Quanta cura ac pastorali vigilantia Romani Pontifices Prædecessores Nostri exsequentes demandatum sibi ab ipso Christo Domino persona Beatissimi Petri, Apostolorum Principis officium, munusque pascendi agnos et oves nunquam intermiserint universum Dominicum gregem sedulo enutrire verbis fidei, ac salutari doctrina imbuere, eumque ab venenatis pascuis arcere, omnibus quidem ac Vobis præsertim compertum, exploratumque est, Venerabiles Fratres. Et sane iidem Decessores Nostri augustæ catholicæ religionis, veritatis ac justitiæ assertores et vindices, de animarum salute maxime solliciti nihil potius unquam habuere, quam sapientissimis suis Litteris, et Constitutionibus retegere et damnare omnes hæreses et er

It is well known unto all men, and especially to You, Venerable Brothers, with what great care and pastoral vigilance Our Predecessors, the Roman Pontiffs, have discharged the Office entrusted by Christ Our Lord to them in the person of the Most Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and have unremittingly fulfilled the duty of feeding the lambs and sheep, and have diligently nourished the Lord's entire flock with the words of faith, imbued it with salutary doctrine, and guarded it from poisoned pastures. And those our Predecessors, who were the assertors and champions of the august Catholic Religion, of truth and of justice, being as they were chiefly solicitous for the salvation of souls, held nothing to be of so great im

rores, qui Divinæ Fidei nostræ, catholicæ Ecclesiæ doctrinæ, morum honestati, ac sempiternæ hominum saluti adversi, graves frequenter excitarunt tempestates, et christianam civilemque rempublicam miserandum in modum funestarunt. Quocirca iidem Decessores Nostri Apostolica fortitudine continenter obstiterunt nefariis iniquorum hominum molitionibus, qui despumantes tamquam fluctus feri maris confusiones suas, ac libertatem promittentes, cum servi sint corruptionis, fallacibus suis opinionibus, et perniciosissimis scriptis catholicæ religionis civilisque societatis fundamenta convellere, omnemque virtutem ac justitiam de medio tollere, omniumque animos mentesque depravare, et incautos, imperitamque præsertim juventutem a recta morum disciplina avertere, eamque miserabiliter corrumpere, in errores laqueos inducere, ac tandem ab Ecclesiæ catholicæ sinu avellere conati sunt.

Jam vero, uti Vobis, Venerabiles Fratres, apprime notum est, Nos vix dum arcano divinæ providentiæ consilio nullis certe Nostris meritis ad hanc Petri Cathedram evecti fuimus, cum videremus summo animi Nostri dolore horribilem sane procellam tot pravis opinionibus excitatam, et gravissima, ac nunquam satis lugenda damna, quæ in christianum populum ex tot erroribus redundant, pro Apostolici Nos

portance as the duty of exposing The Encyand condemning, in their most clical. wise Letters and Constitutions, all heresies and errors which are hostile to moral honesty and to the eternal salvation of mankind, and which have frequently stirred up terrible commotions, and have damaged both the Christian and civil commonwealths in a disastrous manner. Wherefore those Our Predecessors have with Apostolic fortitude continually resisted the nefarious attempts of unjust men, of those who, like raging waves of the sea, foaming forth their own confusion, and promising liberty whilst they are the slaves of corruption, endeavoured by their false opinions and most pernicious writings to overthrow the foundations of the Catholic religion and of civil society, to abolish all virtue and justice, to deprave the souls and minds of all men, and especially to pervert inexperienced youth from uprightness of morals, to corrupt them miserably, to lead them into snares of error, and finally to tear them from the bosom of the Catholic Church.

And now, Venerable Brothers, as is also very well known to You, scarcely had We (by the secret dispensation of Divine Providence, certainly by no merit of Our own) been called to this Chair of Peter, when We, to the extreme grief of Our soul, beheld a horrible tempest stirred up by so many erroneous opinions, and the dreadful, and never-enough-to-be- lamented mischiefs which redound to

tri Ministerii officio illustria Prædecessorum Nostrorum vestigia sectantes Nostram extulimus vocem, ac pluribus in vulgus editis encyclicis Epistolis et Allocutionibus in Consistorio habitis, aliisque Apostolicis Litteris præcipuos tristissimæ nostræ ætatis errores damnavimus, eximiamque vestram episcopalem vigilantiam excitavimus, et universos catholicæ Ecclesiæ Nobis carissimos filios etiam atque etiam monuimus et exhortati sumus, ut tam diræ contagia pestis omnino horrerent et devitarent. Ac præsertim Nostra prima Encyclica Epistola die 9 novembris 1846 Vobis scripta, binisque Allocutionibus, quarum altera die 9 decembris anno 1854, altera vero 9 junii anno 1862 in Consistorio a Nobis habita fuit, monstruosa opinionum portenta damnavimus, quæ hac potissimum ætate cum maximo animarum damno, et civilis ipsius societatis detrimento dominantur, quæque non solum catholicæ Ecclesiæ, ejusque salutari doctrinæ ac venerandis juribus, verum etiam sempiternæ naturali legi a Deo in omnium cordibus insculptæ, rectæque rationi maxime adversantur, et ex quibus alii prope omnes originem habent errores.

Etsi autem haud omiserimus potissimos hujusmodi errores sæpe proscribere et reprobare,

Christian people from such errors and We then, in discharge of Our Apostolic Ministerial Office, imitating the example of Our illustrious Predecessors, raised Our voice, and in several published Encyclical Letters, and in Allocutions delivered in Consistory, and in other Apostolical Letters, We condemned the prominent most grievous errors of the age, and We stirred up Your excellent episcopal vigilance, and again and again did We admonish and exhort all the sons of the Catholic Church who are most dear to Us, that they should abhor and shun all the said errors as they would the contagion of a fatal pestilence. Especially in Our first Encyclical Letter, written to You on the 9th of November, anno 1846, and in two Allocutions, one of which was delivered by Us in Consistory on the 9th of December, anno 1854, and the other on the 9th of June, anno 1862, We condemned the monstrous and portentous opinions which prevail especially in the present age to the very great loss of souls, and even to the detriment of civil society; and which are in the highest degree hostile, not only to the Catholic Church, and to her salutary doctrine and venerable laws, but also to the everlasting law of nature engraven by God upon the hearts of all men, and to right reason; and out of which almost all other errors originate.

Now, although hitherto We have not omitted to denounce and reprove the chief errors of

tamen catholicæ Ecclesiæ causa, animarumque salus Nobis divinitus commissa, atque ipsius humanæ societatis bonum omnino postulant, ut iterum pastoralem vestram sollicitudinem excitemus ad alias pravas profligandas opiniones, quæ ex eisdem erroribus, veluti ex fontibus erumpunt. Quæ falsæ ac perversæ opiniones eo magis detestandæ sunt, quod eo potissimum spectant, ut impediatur et amoveatur salutaris illa vis, quam catholica Ecclesia ex divini sui Auctoris institutione, et mandato libere exercere debet usque ad consummationem sæculi non minus erga singulos homines, quam erga nationes, populos summosque eorum Principes, utque de medio tollatur mutua illa inter Sacerdotium et Imperium consiliorum societas et concordia, quæ rei cum sacræ tum civili fausta semper extitit ac salutaris. (Gregor. XVI. Epist. Encycl. Mirari 15 aug. 1832.) Etenim probe noscitis, Venerabiles Fratres, hoc tempore non paucos reperiri, qui civili consortio impium absurdumque naturalismi, uti vocant, principium applicantes, audent docere, 'optimam societatis publicæ rationem, civilemque progressum omnino requirere, ut humana societas constituatur et gubernetur, nullo habito ad religionem respectu, ac si ea non existeret, vel saltem nullo facto veram inter falsasque religiones discrimine.' Atque contra sacrarum Litterarum, Ecclesiæ, sanctorumque Patrum doctrinam, asserere non dubitant, 'optimam esse conditionem

this kind, yet the cause of the The EncyCatholic Church and the salva- cliaal. tion of souls committed to Us by God, and even the interests of human society absolutely demand, that once again We should stir up Your pastoral solicitude to drive away other erroneous opinions which flow from those errors above specified, as their These false and per

source.

verse opinions are so much the more detestable by how much they have chiefly for their object to hinder and banish that salutary influence which the Catholic Church, by the institution and command of her Divine Author, ought freely to exercise, even to the consummation of the world-not only over individual men, but over nations and sovereigns—and to abolish that mutual co-operation and agreement of counsels between the Priesthood and Governments which has always been propitious and conducive to the welfare both of Church and State. (Gregory XVI. Encyclical, 1832.) You are well aware that at this time, there Naturalism. are not a few who apply to civil society the impious and absurd principle of naturalism, as they term it, and dare to teach that 'the welfare of the State and political and social progress require that human society should be constituted and governed irrespective of religion, which is to be treated just as if it did not exist, or as if no real difference existed between true and false religions.' Contrary to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, of the Church, and of the Holy

clical.

The Ency- societatis, in qua Imperio non agnoscitur officium coercendi sancitis pœnis violatores catholicæ religionis, nisi quatenus pax publica postulet.' Ex qua omnino falsa socialis regiminis idea haud timent erroneam illam fovere opinionem catholicæ Ecclesiæ, animarumque saluti maxime exitialem a rec. mem. Gregorio XVI. prædecessore Nostro deliramentum appellatam (Eadem Encycl. Mirari), nimirum 'libertatem conscientiæ, et cultuum esse proprium cujuscumque hominis jus, quod lege proclamari, et asseri debet in omni recte constituta

Liberty of perdition.

societate, et jus civibus inesse ad omnimodam libertatem nulla vel ecclesiastica, vel civili auctoritate coarctandam quo suos conceptus quoscumque sive voce, sive typis, sive alia ratione palam publiceque manifestare, ac declarare valeant.' Dum vero id temere affirmant, haud cogitant et considerant, quod libertatem perditionis (S. Aug. Epist. 105 al. 166) prædicant, et quod 'si humanis persuasionibus semper disceptare sit liberum, nunquam deesse poterunt, qui veritati audeant resultare, et de humanæ sapientiæ loquacitate confidere, cum hanc nocentissimam vanitatem quantum debeat fides et sapientia christiana vitare, exipsa Domini nostri Jesu Christi institutione cognoscat.' (S. Leo Epist. 164 al. 132, § 2, edit. Ball.

Fathers, these persons do not hesitate to assert that 'the best condition of human society is that wherein no duty is recognised by the Government of correcting by enacted penalties the violators of the Catholic Religion, except when the maintenance of the public peace requires it.' From this totally false notion of social government, they fear not to uphold that erroneous opinion most pernicious to the Catholic Church, and to the salvation of souls, which was called by our Predecessor Gregory XVI. (lately quoted) the insanity (Encycl. 13 August, 1832) (deliramentum), namely, that 'liberty of conscience and of worship is the right of every man; and that this right ought, in every wellgoverned State, to be proclaimed and asserted by the law; and that the citizens possess the right of being unrestrained in the exercise of every kind of liberty, by any law, ecclesiastical or civil, so that they are authorised to publish and put forward openly, all their ideas whatsoever, either by speaking, in print, or by any other method.' But whilst these men make these rash assertions, they do not reflect or consider that they preach the liberty of perdition (St. Augustine, Epistle 105, Al. 166), and that, 'if it is always free to human arguments to discuss, men will never be wanting who will dare to resist the truth, and to rely upon the loquacity of human wisdom, when we know from the command of Our Lord