Mellifluus ", 1953)

"[A]s long as individuals and states refused to submit to the rule of our Savior, there would be no really hopeful prospect of a lasting peace among nations." (Pope Pius XI, "Quas Primas", 1925)

"Would that all men would judge of the tree by its fruit, and would acknowledge the seed and origin of the evils which press upon us, and of the dangers that are impending!" (Pope Leo XIII, "Humanum Genus", 1884)

"In this case We cannot overlook, keep silent or act sluggishly. For unless this great license of thinking, speaking, writing, and reading is repressed, it will appear that the strategy and armies of wise kings and generals have relieved us for but a short time from this evil which has crushed us for so long. But so long as its stock and seed is not removed and destroyed (I shudder to say it but it must be said), it will spread abroad and be strengthened to reach over the whole world. To destroy it later or to rout it, legions, guards, watches, the armories of cities, and the defenses of empires will not be enough." (Pope Pius VII, "Diu Satis", 1800)

"We wish this one thing to be understood, of which history has innumerable examples, that injustice is always punished, and with greater severity the longer it has been continued." (Pope Leo XIII, "Exeunte Iam Anno", 1888)

"By the patrons of liberalism, however, who make the State absolute and omnipotent, and proclaim that man should live altogether independently of God, the liberty of which We speak, which goes hand in hand with virtue and religion, is not admitted; and whatever is done for its preservation is accounted an injury and an offense against the State. Indeed, if what they say were really true, there would be no tyranny, no matter how monstrous, which we should not be bound to endure and submit to... For, to reject the supreme authority to God, and to cast off all obedience to Him in public matters, or even in private and domestic affairs, is the greatest perversion of liberty and the worst kind of liberalism" (Pope Leo XIII, "Libertas Praestantissimum", 1888)

"We have Ourselves oftentimes conveyed the warning, that matters of the highest moment and worthy of all honor are at stake, for the safeguarding of which every most toilsome effort should be readily endured; and that a sublime reward is in store for the labors of a Christian life. On the other hand, to refrain from doing battle for Jesus Christ amounts to fighting against Him; He Himself assures us 'He will deny before His Father in heaven those who shall have refused to confess Him on earth.'" (Pope Leo XIII, "Sapientiae Christianae", 1890)

"For the enemies of the Church have for their object - and they hesitate not to proclaim it, and many among them boast of it - to destroy outright, if possible, the Catholic religion, which alone is the true religion. With such a purpose in hand they shrink from nothing, for they are fully conscious that the more faint-hearted those who withstand them become, the more easy will it be to work out their wicked will. Therefore, they who cherish the 'prudence of the flesh' and who pretend to be unaware that every Christian ought to be a valiant soldier of Christ; they who would fain obtain the rewards owing to conquerors, while they are leading the lives of cowards, untouched in the fight, are so far from thwarting the onward march of the evil-disposed that, on the contrary, they even help it forward." (Pope Leo XIII, "Sapientiae Christianae", 1890)

"Certainly one of the most dangerous errors of our age is the claim to separate morality from religion, thus removing all solid basis for any legislation. This intellectual error might perhaps have passed unnoticed and appeared less dangerous when it was confined to a few, and belief in God was still the common heritage of mankind, and was tacitly presumed even in the case of those who no longer professed it openly. But today, when atheism is spreading through the masses of the people, the practical consequences of such an error become dreadfully tangible, and realities of the saddest kind make their appearance in the world. In place of moral laws, which disappear together with the loss of faith in God, brute force is imposed, trampling on every right. Old time fidelity and honesty of conduct and mutual intercourse extolled so much even by the orators and poets of paganism, now give place to speculations in one's own affairs as in those of others without reference to conscience. In fact, how can any contract be maintained, and what value can any treaty have, in which every guarantee of conscience is lacking? And how can there be talk of guarantees of conscience, when all faith in God and all fear of God has vanished? Take away this basis, and with it all moral law falls, and there is no remedy left to stop the gradual but inevitable destruction of peoples, families, the State, civilization itself." (Pope Pius XI, "Caritate Christi Compulsi", 1932)

"Moreover, besides this, a doctrine of such character is most hurtful both to individuals and to the State. For, once ascribed to human reason the only authority to decide what is true and what is good, and the real distinction between good and evil is destroyed; honor and dishonor differ not in their nature, but in the opinion and judgment of each one; pleasure is the measure of what is lawful; and, given a code of morality which can have little or no power to restrain or quiet the unruly propensities of man, a way is naturally opened to universal corruption. With reference also to public affairs: authority is severed from the true and natural principle whence it derives all its efficacy for the common good; and the law determining what it is right to do and avoid doing is at the mercy of a majority. Now, this is simply a road leading straight to tyranny. The empire of God over man and civil society once repudiated, it follows that religion, as a public institution, can have no claim to exist, and that everything that belongs to religion will be treated with complete indifference. Furthermore, with ambitious designs on sovereignty, tumult and sedition will be common amongst the people; and when duty and conscience cease to appeal to them, there will be nothing to hold them back but force, which of itself alone is powerless to keep their covetousness in check. Of this we have almost daily evidence in the conflict with socialists and members of other seditious societies, who labor unceasingly to bring about revolution. It is for those, then, who are capable of forming a just estimate of things to decide whether such doctrines promote that true liberty which alone is worthy of man, or rather, pervert and destroy it." (Pope Leo XIII, "Libertas Praestantissimum", 1888)

"From the fact that it has been vouchsafed to human reason to snatch from nature, through the investigations of science, many of her treasured secrets and to apply them befittingly to the divers requirements of life, men have become possessed with so arrogant a sense of their own powers as already to consider themselves able to banish from social life the authority and empire of God. Led away by this delusion, they make over to human nature the dominion of which they think God has been despoiled; from nature, they maintain, we must seek the principle and rule of all truth; from nature, they aver, alone spring, and to it should be referred, all the duties that religious feeling prompts. Hence, they deny all revelation from on high, and all fealty due to the Christian teaching of morals as well as all obedience to the Church, and they go so far as to deny her power of making laws and exercising every other kind of right, even disallowing the Church any place among the civil institutions of the commonweal. These men aspire unjustly, and with their might strive, to gain control over public affairs and lay hands on the rudder of the State, in order that the legislation may the more easily be adapted to these principles, and the morals of the people influenced in accordance with them. Whence it comes to pass that in many countries Catholicism is either openly assailed or else secretly interfered with, full impunity being granted to the most pernicious doctrines, while the public profession of Christian truth is shackled oftentimes with manifold constraints. Under such evil circumstances therefore, each one is bound in conscience to watch over himself, taking all means possible to preserve the faith inviolate in the depths of his soul, avoiding all risks, and arming himself on all occasions, especially against the various specious sophisms rife among non-believers." (Pope Leo XIII, "Sapientiae Christianae", 1890)

"Not with the conquest of material space does one approach to God, separation from Whom is death, conversion to Whom is life, to be established in Whom is glory; but under the guidance of Christ with the fullness of sincere faith, with unsullied conscience and upright will, with holy works, with the achievement and the employment of that genuine liberty whose sacred rules are found proclaimed in the Gospel. If, instead, the Commandments of God are spurned, not only is it impossible to attain that happiness which has place beyond the brief span of time which is allotted to earthly existence, but the very basis upon which rests true civilization is shaken and naught is to be expected but ruins over which belated tears must be shed. How, in fact, can the public weal and the glory of civilized life have any guarantee of stability when right is subverted and virtue despised and decried? Is not God the Source and the Giver of law? Is He not the inspiration and the reward of virtue with none like unto Him among lawgivers (Cf. Job xxxvi:22)? This, according to the admission of all reasonable men, is everywhere the bitter and prolific root of evils: the refusal to recognize the Divine Majesty, the neglect of the moral law, the origin of which is from Heaven, or that regrettable inconstancy which makes its victims waver between the lawful and the forbidden, between justice and iniquity. Thence arise immoderate and blind egoists, that thirst for pleasure, the vice of drunkenness, immodest and costly styles in dress, the prevalence of crime even among minors, the lust for power, neglect of the poor, base craving for ill-gotten wealth, the flight from the land, levity in entering into marriage, divorce, the break-up of the family, the cooling of mutual affection between parents and children, birth control, the enfeeblement of the race, the weakening of respect for authority, or obsequiousness, or rebellion, neglect of duty towards one's country and towards mankind." (Pope Pius XII, "Sertum Laetitiae", 1939)

Also See: Causes of Society's Ills | Divine Providence | Encouragement | Fallen Members of the Church | The Hardships of Life | Instructions / Social Remedies | The Last Days | Persecution | State of Things / Laments | Vanities of the World | Current Issues

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Misc.

"The blind perversity of us miserable humans is lamentable. Although we desire happiness ardently, not only do we not do those things by which we may obtain our desire, but rather, with contrary disaffection, we take steps to add to our misery. In my opinion, we would never do this if a false image of happiness were not deceiving us or a semblance of real misery frightening us off from happiness." (St. Aelred of Rievaulx)

"Jesus Christ expressly tells us that it is impossible to be for God and the World at the same time, because when we want to please the one, it means becoming the enemy of the other." (St. John Vianney)

"Hail! Thou, who by a new triumph dost repair the loss we sustained when the enemy triumphed in the first combat. See how again he threatens first revenge; unless thou oppose him, every Christian must perish." (Ancient Sequence)

"The condition of the commonwealth depends on the religion with which God is worshipped; and between one and the other there exists an intimate and abiding connection." (Pope Leo XIII, "Immortale Dei", 1885)

"Souls that have faith, leave to the fools of this world the care of realizing a fortune on this Earth; seek you to make a fortune for the next life, which shall be eternal. The present life must end, and end very soon." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)

"Wise and honest people living in the world, you do not understand the mysterious language of the Cross. You are too fond of sensual pleasures and you seek your comforts too much. You have too much regard for the things of this world and you are too afraid to be held up to scorn or looked down upon. In short, you are too opposed to the Cross of Jesus." (St. Louis de Montfort)

"[T]hat kind of civilization which conflicts with the doctrines and laws of holy Church is nothing but a worthless imitation and meaningless name." (Pope Leo XIII, "Inscrutabili Dei Consilio", 1882)

"But, whoever strive against the order which Divine Providence has constituted pay usually the penalty of their pride, and meet with affliction and misery where they rashly hoped to find all things prosperous and in conformity with their desires." (Pope Leo XIII, "Humanum Genus", 1884)

"In fact, the cause of Religion especially in this time, has been so united with the health of society, that certainly in no way can one be separated from the other." (Pope Leo XII, "Quo Graviora", 1826)

"A man buys hell here with so much pain, that he might have heaven with less than half the amount." (St. Thomas More)

"Thou seest, Lord, how the winds have borne down on every side, how the sea rages and the waves are lashed to fury. Command, we beseech Thee, Who alone canst, the winds and the sea. Give back to man that tranquillity and order - that true peace which the world cannot give. By Thy grace let man be restored to proper order with faith in God, as in duty bound, with justice and love towards our neighbor, with temperance as to ourselves, and with passions controlled by reason. Let Thy kingdom come, let the duty of submitting to Thee and serving Thee be learnt by those who, far from Thee, seek truth and salvation to no purpose." (Pope Leo XIII, "Exeunte Iam Anno", 1888)

"And as to tolerance, it is surprising how far removed from the equity and prudence of the Church are those who profess what is called liberalism. For, in allowing that boundless license of which We have spoken, they exceed all limits, and end at last by making no apparent distinction between truth and error, honesty and dishonesty. And because the Church, the pillar and ground of truth, and the unerring teacher of morals, is forced utterly to reprobate and condemn tolerance of such an abandoned and criminal character, they calumniate her as being wanting in patience and gentleness, and thus fail to see that, in so doing, they impute to her as a fault what is in reality a matter for commendation. But, in spite of all this show of tolerance, it very often happens that, while they profess themselves ready to lavish liberty on all in the greatest profusion, they are utterly intolerant toward the Catholic Church, by refusing to allow her the liberty of being herself free." (Pope Leo XIII, "Libertas Praestantissimum", 1888)

"It is the will of Jesus Christ that the whole body of the Church, no less than the individual members, should resemble Him. And we see this realized when, following in the footsteps of her Founder, the Church teaches, governs, and offers the divine Sacrifice. When she embraces the evangelical counsels she reflects the Redeemer's poverty, obedience and virginal purity. Adorned with institutes of many different kinds as with so many precious jewels, she represents Christ deep in prayer on the mountain, or preaching to the people, or healing the sick and wounded and bringing sinners back to the path of virtue - in a word, doing good to all. What wonder then, if, while on this earth she, like Christ, suffer persecutions, insults and sorrows." (Pope Pius XII, "Mystici Corporis Christi", 1943)

"When vice is believed to be virtue, guilt is piled up without fear." (Pope St. Gregory the Great, Doctor of the Church)

"Furthermore, beloved sons and venerable brothers, we cannot be silent about another most pernicious error, an evil that is pitifully tearing apart and deeply disturbing minds, hearts, and souls. We are referring to that unbridled and damnable self-love and self-interest that drive many to seek their own advantage and profit with clearly no regard for their neighbor. We mean that thoroughly insatiable passion for power and possessions that overrides all the rules of justice and honesty and never ceases by every means possible to amass and greedily heap up wealth. Completely absorbed in the things of earth, forgetful of God, religion and their souls, they wrongly place all their happiness in procuring riches and money. Let such people recollect and meditate seriously upon the very sobering words of Christ, the Lord: 'What will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?' Let them also reflect upon the teaching of Paul: 'Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that drag men down to ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evil; it is through this craving that some have wandered away and pierced their hearts with many pangs.'" (Pope Pius IX, "Quanto Conficiamur Moerore", 1863)

"The Church, it is certain, at no time and in no particular is deserted by God; hence, there is no reason why she should be alarmed at the wickedness of men; but in the case of nations falling away from Christian virtue there is not a like ground of assurance, 'for sin maketh nations miserable.' If every bygone age has experienced the force of this truth, wherefore should not our own? There are, in truth, very many signs which proclaim that just punishments are already menacing, and the condition of modern States tends to confirm this belief, since we perceive many of them in sad plight from intestine disorders, and not one entirely exempt. But, should those leagued together in wickedness hurry onward in the road they have boldly chosen, should they increase in influence and power in proportion as they make headway in their evil purposes and crafty schemes, there will be ground to fear lest the very foundations nature has laid for States to rest upon be utterly destroyed. Nor can such misgivings be removed by any mere human effort, especially as a vast number of men, having rejected the Christian faith, are on that account justly incurring the penalty of their pride, since blinded by their passions they search in vain for truth, laying hold on the false for the true, and thinking themselves wise when they call 'evil good, and good evil,' and 'put darkness in the place of light, and light in the place of darkness.' It is therefore necessary that God come to the rescue, and that, mindful of His mercy, He turn an eye of compassion on human society." (Pope Leo XIII, "Sapientiae Christianae", 1890)

Also See: Causes of Society's Ills | Divine Providence | Encouragement | Fallen Members of the Church | The Hardships of Life | Instructions / Social Remedies | The Last Days | Persecution | The Press | State of Things / Laments | Vanities of the World | Warnings | Current Issues

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