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| Pope Pius IX (1846 - 1878) |
I.
PANTHEISM, NATURALISM AND ABSOLUTE RATIONALISM
1.
There exists no Supreme, all-wise, all-provident Divine Being, distinct from
the universe, and God is identical with the
nature of things, and is, therefore, subject to changes. In effect, God
is produced in man and in the world, and all
things are God and have the very substance of God, and God is one and
the same thing with the world, and, therefore, spirit with matter, necessity
with liberty, good with evil, justice with injustice. -- Allocution
"Maxima quidem," June 9, 1862.
2.
All action of God upon man and the world is to be denied. -- Ibid.
3.
Human reason, without any reference whatsoever to God, is the sole arbiter of
truth and falsehood, and of good and evil; it is law to itself, and suffices,
by its natural force, to secure the welfare of men and of nations. -- Ibid.
4.
All the truths of religion proceed from the
innate strength of human reason; hence reason is the ultimate standard by which
man can and ought to arrive at the knowledge of all truths of every kind.
-- Ibid. and Encyclical "Qui pluribus," Nov. 9, 1846, etc.
5.
Divine revelation is imperfect, and therefore
subject to a continual and indefinite progress, corresponding with the
advancement of human reason. -- Ibid.
6.
The faith of Christ is in opposition to human reason and divine revelation not
only is not useful, but is even hurtful to the perfection of man. -- Ibid.
7.
The prophecies and miracles set forth and recorded in the Sacred Scriptures are
the fiction of poets, and the mysteries of the Christian faith the result of
philosophical investigations. In the books of the Old and the New Testament
there are contained mythical inventions, and Jesus Christ is Himself a myth.
II.
MODERATE RATIONALISM
8.
As human reason is placed on a level with religion itself, so theological must be treated in the same manner as
philosophical sciences. -- Allocution "Singulari quadam," Dec.
9, 1854.
9.
All the dogmas of the Christian religion are indiscriminately the object of
natural science or philosophy, and human
reason, enlightened solely in an historical way, is able, by its own natural
strength and principles, to attain to the true science of even the most
abstruse dogmas; provided only that such dogmas be proposed to reason
itself as its object. -- Letters to the Archbishop of Munich, "Gravissimas
inter," Dec. 11, 1862, and "Tuas libenter," Dec. 21, 1863.
10.
As the philosopher is one thing, and philosophy another, so it is the right and
duty of the philosopher to subject himself to the authority which he shall have
proved to be true; but philosophy neither can nor ought to submit to any such
authority. -- Ibid., Dec. 11, 1862.
11.
The Church not only ought never to pass judgment on philosophy, but ought to
tolerate the errors of philosophy, leaving it to correct itself. -- Ibid., Dec.
21, 1863.
12.
The decrees of the Apostolic See and of the Roman congregations impede the true
progress of science. -- Ibid.
13.
The method and principles by which the old scholastic
doctors cultivated theology are no longer suitable to the demands of our times
and to the progress of the sciences. -- Ibid.
14.
Philosophy is to be treated without taking any account of supernatural
revelation. -- Ibid.
III.
INDIFFERENTISM, LATITUDINARIANISM
15.
Every
man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of
reason, he shall consider true. -- Allocution "Maxima
quidem," June 9, 1862; Damnatio "Multiplices inter," June 10,
1851.
16.
Man
may, in the observance of any religion whatever, find the way of eternal
salvation, and arrive at eternal salvation. -- Encyclical
"Qui pluribus," Nov. 9, 1846.
17.
Good
hope at least is to be entertained of the eternal salvation of all those who
are not at all in the true Church of Christ. -- Encyclical
"Quanto conficiamur," Aug. 10, 1863, etc.
18.
Protestantism
is nothing more than another form of the same true Christian religion, in which
form it is given to please God equally as in the Catholic Church.
-- Encyclical "Noscitis," Dec. 8, 1849.
IV.
SOCIALISM, COMMUNISM, SECRET SOCIETIES, BIBLICAL SOCIETIES, CLERICO-LIBERAL
SOCIETIES
Pests
of this kind are frequently reprobated in the severest terms in the Encyclical
"Qui pluribus," Nov. 9, 1846, Allocution "Quibus quantisque,"
April 20, 1849, Encyclical "Noscitis et nobiscum," Dec. 8, 1849,
Allocution "Singulari quadam," Dec. 9, 1854, Encyclical "Quanto
conficiamur," Aug. 10, 1863.
V.
ERRORS CONCERNING THE CHURCH AND HER RIGHTS
19.
The Church is not a true and perfect society, entirely free- nor is she endowed
with proper and perpetual rights of her own, conferred upon her by her Divine
Founder; but it appertains to the civil power to define what are the rights of
the Church, and the limits within which she may exercise those rights. --
Allocution "Singulari quadam," Dec. 9, 1854, etc.
20.
The ecclesiastical power ought not to exercise its authority without the
permission and assent of the civil government. -- Allocution "Meminit
unusquisque," Sept. 30, 1861.
21.
The Church has not the power of defining dogmatically that the religion of the
Catholic Church is the only true religion. -- Damnatio "Multiplices
inter," June 10, 1851.
22.
The obligation by which Catholic teachers and
authors are strictly bound is confined to those things only which are proposed
to universal belief as dogmas of faith by the infallible judgment of the Church.
-- Letter to the Archbishop of Munich, "Tuas libenter," Dec. 21,
1863.
23.
Roman pontiffs and ecumenical councils have
wandered outside the limits of their powers, have usurped the rights of
princes, and have even erred in defining matters of faith and morals. --
Damnatio "Multiplices inter," June 10, 1851.
24.
The Church has not the power of using force, nor has she any temporal power,
direct or indirect. -- Apostolic Letter "Ad Apostolicae," Aug. 22,
1851.
25.
Besides the power inherent in the episcopate, other temporal power has been
attributed to it by the civil authority granted either explicitly or tacitly,
which on that account is revocable by the civil authority whenever it thinks
fit. -- Ibid.
26.
The Church has no innate and legitimate right of acquiring and possessing
property. -- Allocution "Nunquam fore," Dec. 15, 1856; Encyclical
"Incredibili," Sept. 7, 1863.
27.
The sacred ministers of the Church and the Roman pontiff are to be absolutely
excluded from every charge and dominion over temporal affairs. -- Allocution
"Maxima quidem," June 9, 1862.
28.
It is not lawful for bishops to publish even letters Apostolic without the
permission of Government. -- Allocution "Nunquam fore," Dec. 15,
1856.
29.
Favours granted by the Roman pontiff ought to be considered null, unless they
have been sought for through the civil government. -- Ibid.
30.
The immunity of the Church and of ecclesiastical persons derived its origin
from civil law. -- Damnatio "Multiplices inter," June 10, 1851.
31.
The ecclesiastical forum or tribunal for the temporal causes, whether civil or
criminal, of clerics, ought by all means to be abolished, even without
consulting and against the protest of the Holy See. -- Allocution "Nunquam
fore," Dec. 15, 1856; Allocution "Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852.
32.
The personal immunity by which clerics are exonerated from military
conscription and service in the army may be abolished without violation either
of natural right or equity. Its abolition is called for by civil progress,
especially in a society framed on the model of a liberal government. -- Letter
to the Bishop of Monreale "Singularis nobisque," Sept. 29, 1864.
33.
It does not appertain exclusively to the power of ecclesiastical jurisdiction
by right, proper and innate, to direct the teaching of theological questions.
-- Letter to the Archbishop of Munich, "Tuas libenter," Dec. 21,
1863.
34.
The teaching of those who compare the Sovereign Pontiff to a prince, free and
acting in the universal Church, is a doctrine which prevailed in the Middle
Ages. -- Apostolic Letter "Ad Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851.
35.
There is nothing to prevent the decree of a general council, or the act of all
peoples, from transferring the supreme pontificate from the bishop and city of
Rome to another bishop and another city. -- Ibid.
36.
The definition of a national council does not admit of any subsequent
discussion, and the civil authority car assume this principle as the basis of
its acts. -- Ibid.
37.
National churches, withdrawn from the authority of the Roman pontiff and
altogether separated, can be established. -- Allocution "Multis
gravibusque," Dec. 17, 1860.
38.
The Roman pontiffs have, by their too
arbitrary conduct, contributed to the division of the Church into Eastern and
Western. -- Apostolic Letter "Ad Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851.
VI.
ERRORS ABOUT CIVIL SOCIETY, CONSIDERED BOTH IN ITSELF AND IN ITS RELATION TO
THE CHURCH
39.
The State, as being the origin and source of all rights, is endowed with a
certain right not circumscribed by any limits. -- Allocution "Maxima
quidem," June 9, 1862.
40.
The teaching of the Catholic Church is hostile to the well- being and interests
of society. -- Encyclical "Qui pluribus," Nov. 9, 1846; Allocution
"Quibus quantisque," April 20, 1849.
41.
The civil government, even when in the hands of an infidel sovereign, has a
right to an indirect negative power over religious affairs. It therefore
possesses not only the right called that of "exsequatur," but also
that of appeal, called "appellatio ab abusu." -- Apostolic Letter
"Ad Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851
42.
In the case of conflicting laws enacted by the
two powers, the civil law prevails. -- Ibid.
43.
The secular Dower has authority to rescind, declare and render null, solemn
conventions, commonly called concordats, entered into with the Apostolic See,
regarding the use of rights appertaining to ecclesiastical immunity, without
the consent of the Apostolic See, and even in spite of its protest. --
Allocution "Multis gravibusque," Dec. 17, 1860; Allocution "In
consistoriali," Nov. 1, 1850.
44.
The civil authority may interfere in matters relating to religion, morality and
spiritual government: hence, it can pass judgment on the instructions issued
for the guidance of consciences, conformably with their mission, by the pastors
of the Church. Further, it has the right to make enactments regarding the
administration of the divine sacraments, and the dispositions necessary for
receiving them. -- Allocutions "In consistoriali," Nov. 1, 1850, and
"Maxima quidem," June 9, 1862.
45.
The entire government of public schools in which the youth- of a Christian
state is educated, except (to a certain extent) in the case of episcopal
seminaries, may and ought to appertain to the civil power, and belong to it so
far that no other authority whatsoever shall be recognized as having any right
to interfere in the discipline of the schools, the arrangement of the studies,
the conferring of degrees, in the choice or approval of the teachers. --
Allocutions "Quibus luctuosissimis," Sept. 5, 1851, and "In
consistoriali," Nov. 1, 1850.
46.
Moreover, even in ecclesiastical seminaries, the method of studies to be
adopted is subject to the civil authority. -- Allocution "Nunquam
fore," Dec. 15, 1856.
47.
The best theory of civil society requires that
popular schools open to children of every class of the people, and, generally,
all public institutes intended for instruction in letters and philosophical
sciences and for carrying on the education of youth, should be freed from all
ecclesiastical authority, control and interference, and should be fully
subjected to the civil and political power at the pleasure of the rulers, and
according to the standard of the prevalent opinions of the age. --
Epistle to the Archbishop of Freiburg, "Cum non sine," July 14, 1864.
48.
Catholics may approve of the system of
educating youth unconnected with Catholic faith and the power of the Church,
and which regards the knowledge of merely natural things, and only, or at least
primarily, the ends of earthly social life. -- Ibid.
49.
The civil power may prevent the prelates of the Church and the faithful from
communicating freely and mutually with the Roman pontiff. -- Allocution
"Maxima quidem," June 9, 1862.
50.
Lay authority possesses of itself the right of presenting bishops, and may
require of them to undertake the administration of the diocese before they
receive canonical institution, and the Letters Apostolic from the Holy See. --
Allocution "Nunquam fore," Dec. 15, 1856.
51.
And, further, the lay government has the right of deposing bishops from their
pastoral functions, and is not bound to obey the Roman pontiff in those things
which relate to the institution of bishoprics and the appointment of bishops.
-- Allocution "Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852, Damnatio "Multiplices
inter," June 10, 1851.
52.
Government can, by its own right, alter the age prescribed by the Church for
the religious profession of women and men; and may require of all religious
orders to admit no person to take solemn vows without its permission. -- Allocution
"Nunquam fore," Dec. 15, 1856.
53.
The laws enacted for the protection of religious orders and regarding their
rights and duties ought to be abolished; nay, more, civil Government may lend
its assistance to all who desire to renounce the obligation which they have
undertaken of a religious life, and to break their vows. Government may also
suppress the said religious orders, as likewise collegiate churches and simple
benefices, even those of advowson and subject their property and revenues to
the administration and pleasure of the civil power. -- Allocutions
"Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852; "Probe memineritis," Jan.
22, 1855; "Cum saepe," July 26, 1855.
54.
Kings and princes are not only exempt from the jurisdiction of the Church, but
are superior to the Church in deciding questions of jurisdiction. -- Damnatio
"Multiplices inter," June 10, 1851.
55.
The
Church ought to be separated from the .State, and the State from the Church.
-- Allocution "Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852.
VII.
ERRORS CONCERNING NATURAL AND CHRISTIAN ETHICS
56.
Moral laws do not stand in need of the divine sanction, and it is not at all
necessary that human laws should be made conformable to the laws of nature and
receive their power of binding from God. -- Allocution "Maxima
quidem," June 9, 1862.
57.
The science of philosophical things and morals and also civil laws may and
ought to keep aloof from divine and ecclesiastical authority. -- Ibid.
58.
No other forces are to be recognized except
those which reside in matter, and all the rectitude and excellence of morality
ought to be placed in the accumulation and increase of riches by every possible
means, and the gratification of pleasure. -- Ibid.; Encyclical
"Quanto conficiamur," Aug. 10, 1863.
59.
Right consists in the material fact. All human duties are an empty word, and
all human facts have the force of right. -- Allocution "Maxima
quidem," June 9, 1862.
60.
Authority is nothing else but numbers and the sum total of material forces. --
Ibid.
61.
The injustice of an act when successful inflicts no injury on the sanctity of
right. -- Allocution "Jamdudum cernimus," March 18, 1861.
62.
The principle of non-intervention, as it is called, ought to be proclaimed and
observed. -- Allocution "Novos et ante," Sept. 28, 1860.
63.
It is lawful to refuse obedience to legitimate princes, and even to rebel
against them. -- Encyclical "Qui pluribus," Nov. 9, 1864; Allocution
"Quibusque vestrum," Oct. 4, 1847; "Noscitis et Nobiscum,"
Dec. 8, 1849; Apostolic Letter "Cum Catholica."
64.
The violation of any solemn oath, as well as any wicked and flagitious action
repugnant to the eternal law, is not only not blamable but is altogether lawful
and worthy of the highest praise when done through love of country. --
Allocution "Quibus quantisque," April 20, 1849.
VIII.
ERRORS CONCERNING CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE
65.
The doctrine that Christ has raised marriage to the dignity of a sacrament
cannot be at all tolerated. -- Apostolic Letter "Ad Apostolicae,"
Aug. 22, 1851.
66.
The Sacrament of Marriage is only a something accessory to the contract and
separate from it, and the sacrament itself consists in the nuptial benediction
alone. -- Ibid.
67.
By the law of nature, the marriage tie is not indissoluble, and in many cases
divorce properly so called may be decreed by the civil authority. -- Ibid.;
Allocution "Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852.
68.
The Church has not the power of establishing diriment impediments of marriage,
but such a power belongs to the civil authority by which existing impediments
are to be removed. -- Damnatio "Multiplices inter," June 10, 1851.
69.
In the dark ages the Church began to establish diriment impediments, not by her
own right, but by using a power borrowed from the State. -- Apostolic Letter
"Ad Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851.
70.
The canons of the Council of Trent, which anathematize those who dare to deny
to the Church the right of establishing diriment impediments, either are not
dogmatic or must be understood as referring to such borrowed power. -- Ibid.
71.
The form of solemnizing marriage prescribed by the Council of Trent, under pain
of nullity, does not bind in cases where the civil law lays down another form,
and declares that when this new form is used the marriage shall be valid.
72.
Boniface VIII was the first who declared that the vow of chastity taken at
ordination renders marriage void. -- Ibid.
73.
In force of a merely civil contract there may exist between Christians a real
marriage, and it is false to say either that the marriage contract between
Christians is always a sacrament, or that there is no contract if the sacrament
be excluded. -- Ibid.; Letter to the King of Sardinia, Sept. 9, 1852;
Allocutions "Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852, "Multis
gravibusque," Dec. 17, 1860.
74.
Matrimonial causes and espousals belong by their nature to civil tribunals. --
Encyclical "Qui pluribus," Nov. 9 1846; Damnatio "Multiplices
inter," June 10, 1851, "Ad Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851;
Allocution "Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852.
IX.
ERRORS REGARDING THE CIVIL POWER OF THE SOVEREIGN PONTIFF
75.
The children of the Christian and Catholic Church are divided amongst
themselves about the compatibility of the temporal with the spiritual power. --
"Ad Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851.
76.
The abolition of the temporal power of which the Apostolic See is possessed
would contribute in the greatest degree to the liberty and prosperity of the
Church. -- Allocutions "Quibus quantisque," April 20, 1849, "Si
semper antea," May 20, 1850.
X.
ERRORS HAVING REFERENCE TO MODERN LIBERALISM
77.
In the present day it is no longer expedient
that the Catholic religion should be held as the only religion of the State, to
the exclusion of all other forms of worship. -- Allocution "Nemo
vestrum," July 26, 1855.
78.
Hence it has been wisely decided by law, in some Catholic countries, that
persons coming to reside therein shall enjoy the public exercise of their own
peculiar worship. -- Allocution "Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852.
79.
Moreover, it is false that the civil liberty of every form of worship, and the
full power, given to all, of overtly and publicly manifesting any opinions
whatsoever and thoughts, conduce more easily to corrupt the morals and minds of
the people, and to propagate the pest of indifferentism. -- Allocution
"Nunquam fore," Dec. 15, 1856.
80.
The Roman Pontiff can, and ought to, reconcile
himself, and come to terms with progress, liberalism and modern civilization.-
-Allocution "Jamdudum cernimus," March 18, 1861.
The
faith teaches us and human reason demonstrates that a double order of things
exists, and that we must therefore distinguish between the two earthly powers,
the one of natural origin which provides for secular affairs and the
tranquillity of human society, the other of supernatural origin, which presides
over the City of God, that is to say the Church of Christ, which has been
divinely instituted for the sake of souls and of eternal salvation.... The
duties of this twofold power are most wisely ordered in such a way that to God
is given what is God's (Matt. 22:21), and because of God to Caesar what is Caesar's,
who is great because he is smaller than heaven. Certainly the Church has never
disobeyed this divine command, the Church which always and everywhere instructs
the faithful to show the respect which they should inviolably have for the
supreme authority and its secular rights....
.
. . Venerable Brethren, you see clearly enough how
sad and full of perils is the condition of Catholics in the regions of Europe
which We have mentioned. Nor are things any better or circumstances calmer in
America, where some regions are so hostile to Catholics that their
governments seem to deny by their actions the Catholic faith they claim to
profess. In fact, there, for the last few
years, a ferocious war on the Church, its institutions and the rights of the
Apostolic See has been raging....
Venerable Brothers, it is surprising
that in our time such a great war is being waged against the Catholic Church.
But anyone who knows the nature, desires and intentions of the sects, whether they be called masonic or bear another name, and compares them with
the nature the systems and the vastness of the obstacles by which the Church has been assailed almost
everywhere, cannot doubt that the present
misfortune must mainly be imputed to the frauds and machinations of these
sects. It is from them that the synagogue of Satan, which gathers its troops
against the Church of Christ, takes its strength. In the past Our
predecessors, vigilant even from the beginning in Israel, had already denounced
them to the kings and the nations, and had condemned them time and time again,
and even We have not failed in this duty. If those who would have been able to
avert such a deadly scourge had only had more faith in the supreme Pastors of
the Church! But this scourge, winding through sinuous caverns, . . . deceiving
many with astute frauds, finally has arrived at the point where it comes forth
impetuously from its hiding places and triumphs as a powerful master. Since the
throng of its propagandists has grown enormously, these wicked groups think that
they have already become masters of the world and that they have almost reached
their pre-established goal. Having sometimes obtained what they desired, and
that is power, in several countries, they boldly turn the help of powers and
authorities which they have secured to trying to submit the Church of God to
the most cruel servitude, to undermine the foundations on which it rests, to
contaminate its splendid qualities; and, moreover, to strike it with frequent
blows, to shake it, to overthrow it, and, if possible, to make it disappear
completely from the earth. Things being thus, Venerable Brothers, make every
effort to defend the faithful which are entrusted to you against the insidious
contagion of these sects and to save from perdition those who unfortunately
have inscribed themselves in such sects. Make known and attack those who,
whether suffering from, or planning, deception, are not afraid to affirm that
these shady congregations aim only at the profit of society, at progress and
mutual benefit. Explain to them often and impress deeply on their souls the
Papal constitutions on this subject and teach
them that the masonic associations are anathematized by them not only in Europe
but also in America and wherever they may be in the whole world.
To
the Archbishops and Bishops of Prussia concerning the situation of the Catholic
Church faced with persecution by that Government....
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