Immortale Dei
Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII
on the Christian Constitution of States
To Our Venerable
Brethren the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Bishops, and other Ordinaries
in Peace and Communion with the Apostolic See.
The Catholic Church,
that imperishable handiwork of our all-merciful God, has for her immediate and
natural purpose the saving of souls and securing our happiness in heaven. Yet,
in regard to things temporal, she is the source of benefits as manifold and
great as if the chief end of her existence were to ensure the prospering of our
earthly life. And, indeed, wherever the Church has set her foot she has straightway
changed the face of things, and has attempered the moral tone of the people
with a new civilization and with virtues before unknown. All nations which have
yielded to her sway have become eminent by their gentleness, their sense of
justice, and the glory of their high deeds.
2. And yet a hackneyed
reproach of old date is leveled against her, that the Church is opposed to the
rightful aims of the civil government, and is wholly unable to afford help in
spreading that welfare and progress which justly and naturally are sought after
by every well-regulated State. From the very beginning Christians were harassed
by slanderous accusations of this nature, and on that account were held up to
hatred and execration, for being (so they were called) enemies of the Empire.
The Christian religion was moreover commonly charged with being the cause of
the calamities that so frequently befell the State, whereas, in very truth,
just punishment was being awarded to guilty nations by an avenging God. This
odious calumny, with most valid reason, nerved the genius and sharpened the pen
of St. Augustine, who, notably in his treatise, "The City of God,"
set forth in so bright a light the worth of Christian wisdom in its relation to
the public wealth that he seems not merely to have pleaded the cause of the
Christians of his day, but to have refuted for all future times impeachments so
grossly contrary to truth. The wicked proneness, however, to levy like charges
and accusations has not been lulled to rest. Many, indeed, are they who have
tried to work out a plan of civil society based on doctrines other than those
approved by the Catholic Church. Nay, in these latter days a novel conception
of law has begun here and there to gain increase and influence, the outcome, as
it is maintained, of an age arrived at full stature, and the result of
progressive liberty. But, though endeavors of various kinds have been ventured
on, it is clear that no better mode has been devised for the building up and
ruling the State than that which is the necessary growth of the teachings of
the Gospel. We deem it, therefore, of the highest moment, and a strict duty of
Our apostolic office, to contrast with the lessons taught by Christ the novel
theories now advanced touching the State. By this means We cherish hope that
the bright shining of the truth may scatter the mists of error and doubt, so
that one and all may see clearly the imperious law of life which they are bound
to follow and obey.. be the form and character of the State were it governed according
to the principles of Christian philosophy. Man's natural instinct moves him to
live in civil society, for he cannot, if dwelling apart, provide himself with
the necessary requirements of life, nor procure the means of developing his
mental and moral faculties. Hence, it is divinely ordained that he should lead
his life—be it family, or civil—with his fellow men, amongst whom alone his
several wants can be adequately supplied. But, as no society can hold together
unless some one be over all, directing all to strive earnestly for the common
good, every body politic must have a ruling authority, and this authority, no
less than society itself, has its source in nature, and has, consequently, God
for its Author. Hence, it follows that all public power must proceed from God.
For God alone is the true and supreme Lord of the world. Everything, without
exception, must be subject to Him, and must serve him, so that whosoever holds
the right to govern holds it from one sole and single source, namely, God, the sovereign
Ruler of all. "There is no power but from God."(1)
4. The right to rule
is not necessarily, however, bound up with any special mode of government. It
may take this or that form, provided only that it be of a nature of the
government, rulers must ever bear in mind that God is the paramount ruler of
the world, and must set Him before themselves as their exemplar and law in the
administration of the State. For, in things visible God has fashioned secondary
causes, in which His divine action can in some wise be discerned, leading up to
the end to which the course of the world is ever tending. In like manner, in
civil society, God has always willed that there should be a ruling authority,
and that they who are invested with it should reflect the divine power and
providence in some measure over the human race.
5. They, therefore,
who rule should rule with evenhanded justice, not as masters, but rather as
fathers, for the rule of God over man is most just, and is tempered always with
a father's kindness. Government should, moreover, be administered for the
well-being of the citizens, because they who govern others possess authority
solely for the welfare of the State. Furthermore, the civil power must not be
subservient to the advantage of any one individual or of some few persons,
inasmuch as it was established for the common good of all. But, if those who
are in authority rule unjustly, if they govern overbearingly or arrogantly, and
if their measures prove hurtful to the people, they must remember that the Almighty
will one day bring them to account, the more strictly in proportion to the
sacredness of their office and preeminence of their dignity. "The mighty
shall be mightily tormented."(2) Then, truly, will the majesty of the law
meet with the dutiful and willing homage of the people, when they are convinced
that their rulers hold authority from God, and feel that it is a matter of
justice and duty to obey them, and to show them reverence and fealty, united to
a love not unlike that which children show their parents. "Let every soul
be subject to higher powers."(3) To despise legitimate authority, in
whomsoever vested, is unlawful, as a rebellion against the divine will, and
whoever resists that, rushes willfully to destruction. "He that resisteth
the power resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist, purchase to
themselves damnation."(4) To cast aside obedience, and by popular violence
to incite to revolt, is therefore treason, not against man only, but against
God.
6. As a consequence,
the State, constituted as it is, is clearly bound to act up to the manifold and
weighty duties linking it to God, by the public profession of religion. Nature
and reason, which command every individual devoutly to worship God in holiness,
because we belong to Him and must return to Him, since from Him we came, bind
also the civil community by a like law. For, men living together in society are
under the power of God no less than individuals are, and society, no less than
individuals, owes gratitude to God who gave it being and maintains it and whose
ever-bounteous goodness enriches it with countless blessings. Since, then, no
one is allowed to be remiss in the service due to God, and since the chief duty
of all men is to cling to religion in both its teaching and practice—not such
religion as they may have a preference for, but the religion which God enjoins,
and which certain and most clear marks show to be the only one true religion—it
is a public crime to act as though there were no God. So, too, is it a sin for
the State not to have care for religion as a something beyond its scope, or as
of no practical benefit; or out of many forms of religion to adopt that one
which chimes in with the fancy; for we are bound absolutely to worship God in
that way which He has shown to be His will. All who rule, therefore, would hold
in honor the holy name of God, and one of their chief duties must be to favor
religion, to protect it, to shield it under the credit and sanction of the
laws, and neither to organize nor enact any measure that may compromise its
safety. This is the bounden duty of rulers to the people over whom they rule.
For one and all are we destined by our birth and adoption to enjoy, when this
frail and fleeting life is ended, a supreme and final good in heaven, and to
the attainment of this every endeavor should be directed. Since, then, upon
this depends the full and perfect happiness of mankind, the securing of this
end should be of all imaginable interests the most urgent. Hence, civil
society, established for the common welfare, should not only safeguard the
well-being of the community, but have also at heart the interests of its
individual members, in such mode as not in any way to hinder, but in every
manner to render as easy as may be, the possession of that highest and
unchangeable good for which all should seek. Wherefore, for this purpose, care
must especially be taken to preserve unharmed and unimpeded the religion
whereof the practice is the link connecting man with God.
7. Now, it cannot be
difficult to find out which is the true religion, if only it be sought with an
earnest and unbiased mind; for proofs are abundant and striking. We have, for
example, the fulfillment of prophecies, miracles in great numbers, the rapid
spread of the faith in the midst of enemies and in face of overwhelming
obstacles, the witness of the martyrs, and the like. From all these it is
evident that the only true religion is the one established by Jesus Christ
Himself, and which He committed to His Church to protect and to propagate.
8. For the
only-begotten Son of God established on earth a society which is called the
Church, and to it He handed over the exalted and divine office which He had
received from His Father, to be continued through the ages to come."As the
Father hath sent Me, I also send you."(5) "Behold I am with you all
days, even to the consummation of the world."(6) Consequently, as Jesus
Christ came into the world that men "might have life and have it more
abundantly,"(7) so also has the Church for its aim and end the eternal
salvation of souls, and hence it is so constituted as to open wide its arms to
all mankind, unhampered by any limit of either time or place. "Preach ye
the Gospel to every creature."(8)
9. Over this mighty
multitude God has Himself set rulers with power to govern, and He has willed
that one should be the head of all, and the chief and unerring teacher of
truth, to whom He has given "the keys of the kingdom of heaven."(9)
"Feed My lambs, feed My sheep."(10) "I have prayed for thee that
thy faith fail not."(11)
10. This society is
made up of men, just as civil society is, and yet is supernatural and
spiritual, on account of the end for which it was founded, and of the means by
which it aims at attaining that end. Hence, it is distinguished and differs
from civil society, and, what is of highest moment, it is a society chartered
as of right divine, perfect in its nature and in its title, to possess in
itself and by itself, through the will and loving kindness of its Founder, all
needful provision for its maintenance and action. And just as the end at which
the Church aims is by far the noblest of ends, so is its authority the most
exalted of all authority, nor can it be looked upon as inferior to the civil
power, or in any manner dependent upon it.
11. In very truth,
Jesus Christ gave to His Apostles unrestrained authority in regard to things
sacred, together with the genuine and most true power of making laws, as also
with the twofold right of judging and of punishing, which flow from that power.
"All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth: going therefore teach
all nations . . . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you."(12) And in another place: "If he will not hear them,
tell the Church."(13) And again: "In readiness to revenge all
disobedience."(14) And once more: "That . . . I may not deal more
severely according to the power which the Lord hath given me, unto edification
and not unto destruction."(15) Hence, it is the Church, and not the State,
that is to be man's guide to heaven. It is to the Church that God has assigned
the charge of seeing to, and legislating for, all that concerns religion; of
teaching all nations; of spreading the Christian faith as widely as possible;
in short, of administering freely and without hindrance, in accordance with her
own judgment, all matters that fall within its competence.
12. Now, this
authority, perfect in itself, and plainly meant to be unfettered, so long
assailed by a philosophy that truckles to the State, the Church, has never
ceased to claim for herself and openly to exercise. The Apostles themselves
were the first to uphold it, when, being forbidden by the rulers of the
synagogue to preach the Gospel, they courageously answered: "We must obey
God rather than men."(16) This same authority the holy Fathers of the
Church were always careful to maintain by weighty arguments, according as
occasion arose, and the Roman Pontiffs have never shrunk from defending it with
unbending constancy. Nay, more, princes and all invested with power to rule
have themselves approved it, in theory alike and in practice. It cannot be
called in question that in the making of treaties, in the transaction of
business matters, in the sending and receiving ambassadors, and in the
interchange of other kinds of official dealings they have been wont to treat
with the Church as with a supreme and legitimate power. And, assuredly, all
ought to hold that it was not without a singular disposition of God's
providence that this power of the Church was provided with a civil sovereignty
as the surest safeguard of her independence.
13. The Almighty,
therefore, has given the charge of the human race to two powers, the
ecclesiastical and the civil, the one being set over divine, and the other over
human, things. Each in its kind is supreme, each has fixed limits within which
it is contained, limits which are defined by the nature and special object of
the province of each, so that there is, we may say, an orbit traced out within
which the action of each is brought into play by its own native right. But,
inasmuch as each of these two powers has authority over the same subjects, and
as it might come to pass that one and the same thing—related differently, but
still remaining one and the same thing—might belong to the jurisdiction and
determination of both, therefore God, who foresees all things, and who is the
author of these two powers, has marked out the course of each in right
correlation to the other. "For the powers that are, are ordained of
God."(17) Were this not so, deplorable contentions and conflicts would
often arise, and, not infrequently, men, like travelers at the meeting of two
roads, would hesitate in anxiety and doubt, not knowing what course to follow.
Two powers would be commanding contrary things, and it would be a dereliction
of duty to disobey either of the two.
14. But it would be
most repugnant to them to think thus of the wisdom and goodness of God. Even in
physical things, albeit of a lower order, the Almighty has so combined the
forces and springs of nature with tempered action and wondrous harmony that no
one of them clashes with any other, and all of them most fitly and aptly work
together for the great purpose of the universe. There must, accordingly, exist
between these two powers a certain orderly connection, which may be compared to
the union of the soul and body in man. The nature and scope of that connection
can be determined only, as We have laid down, by having regard to the nature of
each power, and by taking account of the relative excellence and nobleness of
their purpose. One of the two has for its proximate and chief object the
well-being of this mortal life; the other, the everlasting joys of heaven.
Whatever, therefore in things human is of a sacred character, whatever belongs
either of its own nature or by reason of the end to which it is referred, to
the salvation of souls, or to the worship of God, is subject to the power and
judgment of the Church. Whatever is to be ranged under the civil and political
order is rightly subject to the civil authority. Jesus Christ has Himself given
command that what is Caesar's is to be rendered to Caesar, and that what
belongs to God is to be rendered to God.
15. There are,
nevertheless, occasions when another method of concord is available for the
sake of peace and liberty: We mean when rulers of the State and the Roman
Pontiff come to an understanding touching some special matter. At such times
the Church gives signal proof of her motherly love by showing the greatest
possible kindliness and indulgence.
16. Such, then, as We
have briefly pointed out, is the Christian organization of civil society; not
rashly or fancifully shaped out, but educed from the highest and truest
principles, confirmed by natural reason itself.
17. In such
organization of the State there is nothing that can be thought to infringe upon
the dignity of rulers, and nothing unbecoming them; nay, so far from degrading
the sovereign power in its due rights, it adds to it permanence and luster.
Indeed, when more fully pondered, this mutual co-ordination has a perfection in
which all other forms of government are lacking, and from which excellent
results would flow, were the several component parts to keep their place and
duly discharge the office and work appointed respectively for each. And,
doubtless, in the constitution of the State such as We have described, divine
and human things are equitably shared; the rights of citizens assured to them,
and fenced round by divine, by natural, and by human law; the duties incumbent
on each one being wisely marked out, and their fulfillment fittingly insured.
In their uncertain and toilsome journey to the everlasting city all see that
they have safe guides and helpers on their way, and are conscious that others
have charge to protect their persons alike and their possessions, and to obtain
or preserve for them everything essential for their present life. Furthermore,
domestic society acquires that firmness and solidity so needful to it from the
holiness of marriage, one and indissoluble, wherein the rights and duties of
husband and wife are controlled with wise justice and equity; due honor is
assured to the woman; the authority of the husband is conformed to the pattern
afforded by the authority of God; the power of the father is tempered by a due regard
for the dignity of the mother and her offspring; and the best possible
provision is made for the guardianship, welfare, and education of the children.
18. In political
affairs, and all matters civil, the laws aim at securing the common good, and
are not framed according to the delusive caprices and opinions of the mass of
the people, but by truth and by justice; the ruling powers are invested with a
sacredness more than human, and are withheld from deviating from the path of
duty, and from overstepping the bounds of rightful authority; and the obedience
is not the servitude of man to man, but submission to the will of God,
exercising His sovereignty through the medium of men. Now, this being
recognized as undeniable, it is felt that the high office of rulers should be
held in respect; that public authority should be constantly and faithfully
obeyed; that no act of sedition should be committed; and that the civic order
of the commonwealth should be maintained as sacred.
19. So, also, as to
the duties of each one toward his fellow men, mutual forbearance, kindliness,
generosity are placed in the ascendant; the man who is at once a citizen and a
Christian is not drawn aside by conflicting obligations; and, lastly, the
abundant benefits with which the Christian religion, of its very nature, endows
even the mortal life of man are acquired for the community and civil society.
And this to such an extent that it may be said in sober truth: "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."(18)
20. Admirably,
according to his wont, does St. Augustine, in many passages, enlarge upon the
nature of these advantages; but nowhere more markedly and to the point than
when he addresses the Catholic Church in the following words: "Thou dost
teach and train children with much tenderness, young men with much vigor, old
men with much gentleness; as the age not of the body alone, but of the mind of
each requires. Women thou dost subject to their husbands in chaste and faithful
obedience, not for the gratifying of their lust, but for bringing forth
children, and for having a share in the family concerns. Thou dost set husbands
over their wives, not that they may play false to the weaker sex, but according
to the requirements of sincere affection. Thou dost subject children to their
parents in a kind of free service, and dost establish parents over their
children with a benign rule. . . Thou joinest together, not in society only,
but in a sort of brotherhood, citizen with citizen, nation with nation, and the
whole race of men, by reminding them of their common parentage. Thou teachest
kings to look to the interests of their people, and dost admonish the people to
be submissive to their kings. With all care dost thou teach all to whom honor
is due, and affection, and reverence, and fear, consolation, and admonition and
exhortation, and discipline, and reproach, and punishment. Thou showest that
all these are not equally incumbent on all, but that charity is owing to all,
and wrongdoing to none."(19) And in another place, blaming the false
wisdom of certain time-serving philosophers, he observes: "Let those who
say that the teaching of Christ is hurtful to the State produce such armies as
the maxims of Jesus have enjoined soldiers to bring into being; such governors
of provinces; such husbands and wives; such parents and children; such masters
and servants; such kings; such judges, and such payers and collectors of tribute,
as the Christian teaching instructs them to become, and then let them dare to
say that such teaching is hurtful to the State. Nay, rather will they hesitate
to own that this discipline, if duly acted up to, is the very mainstay of the
commonwealth."(20)
21. There was once a
time when States were governed by the philosophy of the Gospel. Then it was
that the power and divine virtue of Christian wisdom had diffused itself
throughout the laws, institutions, and morals of the people, permeating all
ranks and relations of civil society. Then, too, the religion instituted by
Jesus Christ, established firmly in befitting dignity, flourished everywhere,
by the favor of princes and the legitimate protection of magistrates; and
Church and State were happily united in concord and friendly interchange of
good offices. The State, constituted in this wise, bore fruits important beyond
all expectation, whose remembrance is still, and always will be, in renown,
witnessed to as they are by countless proofs which can never be blotted out or
ever obscured by any craft of any enemies. Christian Europe has subdued
barbarous nations, and changed them from a savage to a civilized condition,
from superstition to true worship. It victoriously rolled back the tide of
Mohammedan conquest; retained the headship of civilization; stood forth in the
front rank as the leader and teacher of all, in every branch of national
culture; bestowed on the world the gift of true and many-sided liberty; and
most wisely founded very numerous institutions for the solace of human
suffering. And if we inquire how it was able to bring about so altered a
condition of things, the answer is--beyond all question, in large measure,
through religion, under whose auspices so many great undertakings were set on
foot, through whose aid they were brought to completion.
22. A similar state of
things would certainly have continued had the agreement of the two powers been
lasting. More important results even might have been justly looked for, had
obedience waited upon the authority, teaching, and counsels of the Church, and
had this submission been specially marked by greater and more unswerving
loyalty. For that should be regarded in the light of an ever-changeless law
which Ivo of Chartres wrote to Pope Paschal II: "When kingdom and
priesthood are at one, in complete accord, the world is well ruled, and the
Church flourishes, and brings forth abundant fruit. But when they are at
variance, not only smaller interests prosper not, but even things of greatest
moment fall into deplorable decay."(21)
23. But that harmful
and deplorable passion for innovation which was aroused in the sixteenth
century threw first of all into confusion the Christian religion, and next, by
natural sequence, invaded the precincts of philosophy, whence it spread amongst
all classes of society. From this source, as from a fountain-head, burst forth
all those later tenets of unbridled license which, in the midst of the terrible
upheavals of the last century, were wildly conceived and boldly proclaimed as
the principles and foundation of that new conception of law which was not
merely previously unknown, but was at variance on many points with not only the
Christian, but even the natural law.
24. Amongst these
principles the main one lays down that as all men are alike by race and nature,
so in like manner all are equal in the control of their life; that each one is
so far his own master as to be in no sense under the rule of any other
individual; that each is free to think on every subject just as he may choose,
and to do whatever he may like to do; that no man has any right to rule over
other men. In a society grounded upon such maxims all government is nothing
more nor less than the will of the people, and the people, being under the
power of itself alone, is alone its own ruler. It does choose, nevertheless,
some to whose charge it may commit itself, but in such wise that it makes over
to them not the right so much as the business of governing, to be exercised,
however, in its name.
25. The authority of God
is passed over in silence, just as if there were no God; or as if He cared
nothing for human society; or as if men, whether in their individual capacity
or bound together in social relations, owed nothing to God; or as if there
could be a government of which the whole origin and power and authority did not
reside in God Himself. Thus, as is evident, a State becomes nothing but a
multitude which is its own master and ruler. And since the people is declared
to contain within itself the spring-head of all rights and of all power, it
follows that the State does not consider itself bound by any kind of duty
toward God. Moreover. it believes that it is not obliged to make public
profession of any religion; or to inquire which of the very many religions is
the only one true; or to prefer one religion to all the rest; or to show to any
form of religion special favor; but, on the contrary, is bound to grant equal
rights to every creed, so that public order may not be disturbed by any
particular form of religious belief.
26. And it is a part
of this theory that all questions that concern religion are to be referred to
private judgment; that every one is to be free to follow whatever religion he
prefers, or none at all if he disapprove of all. From this the following
consequences logically flow: that the judgment of each one's conscience is
independent of all law; that the most unrestrained opinions may be openly
expressed as to the practice or omission of divine worship; and that every one
has unbounded license to thin
27. Now, when the
State rests on foundations like those just named—and for the time being they
are greatly in favor—it readily appears into what and how unrightful a position
the Church is driven. For, when the management of public business is in harmony
with doctrines of such a kind, the Catholic religion is allowed a standing in
civil society equal only, or inferior, to societies alien from it; no regard is
paid to the laws of the Church, and she who, by the order and commission of
Jesus Christ, has the duty of teaching all nations, finds herself forbidden to
take any part in the instruction of the people. With reference to matters that
are of twofold jurisdiction, they who administer the civil power lay down the
law at their own will, and in matters that appertain to religion defiantly put
aside the most sacred decrees of the Church. They claim jurisdiction over the
marriages of Catholics, even over the bond as well as the unity and the
indissolubility of matrimony. They lay hands on the goods of the clergy,
contending that the Church cannot possess property. Lastly, they treat the
Church with such arrogance that, rejecting entirely her title to the nature and
rights of a perfect society, they hold that she differs in no respect from
other societies in the State, and for this reason possesses no right nor any
legal power of action, save that which she holds by the concession and favor of
the government. If in any State the Church retains her own agreement publicly
entered into by the two powers, men forthwith begin to cry out that matters
affecting the Church must be separated from those of the State.
28. Their object in
uttering this cry is to be able to violate unpunished their plighted faith, and
in all things to have unchecked control. And as the Church, unable to abandon
her chiefest and most sacred duties, cannot patiently put up with this, and
asks that the pledge given to her be fully and scrupulously acted up to,
contentions frequently arise between the ecclesiastical and the civil power, of
which the issue commonly is that the weaker power yields to the one which is
stronger in human resources.
29. Accordingly, it
has become the practice and determination under this condition of public polity
(now so much admired by many) either to forbid the action of the Church
altogether, or to keep her in check and bondage to the State. Public enactments
are in great measure framed with this design. The drawing up of laws, the
administration of State affairs, the godless education of youth, the spoliation
and suppression of religious orders, the overthrow of the temporal power of the
Roman Pontiff, all alike aim to this one end--to paralyze the action of
Christian institutions, to cramp to the utmost the freedom of the Catholic
Church, and to curtail her ever single prerogative.
30. Now, natural
reason itself proves convincingly that such concepts of the government of a
State are wholly at variance with the truth. Nature itself bears witness that
all power, of every kind, has its origin from God, who is its chief and most
august source.
31. The sovereignty of
the people, however, and this without any reference to God, is held to reside
in the multitude; which is doubtless a doctrine exceedingly well calculated to
flatter and to inflame many passions, but which lacks all reasonable proof, and
all power of insuring public safety and preserving order. Indeed, from the
prevalence of this teaching, things have come to such a pass that may hold as
an axiom of civil jurisprudence that seditions may be rightfully fostered. For
the opinion prevails that princes are nothing more than delegates chosen to
carry out the will of the people; whence it necessarily follows that all things
are as changeable as the will of the people, so that risk of public disturbance
is ever hanging over our heads.
To hold, therefore,
that there is no difference in matters of religion between forms that are
unlike each other, and even contrary to each other, most clearly leads in the
end to the rejection of all religion in both theory and practice. And this is
the same thing as atheism, however it may differ from it in name. Men who
really believe in the existence of God must, in order to be consistent with
themselves and to avoid absurd conclusions, understand that differing modes of
divine worship involving dissimilarity and conflict even on most important
points cannot all be equally probable, equally good, and equally acceptable to
God.
32. So, too, the
liberty of thinking, and of publishing, whatsoever each one likes, without any
hindrance, is not in itself an advantage over which society can wisely rejoice.
On the contrary, it is the fountain-head and origin of many evils. Liberty is a
power perfecting man, and hence should have truth and goodness for its object.
But the character of goodness and truth cannot be changed at option. These
remain ever one and the same, and are no less unchangeable than nature itself.
If the mind assents to false opinions, and the will chooses and follows after
what is wrong, neither can attain its native fullness, but both must fall from
their native dignity into an abyss of corruption. Whatever, therefore, is
opposed to virtue and truth may not rightly be brought temptingly before the
eye of man, much less sanctioned by the favor and protection of the law. A
well-spent life is the only way to heaven, whither all are bound, and on this
account the State is acting against the laws and dictates of nature whenever it
permits the license of opinion and of action to lead minds astray from truth
and souls away from the practice of virtue. To exclude the Church, founded by
God Himself, from life, from laws, from the education of youth, from domestic
society is a grave and fatal error. A State from which religion is banished can
never be well regulated; and already perhaps more than is desirable is known of
the nature and tendency of the so-called civil philosophy of life and morals.
The Church of Christ is the true and sole teacher of virtue and guardian of
morals. She it is who preserves in their purity the principles from which
duties flow, and, by setting forth most urgent reasons for virtuous life, bids
us not only to turn away from wicked deeds, but even to curb all movements of
the mind that are opposed to reason, even though they be not carried out in
action.
33. To wish the Church
to be subject to the civil power in the exercise of her duty is a great folly
and a sheer injustice. Whenever this is the case, order is disturbed, for
things natural are put above things supernatural; the many benefits which the
Church, if free to act, would confer on society are either prevented or at
least lessened in number; and a way is prepared for enmities and contentions
between the two powers, with how evil result to both the issue of events has
taught us only too frequently.
34. Doctrines such as
these, which cannot be approved by human reason, and most seriously affect the
whole civil order, Our predecessors the Roman Pontiffs (well aware of what
their apostolic office required of them) have never allowed to pass
uncondemned. Thus, Gregory XVI
in his encyclical letter "Mirari Vos,"
dated August 15, 1832, inveighed with weighty words against the sophisms which
even at his time were being publicly inculcated—namely, that no preference
should be shown for any particular form of worship; that it is right for
individuals to form their own personal judgments about religion; that each
man's conscience is his sole and all-sufficing guide; and that it is lawful for
every man to publish his own views, whatever they may be, and even to conspire
against the State. On the question of the separation of Church and State the
same Pontiff writes as follows: "Nor can We hope for happier results
either for religion or for the civil government from the wishes of those who
desire that the Church be separated from the State, and the concord between the
secular and ecclesiastical authority be dissolved. It is clear that these men,
who yearn for a shameless liberty, live in dread of an agreement which has
always been fraught with good, and advantageous alike to sacred and civil
interests." To the like effect, also, as occasion presented itself, did Pius IX brand publicly many false
opinions which were gaining ground, and afterwards ordered them to be condensed
in summary form in order that in this sea of error Catholics might have a light
which they might safely follow.(22)
35. From these
pronouncements of the Popes it is evident that the origin of public power is to
be sought for in God Himself. and not in the multitude, and that it is
repugnant to reason to allow free scope for sedition. Again, that it is not
lawful for the State, any more than for the individual, either to disregard all
religious duties or to hold in equal favor different kinds of religion; that
the unrestrained freedom of thinking and of openly making known one's thoughts
is not inherent in the rights of citizens, and is by no means to be reckoned worthy
of favor and support. In like manner it is to be understood that the Church no
less than the State itself is a society perfect in its own nature and its own
right, and that those who exercise sovereignty ought not so to act as to compel
the Church to become subservient or subject to them, or to hamper her liberty
in the management of her own affairs, or to despoil her in any way of the other
privileges conferred upon her by Jesus Christ. In matters, however, of mixed
jurisdiction, it is in the highest degree consonant to nature, as also to the
designs of God, that so far from one of the powers separating itself from the
other, or still less coming into conflict with it, complete harmony, such as is
suited to the end for which each power exists, should be preserved between
them.
36. This, then, is the
teaching of the Catholic Church concerning the constitution and government of
the State. By the words and decrees just cited, if judged dispassionately, no
one of the several forms of government is in itself condemned, inasmuch as none
of them contains anything contrary to Catholic doctrine, and all of them are
capable, if wisely and justly managed, to insure the welfare of the State.
Neither is it blameworthy in itself, in any manner, for the people to have a
share greater or less, in the government: for at certain times, and under
certain laws, such participation may not only be of benefit to the citizens,
but may even be of obligation. Nor is there any reason why any one should
accuse the Church of being wanting in gentleness of action or largeness of
view, or of being opposed to real and lawful liberty. The Church, indeed, deems
it unlawful to place the various forms of divine worship on the same footing as
the true religion, but does not, on that account, condemn those rulers who, for
the sake of securing some great good or of hindering some great evil, allow
patiently custom or usage to be a kind of sanction for each kind of religion
having its place in the State. And, in fact, the Church is wont to take earnest
heed that no one shall be forced to embrace the Catholic faith against his
will, for, as St. Augustine wisely reminds us, "Man cannot believe
otherwise than of his own will."
37. In the same way
the Church cannot approve of that liberty which begets a contempt of the most
sacred laws of God, and casts off the obedience due to lawful authority, for
this is not liberty so much as license, and is most correctly styled by St.
Augustine the "liberty of self-ruin," and by the Apostle St. Peter
the "cloak of malice."(23) Indeed, since it is opposed to reason, it
is a true slavery, "for whosoever committeth sin is the slave of
sin."(24) On the other hand, that liberty is truly genuine, and to be
sought after, which in regard to the individual does not allow men to be the
slaves of error and of passion, the worst of all masters; which, too, in public
administration guides the citizens in wisdom and provides for them increased
means of well-being; and which, further, protects the State from foreign
interference.
38. This honorable
liberty, alone worthy of human beings, the Church approves most highly and has
never slackened her endeavor to preserve, strong and unchanged, among nations.
And, in truth, whatever in the State is of chief avail for the common welfare;
whatever has been usefully established to curb the license of rulers who are
opposed to the true interests of the people, or to keep in check the leading
authorities from unwarrantably interfering in municipal or family affairs;
whatever tends to uphold the honor, manhood, and equal rights of individual
citizens—of all these things, as the monuments of past ages bear witness, the
Catholic Church has always been the originator, the promoter, or the guardian.
Ever, therefore, consistent with herself, while on the one hand she rejects
that exorbitant liberty which in individuals and in nations ends in license or
in thraldom, on the other hand, she willingly and most gladly welcomes whatever
improvements the age brings forth, if these really secure the prosperity of
life here below, which is, as it were, a stage in the journey to the life that
will know no ending.
39. Therefore, when it
is said that the Church is hostile to modern political regimes and that she
repudiates the discoveries of modern research, the charge is a ridiculous and
groundless calumny. Wild opinions she does repudiate, wicked and seditious
projects she does condemn, together with that attitude of mind which points to
the beginning of a willful departure from God. But, as all truth must necessarily
proceed from God, the Church recognizes in all truth that is reached by
research a trace of the divine intelligence. And as all truth in the natural
order is powerless to destroy belief in the teachings of revelation, but can do
much to confirm it, and as every newly discovered truth may serve to further
the knowledge or the praise of God, it follows that whatsoever spreads the
range of knowledge will always be willingly and even joyfully welcomed by the
Church. She will always encourage and promote, as she does in other branches of
knowledge, all study occupied with the investigation of nature. In these
pursuits, should the human intellect discover anything not known before, the
Church makes no opposition. She never objects to search being made for things
that minister to the refinements and comforts of life. So far, indeed, from
opposing these she is now, as she ever has been, hostile alone to indolence and
sloth, and earnestly wishes that the talents of men may bear more and more
abundant fruit by cultivation and exercise. Moreover, she gives encouragement
to every kind of art and handicraft, and through her influence, directing all
strivings after progress toward virtue and salvation, she labors to prevent
man's intellect and industry from turning him away from God and from heavenly
things.
40. All this, though
so reasonable and full of counsel, finds little favor nowadays when States not
only refuse to conform to the rules of Christian wisdom, but seem even anxious
to recede from them further and further on each successive day. Nevertheless,
since truth when brought to light is wont, of its own nature, to spread itself
far and wide, and gradually take possession of the minds of men, We, moved by
the great and holy duty of Our apostolic mission to all nations, speak, as We
are bound to do, with freedom. Our eyes are not closed to the spirit of the
times. We repudiate not the assured and useful improvements of our age, but
devoutly wish affairs of State to take a safer course than they are now taking,
and to rest on a more firm foundation without injury to the true freedom of the
people; for the best parent and guardian of liberty amongst men is truth.
"The truth shall make you free."(25)
41. If in the
difficult times in which Our lot is cast, Catholics will give ear to Us, as it
behooves them to do, they will readily see what are the duties of each one in
matters of opinion as well as action. As regards opinion, whatever the Roman
Pontiffs have hitherto taught, or shall hereafter teach, must be held with a
firm grasp of mind, and, so often as occasion requires, must be openly
professed.
42. Especially with
reference to the so-called "liberties" which are so greatly coveted
in these days, all must stand by the judgment of the apostolic see, and have
the same mind. Let no man be deceived by the honest outward appearance of these
liberties, but let each one reflect whence these have had their origin, and by
what efforts they are everywhere upheld and promoted. Experience has made Us
well acquainted with their results to the State, since everywhere they have
borne fruits which the good and wise bitterly deplore. If there really exist
anywhere, or if we in imagination conceive, a State, waging wanton and
tyrannical war against Christianity, and if we compare with it the modern form
of government just described, this latter may seem the more endurable of the
two. Yet, undoubtedly, the principles on which such a government is grounded
are, as We have said, of a nature which no one can approve.
43. Secondly, action
may relate to private and domestic matters, or to matters public. As to private
affairs, the first duty is to conform life and conduct to the gospel precepts,
and to refuse to shrink from this duty when Christian virtue demands some
sacrifice slightly more difficult to make. All, moreover, are bound to love the
Church as their common mother, to obey her laws, promote her honor, defend her
rights, and to endeavor to make her respected and loved by those over whom they
have authority. It is also of great moment to the public welfare to take a
prudent part in the business of municipal administration, and to endeavor above
all to introduce effectual measures, so that, as becomes a Christian people,
public provision may be made for the instruction of youth in religion and true
morality. Upon these things the well-being of every State greatly depends.
44. Furthermore, it is
in general fitting and salutary that Catholics should extend their efforts
beyond this restricted sphere, and give their attention to national politics.
We say "in general" because these Our precepts are addressed to all
nations. However, it may in some places be true that, for most urgent and just
reasons, it is by no means expedient for Catholics to engage in public affairs
or to take an active part in politics. Nevertheless, as We have laid down, to
take no share in public matters would be as wrong as to have no concern for, or
to bestow no labor upon, the common good, and the more so because Catholics are
admonished, by the very doctrines which they profess, to be upright and
faithful in the discharge of duty, while, if they hold aloof, men whose
principles offer but small guarantee for the welfare of the State will the more
readily seize the reins of government. This would tend also to the injury of
the Christian religion, forasmuch as those would come into power who are badly
disposed toward the Church, and those who are willing to befriend her would be
deprived of all influence.
45. It follows
clearly, therefore, that Catholics have just reasons for taking part in the
conduct of public affairs. For in so doing they assume not nor should they
assume the responsibility of approving what is blameworthy in the actual
methods of government, but seek to turn these very methods, so far as is possible,
to the genuine and true public good, and to use their best endeavors at the
same time to infuse, as it were, into all the veins of the State the healthy
sap and blood of Christian wisdom and virtue. The morals and ambitions of the
heathens differed widely from those of the Gospel, yet Christians were to be
seen living undefiled everywhere in the midst of pagan superstition, and, while
always true to themselves, coming to the front boldly wherever an opening was
presented. Models of loyalty to their rulers, submissive, so far as was
permitted, to the sovereign power, they shed around them on every side a halo
of sanctity; they strove to be helpful to their brethren, and to attract others
to the wisdom of Jesus Christ, yet were bravely ready to withdraw from public
life, nay, even to lay down their life, if they could not without loss of
virtue retain honors, dignities, and offices. For this reason, Christian ways
and manners speedily found their way not only into private houses but into the
camp, the senate, and even into the imperial palaces. "We are but
ofyesterday," wrote Tertullian, "yet we swarm in all your
institutions, we crowd your cities, islands, villages, towns, assemblies, the
army itself. your wards and corporations, the palace, the senate, and the law
courts."(26) So that the Christian faith, when once it became lawful to
make public profession of the Gospel, appeared in most of the cities of Europe,
not like an infant crying in its cradle, but already grown up and full of
vigor.
46. In these Our days
it is well to revive these examples of Our forefathers. First and foremost, it
is the duty of all Catholics worthy of the name and wishful to be known as most
loving children of the Church, to reject without swerving whatever is
inconsistent with so fair a title; to make use of popular institutions, so far
as can honestly be done, for the advancement of truth and righteousness; to
strive that liberty of action shall not transgress the bounds marked out by
nature and the law of God; to endeavor to bring back all civil society to the
pattern and form of Christianity which We have described. It is barely possible
to lay down any fixed method by which such purposes are to be attained, because
the means adopted must suit places and times widely differing from one another.
Nevertheless, above all things, unity of aim must be preserved, and similarity
must be sought after in all plans of action. Both these objects will be carried
into effect without fail if all will follow the guidance of the apostolic see as
their rule of life and obey the bishops whom the Holy Spirit has placed to rule
the Church of God.(27) The defense of Catholicism, indeed, necessarily demands
that in the profession of doctrines taught by the Church all shall be of one
mind and all steadfast in believing; and care must be taken never to connive,
in any way, at false opinions, never to withstand them less strenuously than
truth allows. In mere matters of opinion it is permissible to discuss things
with moderation, with a desire of searching into the truth, without unjust
suspicion or angry recriminations.
47. Hence, lest
concord be broken by rash charges, let this be understood by all, that the
integrity of Catholic faith cannot be reconciled with opinions verging on
naturalism or rationalism, the essence of which is utterly to do away with
Christian institutions and to install in society the supremacy of man to the
exclusion of God. Further, it is unlawful to follow one line of conduct in
private life and another in public, respecting privately the authority of the
Church, but publicly rejecting it; for this would amount to joining together
good and evil, and to putting man in conflict with himself; whereas he ought
always to be consistent, and never in the least point nor in any condition of
life to swerve from Christian virtue.
48. But in matters
merely political, as, for instance, the best form of government, and this or
that system of administration, a difference of opinion is lawful. Those,
therefore, whose piety is in other respects known, and whose minds are ready to
accept in all obedience the decrees of the apostolic see, cannot in justice be
accounted as bad men because they disagree as to subjects We have mentioned;
and still graver wrong will be done them, if—as We have more than once
perceived with regret—they are accused of violating, or of wavering in, the
Catholic faith.
49. Let this be well
borne in mind by all who are in the habit of publishing their opinions, and
above all by journalists. In the endeavor to secure interests of the highest
order there is no room for intestine strife or party rivalries; since all
should aim with one mind and purpose to make safe that which is the common
object of all—the maintenance of religion and of the State. If, therefore, they
have hitherto been dissensions, let them henceforth be gladly buried in
oblivion. If rash or injurious acts have been committed, whoever may have been
at fault, let mutual charity make amends, and let the past be redeemed by a
special submission of all to the apostolic see. In this way Catholics will
attain two most excellent results: they will become helpers to the Church in
preserving and propagating Christian wisdom, and they will confer the greatest
benefit on civil society, the safety of which is exceedingly imperiled by evil
teachings and bad passions.
50. This, venerable
brethren, is what We have thought it Our duty to expound to all nations of the
Catholic world touching the Christian constitution of States and the duties of
individual citizens. It behooves Us now with earnest prayer to implore the
protection of heaven, beseeching God, who alone can enlighten the minds of men
and move their will, to bring about those happy ends for which We yearn and
strive, for His greater glory and the general salvation of mankind. As a happy
augury of the divine benefits, and in token of Our paternal benevolence, to
you, venerable brothers, and to the clergy and to the whole people committed to
your charge and vigilance, We grant lovingly in the Lord the apostolic
benediction.
Given at St. Peter's
in Rome, the first day of November, 1885, the seventh year of Our pontificate.
Endnotes
1. Rom. 13:1.
2. Wisd. 6:7.
3. Rom. 13:1.
4. Rom. 13:2.
5. John 20:21.
6. Matt. 28:20.
7. John 10:10.
8. Mark 16:15.
9. Matt. 16:19.
10. John 21: 16-17.
11. Luke 22:32.
12. Matt. 28:18-20.
13. Matt. 18:12.
14. 2 Cor. 10:6.
15. 2 Cor. 13:10.
16. Acts 5:29.
17. Rom. 13:1.
18. Sacr. Imp. ad Cyrillum Alexand. et
Episcopos metrop.; See Labbeus, "Collect. Conc.," Vol. 3.
19. "De moribus ecclesiae,"
1, cap. 30, n. 63 (PL 32, 1336).
20. "Epist. 138 ad
Marcellinum," cap. 2, n. 15 (PL 33, 532).
21. Epist. 238, to Pope Paschal II (PL
162, 246B).
22. Pope Pius IX, encyclical
"Quanta Cura" (Dec. 8, 1864): "Syllabus." It will suffice
to indicate a few of them:
Prop. 19. The Church is not a true,
perfect, and
wholly independent society, possessing in its own
unchanging rights conferred upon it by its divine
Founder; but it is for the civil power to
determine what are the rights of the Church, and
the limits within which it may use them.
Prop. 29. The State, as the origin and
source of all rights, enjoys a right that is unlimited.
Prop. 55. The Church must be separated
from the State and the State from the Church.
Prop. 79. It is unture that the civil
liberty of
every form of worship, and the full power given
to all of openly and publicly manifesting
whatsoever opinions and thoughts, lead to the
more ready corruption of the minds and morals of
the people, and to the spread of the plague of
religious indifference.
23. 1 Peter 2:16.
24. John 8:34.
25. John 8:32.
26. Apoplget, 27 (P4 1, 525).
27. Acts