DEPUIS
LE JOUR
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII ON THE
EDUCATION OF THE CLERGY
To
Our Venerable Brothers the Archbishops,
Bishops and Clergy of France.
Venerable
Brothers, Dearly Beloved Sons
Since
the day we were raised to the Pontifical Chair France has been ever the
object to us of a special solicitude and affection. For from her God,
in the unfathomable designs of His mercy over the world, has in the course
of ages by preference chosen Apostolic men destined to preach the true
faith to the limits of the globe, and to carry the light of the Gospel
to the nations yet plunged in the darkness of paganism. He predestined
her to be the defender of His Church and the instrument of His great works:
Gesta Dei per Francos.
2. Obviously
this high mission entails duties many and grave. Wishing, like our predecessors,
to see France faithfully fulfil the glorious mandate wherewith she has
been entrusted, we have on several occasions during our long pontificate
addressed to her our advice, our encouragement, our exhortations. This
we did in a special way in our Encyclical Letter of February 8, 1884,
Nobilissima Gallorum gens, and in our letter of February 16, 1892, published
in French and beginning with the words: "Au milieu des sollicitudes."
Our words were not without fruit, and we know from you, Venerable Brothers,
that a large portion of the French people ever holds in honor the faith
of their ancestors and faithfully observes the obligations it imposes.
On the other hand, it could not escape us that the enemies of this holy
faith have not been idle and have succeeded in banishing every religious
principle from a large number of families, which, in consequence, live
in lamentable ignorance of revealed truth, and in complete indifference
to all that concerns their spiritual interests and the salvation of their
souls.
3. While
therefore with good reason we congratulate France on being a focus of
apostolic work among nations destitute of the faith, we are also bound
to encourage the efforts of those of her sons who, enrolled in the priesthood
of Jesus Christ, are laboring to evangelize their own people, to preserve
them from the invasion of naturalism and incredulity, with their fatal
and inevitable consequences. Called by the will of God to be the savour
of the world, priests must always, and above all things, remember that
they are by the very institution of Jesus Christ, "the salt of the
earth,"(1) and hence St. Paul, writing to Timothy, justly concluded
that "by their charity, their
faith and their purity, they must be an example to the faithful in their
words and in their relations with their neighbors."(2)
4. That
such is true of the French clergy, taken as a whole, has always been a
great consolation to us to learn, Venerable Brothers, from the quadrennial
reports you send us concerning the state of your dioceses, conformably
to the Constitution of Sixtus V., and from the oral communications we
receive from you whenever we have the happiness of conversing with you
and receiving your confidences. Yes, dignity of life, ardor of faith,
a spirit of devotedness and sacrifice, a zeal characterized by enthusiasm
and generosity, an inexhaustible charity toward their neighbor, energy
in all noble and fruitful enterprises making for the glory of God, the
salvation of souls and the welfare of their country-these are the precious
qualities traditional among the French clergy, and we are happy to be
able here to render to them a public and fatherly testimony. Still,
precisely on account of the deep and tender affection we have for them,
and at the same time to perform a duty of our Apostolic ministry and respond
to the keen desire we feel to see them ever acting up to their great mission,
we have resolved, Venerable Brothers, to treat in this letter of certain
points to which present circumstances peremptorily call the conscientious
attention of the chief pastors of the French Church and of the priests
who work under their jurisdiction.
5. And
in the first place it is clear that the more important, complex and difficult
an office is the longer and more careful should be the preparation undergone
by those who are called to fill it. But is there on earth a dignity higher
than that of the priesthood or a ministry imposing a heavier responsibility
than that whose object is the sanctification of all the free acts of man?
Is it not of the government of souls that the Fathers have rightly said
that it is "the art of arts;" that is, the most important and
most delicate of all tasks to which a man may be applied for the benefit
of his kind?-"Ars artium regimen animarum?"(3) Nothing must
then be neglected to prepare those whom a divine vocation calls to this
mission in order that they may fulfill it worthily and fruitfully.
6. To
begin with, from among the young those are to be selected in whom the
Most High has sown the seeds of a vocation. We are aware that,
thanks to your wise recommendations, in many dioceses of France the priests
of the different parishes, especially in country districts, apply themselves
with a zeal and self-sacrifice which we cannot sufficiently praise in
guiding themselves the studies of children in whom they have observed
a marked tendency to piety and an aptitude for intellectual work. The
presbyteral schools are thus the first step, as it were, of the stairs
which from the junior to the senior seminaries carry up to the priesthood
those young men to whom the Saviour repeats the appeal He addressed to
Peter and Andrew, to John and James, "Leave your nets; follow Me,
I will make you fishers of men."(4)
7. With
regard to the junior seminary, this very valuable institution has been
frequently and justly compared to the beds in which are set apart such
plants as call for the most particular and assiduous care as the only
way to make them bear fruit and produce a recompense for the labors of
their cultivation. On this subject, we renew the recommendation addressed
by our predecessor, Pius IX., to the Bishops in his Encyclical of December
8, 1849. This is itself based on one of the most important decisions of
the Fathers of the Council of Trent. To France belongs the glory of having
held it in most account during the present century, for of the ninety-four
dioceses in the country there is not one which is not endowed with one
or more junior seminaries.
8. We
know, Venerable Brothers, the solicitude which you bestow on these institutions
so justly dear to your pastoral zeal, and we congratulate you on it. The
priests who labor, under your superintendence, for the formation of the
youth called to enroll itself later on in the ranks of the sacerdotal
army, cannot too often meditate before God on the exceptional importance
of the mission with which you entrust them. They have not simply to instruct
their children in the elements of letters and human science, like the
general run of masters-that is the least part of their task. Their attention,
zeal and devotion must be ever on the watch and active, in order, on the
one hand, to study continually, under the eye and in the light of God,
the souls of the children and the indications of their vocation to the
service of the altar, and, on the other, to help the inexperience and
feebleness of their young disciples in order to protect the precious grace
of the Divine call against all deadly influences, both from
without and from within. They have therefore to exercise a ministry that
is humble, laborious and delicate, and requires constant abnegation. To
sustain their courage in the fulfilment of their duties, they will take
care to temper it in the purest sources of the spirit of faith. They must
never lose sight of the fact that the children whose intelligence, heart
and character they are engaged in forming are not being prepared for earthly
functions, however legitimate or honorable. The Church confides those
children to them in order that they may one day be fit to become priests;
that is to say, missionaries of the Gospel, continuers of the work of
Jesus Christ, distributers of His Grace and His Sacraments. Let this purely
supernatural consideration incessantly imbue their double function as
professors and educators, and be the leaven, so to say, which is to be
mixed with the best flour, according to the Gospel parable, so as to transform
it into sweet and substantial bread.(5)
9. And
as an abiding thoughtfulness for the first and indispensable formation
of the spirit and virtues of the priesthood should inspire the masters
of your junior seminaries in their relations with their pupils, so, too,
the system of study and the whole economy of discipline must be allied
to this same primary and directing idea. We are not unaware, Venerable
Brothers, that you are to a certain extent obliged to reckon with the
State programme and with the conditions imposed by it for obtaining university
degrees, owing to the fact that in certain cases such degrees are required
of priests engaged in the management of free colleges under the patronage
of the Bishops and religious congregations, or in the higher teaching
of Catholic faculties which you have so laudably established. It is, moreover,
of sovereign importance for the maintenance of the influence of the clergy
on society that they count among their ranks a sufficient number of priests
yielding nothing in science, of which degrees are the official evidence,
to the masters whom the State trains for its lyceums and universities.
10. Nevertheless,
after making all the allowances imposed by circumstances for this exigency
of the State programme, the studies of aspirants to the priesthood must
remain faithful to the traditional methods of past ages. It is these which
have produced the eminent men of whom France is so justly proud-the Petaus,
Thomassins, Mabillons and many others, to say nothing
of your Bossuet, called the Eagle of Meaux, because in loftiness of thought
and nobility of expression his genius soars in the highest regions of
Christian science and eloquence. The study of belles lettres rendered
mighty aid in making these men valiant and useful workers in the service
of the Church and capable of writing works which were truly worthy to
pass down to posterity, and which contribute even to-day to the defense
and propagation of revealed truth. For the belles lettres have the property,
when taught by skilful Christian masters, of rapidly developing in the
souls of young men all the germs of intellectual and moral life, whilst
at the same time contributing accuracy and broadness to the judgment and
elegance and distinction to expression.
11. This
consideration assumes special importance when applied to Greek and Latin
literature, the depositaries of those masterpieces of sacred science which
the Church with good reason counts among her most precious treasures.
Half a century ago, at that period (all too brief!) of true liberty, during
which the bishops of France were free to meet and concert such measures
as they deemed best calculated to further the progress of religion, and,
at the same time, most profitable to the public peace, several of your
Provincial Councils, Venerable Brothers, recommended in the most express
terms the culture of the Latin tongue and literature. Even then your colleges
deplored the fact that the knowledge of Latin in your country tended to
diminish.(6)
12. But
if the methods of pedagogy in vogue in the State establishments have been
for several years past progressively reducing the study of Latin and suppressing
the exercises in prose and poetry which our fathers justly considered
should hold a large place in college classes, the junior seminaries must
put themselves on their guard against these innovations, inspired by utilitarian
motives and working to the detriment of the solid formation of the mind.
To the ancient methods so often justified by their results we would freely
apply the words of St. Paul to his disciple Timothy, and with the apostles
we would say to you, Venerable Brothers, "Guard the deposit"(7)
with jealous care. If it should be destined-which God forbid!-one day
to disappear from the other public schools, let your junior seminaries
and free colleges keep it with an intelligent and patriotic solicitude.
Doing so, you will be imitating the priests
of Jerusalem, who, saving the sacred fire of the temple from the barbarian
invader, so hid it as to be able to find it again and restore it to its
splendor when the evil day should have passed.(8)
13. Once
in possession of the Latin tongue-the key, so to say, of sacred science-and
their mental faculties sufficiently developed by the study of the belles
lettres, young men destined for the priesthood pass from the junior to
the senior seminary. There they will prepare themselves by piety and the
exercise of the priestly virtues for the reception of Holy Orders, while
devoting themselves to the study of philosophy and theology.
14. In
our Encyclical "Aetemi Patris," which we once again recommend
to the attentive perusal of your seminarists and their masters, we declared,
with St. Paul as our authority, that it is by the empty subtleties of
false philosophy "per philosophiam et inanem fallaciam" that
the minds of the faithful are most frequently led astray and the purity
of the faith corrupted among men, we added, and the events of the last
twenty years have furnished bitter confirmation of the reflections and
apprehensions we expressed at the time. If one notes the critical condition
of the times in which we live and ponders on the state of affairs in public
and private life he will have no difficulty in seeing that the cause of
the evils which oppress us, as well as those which menace, lies in the
fact that erroneous opinions on all subjects, human and divine, have gradually
percolated from philosophical schools through all ranks of society, and
have come to be accepted by a large number of minds.(9)
15. We
renew our condemnation of those teachings of philosophy which have merely
the name, and which by striking at the very foundation of human knowledge
lead logically to universal skepticism and to irreligion. We are profoundly
grieved to Learn that for some years past some Catholics have felt at
liberty to follow in the wake of a philosophy which under the specious
pretext of freeing human reason from all preconceived ideas and from all
illusions, denies it the right of affirming anything beyond its own operations,
thus sacrificing to a radical subjectivism all the certainties which traditional
metaphysics, consecrated by the authority of the strongest thinkers, laid
down as the necessary and unshakable foundations for the demonstration
of the existence of God, the spirituality and immortality of the soul,
and the objective reality of the exterior world. It is to be deeply regretted
that this doctrinal skepticism, of foreign importation and Protestant
origin, should have been received with so much favor in a country so justly
celebrated for its love of clearness of thought and expression. We know,
Venerable Brothers, how far you share our well-grounded anxiety on this
subject, and we reckon on you to redouble your solicitude and vigilance
in shutting out this fallacious and dangerous philosophy from the teaching
in your seminaries, and to honor more than ever the methods we recommended
in the above-quoted Encyclical of August 4, 1879.
16. In
our times the students in your junior and senior seminaries can less than
ever afford to be strangers to the study of physical and natural science.
To it, therefore, they must apply themselves-but in due measure and in
wise proportions. It is by no means necessary that in the scientific course
annexed to the study of philosophy the professors should feel themselves
obliged to expound in detail the almost innumerable applications of physical
and natural sciences in the different branches of human industry. It is
enough that their pupils have an accurate knowledge of the main principles
and summary conclusions, so as to be able to solve the objections which
infidels draw from these sciences against the teachings of Revelation.
17. It
is of capital importance that the students of your senior seminaries should
study, for at least two years, with great care, "rational" philosophy,
which, as the learned Benedictine Mabillon, the glory of his order and
of France, used to say, will be of the greatest assistance to them, not
only in teaching them how to reason well and arrive at right conclusions,
but in putting them in a position to defend the orthodox faith against
the captious and often sophistical arguments of adversaries.(10)
18. Next
come the sacred sciences, properly so called-Dogmatic and Moral Theology,
Sacred Scripture, Church History and Canon Law. These are the sciences
proper to the priest-in them he receives a first initiation during his
sojourn in the senior seminary, but he must pursue his studies in them
throughout the remainder of his life.
19. Theology
is the science of the things of faith. It is nourished, Pope Sixtus V.
tells us, at those ever-willing springs-the Holy Scriptures, the
decisions of the Popes, the decrees of the Councils.(11)
20. Called
positive and speculative or scholastic, according to the method followed
in studying it, theology does not confine itself to proposing the truths
which are to be believed; it scrutinizes their inmost depths, shows their
relations with human reason, and, aided by the resources which true philosophy
supplies, explains, develops and adapts them accurately to all the needs
of the defense and propagation of the faith. Like Beseleel, to whom the
Lord gave His spirit of wisdom, intelligence and knowledge, when intrusting
him with the mission of building His temple, the theologian "cuts
the precious stones of divine dogma, assorts them skilfully, and, by the
setting he gives them, brings out their brilliancy, charm and beauty."(12)
21. Rightly,
then, does the same Sixtus V. call theology (and here he is referring
especially to scholastic theology) a gift from heaven, and ask that it
be maintained in the schools and cultivated with great ardor, as being
abundant in fruitfulness for the Church.(13)
22. Is
it necessary to add that the book par excellence in which students may
with most profit study scholastic theology is the Summa Theologica of
St. Thomas Aquinas? It is our wish, therefore, that professors be sure
to explain to all their pupils its method, as well as the principal articles
relating to Catholic faith.
23. We
recommend equally that all seminarists have in their hands, and frequently
peruse, that golden book known as the Catechism of the Council of Trent,
or Roman Catechism, dedicated to all priests invested with the pastoral
office (Catechismus ad Parochos). Noted both for the abundance and accuracy
of its teaching and for elegance of style, this catechism is a precious
summary of the whole of theology, dogmatic and moral. The priest who knows
it thoroughly has always at his disposal resources which will enable him
to preach with fruit, to acquit himself fitly in the important ministry
of the confessional and the direction of souls, and be in a position to
refute triumphantly the objections of unbelievers.
24. With
regard to the study of the Holy Scriptures, we call your attention once
more, Venerable Brothers, to the teachings we laid down in our Encyclical
"Providentissimus Deus,"(14) which we wish the professors to
put before their disciples,
with the necessary explanations. They will put them specially on their
guard against the disturbing tendencies which it is sought to introduce
into the interpretation of the Bible, and which would shortly, were they
to prevail, bring about the ruin of its inspiration and supernatural character.
Under the specious pretext of depriving the adversaries of the revealed
word of apparently irrefutable arguments against the authenticity and
veracity of the Holy Books, some Catholic writers have thought it a clever
idea to adopt those arguments for themselves. By these strange and perilous
tactics they have worked to make a breach with their own hands in the
walls of the city they were charged to defend. In our Encyclical above
quoted, and in another document,(15) we have spoken our mind on this rash,
dangerous policy. While encouraging our exegetists to keep abreast with
the progress of criticism, we have firmly maintained the principles which
have been sanctioned in this matter by the traditional authority of the
Fathers and Councils, and renewed in our own time by the Council of the
Vatican.
25. The
history of the Church is like a mirror, which reflects the life of the
Church through the ages. It proves, better far than civil and profane
history, the sovereign liberty of God and His providential action on the
march of events. They who study it must never lose sight of the fact that
it contains a body of dogmatic facts which none may call in question.
That ruling, supernatural idea which presides over the destinies of the
Church is at the same time the torch whose light illumines her history.
Still, inasmuch as the Church, which continues among men the life of the
Word Incarnate, is composed of a divine and human element, this latter
must be expounded by teachers and studied by disciples with great probity.
"God has no need of our lies," as we are told in the Book of
Job.(16)
26. The
Church historian will be all the better equipped to bring out her divine
origin, superior as this is to all conceptions of a merely terrestrial
and natural order, the more loyal he is in naught extenuating of the trials
which the faults of her children, and at times even of her ministers,
have brought upon the Spouse of Christ during the course of centuries.
Studied in this way, the history of the Church constitutes by itself a
magnificent and conclusive demonstration of the truth and divinity of
Christianity.
27. Lastly,
to finish the cycle of studies by which candidates for the priesthood
should prepare themselves for their future ministry, mention must be made
of Canon Law, or the science of the laws and jurisprudence of the Church.
This science is connected by very close and logical ties with that of
Theology, which it applies practically to all that concerns the government
of the Church, the dispensation of holy things, the rights and duties
of her ministers, the use of temporal goods which she needs for the accomplishment
of her mission. "Without a knowledge of Canon Law (as the Fathers
of one of your provincial councils very well said), theology is imperfect,
incomplete, like a man with only one arm. Ignorance of Canon Law has favored
the birth and diffusion of numerous errors about the rights of the Roman
Pontiffs and of Bishops, and about the powers which the Church derives
from her own Constitution-powers whose exercise she adapts to circumstances."(17)
28. We
shall sum up all we have just said concerning your junior and senior seminaries
in this sentence of St. Paul, which we recommend to the frequent meditation
of the masters and pupils of your ecclesiastical athenaeums: "O Timothy,
carefully guard the deposit which has been confided to you. Fly the profane
novelties of words and objections which cover themselves with the false
names of science, for all they who have made profession of them have erred
in the faith."(18)
29. And
now we have a word to say to you, dearly beloved sons, who have been ordained
priests and become the cooperators of your Bishops. We know, and the whole
world knows with us, the qualities which distinguish you. There is no
good work of which you are not the inspiration or the apostles. Docile
to the counsels we gave you. in the Encyclical "Rerum Novarum,"
you go to the people, to the workers, to the poor. You endeavor by all
means in your power to help them, raise them in the moral scale, render
their lot less hard. To this end you form reunions and congresses; you
establish homes, clubs, rural banks, aid and employment offices for the
toilers. You labor to introduce reforms into economic and social life,
and in the difficult enterprise you do not hesitate to make serious sacrifices
of time and money; and with the same scope you write books and articles
in the newspapers and reviews. All these are, in themselves, highly praiseworthy,
and in them you give no equivocal proofs of good will
and of intelligent and generous devotedness to relieve the most pressing
needs of contemporary society and of souls.
30. Still,
beloved sons, we deem it our duty paternally to call your attention to
some fundamental principles to which you will not fail to conform if you
desire that your activity be really fruitful and reproductive.
31. Remember,
above all, that zeal, to be profitable and praiseworthy, must be "accompanied
by discretion, rectitude and purity." Thus does the grave and judicious
Thomas a Kempis express himself. Before him St. Bernard, the glory of
your country in the twelfth century, that indefatigable apostle of all
great causes touching the honor of God, the rights of the Church or the
good of souls, did not fear to say that "zeal, separated from knowledge
and from the spirit of discernment or discretion, is insupportable . .
. that the more ardent zeal is, the more necessary is it that it be accompanied
by that discretion which puts order into the exercise of charity and without
which even virtue may be changed into a defect and a principle of disorder."(19)
And discretion in activity and in the choice of means of rendering activity
successful is all the more indispensable from the fact that the present
times are disturbed and environed with numerous difficulties. This or
that act, measure or practice, suggested by zeal, while excellent in themselves,
can only-owing to the circumstances of the race-produce bad results. Priests
will avoid this inconvenience and this evil, if before and during their
action they take care to conform to established order the rules of disciplines.
And ecclesiastical discipline demands union among the different members
of the hierarchy, and the respect and obedience of inferiors to their
superiors. In our recent letter to the Archbishop of Tours we said the
same thing: "The edifice of the Church of which God Himself is the
architect, rests on a very visible foundation, primarily on the authority
of Peter and his successors, but also on the Apostles and the successors
of the Apostles, the Bishops, so that to hear their voice or to despise
it is tantamount to hearing or despising Jesus Christ Himself."(20)
32. Listen,
then, to the words addressed by St. Ignatius, the great martyr of Antioch,
to the clergy of the primitive Church: "Let all obey their Bishops,
as Jesus Christ obeyed His Father. In all things touching the sense of
the Church do nothing
without your Bishop, and as our Lord did nothing but in close union with
His Father, so priests, do you nothing without your Bishop. Let all members
of the priestly body be united, as all the strings of a harp are united
in the instrument."(21)
33. Should
you, on the contrary, act as priests independently of this submission
to and union with your Bishops, we would repeat to you the words of our
predecessor, Gregory XVI, viz., that "you utterly destroy, as far
as in you lies, the order established with a most wise forethought by
God, the author of the Church."(22)
34. Remember,
too, beloved sons, that the Church is rightly compared to an army in battle
array "sicut castrorum acies ordinata,"(23) because it is her
mission to combat the enemies, visible and invisible, of God and men's
souls. Wherefore did St. Paul recommend Timothy to bear himself "as
a good soldier of Jesus Christ?"(24) Now, that which constitutes
the strength of an army and contributes most to its victory is discipline
and the exact and rigorous obedience of all toward those in command.
35. Just
here zeal out of place and without discretion may easily become the cause
of real disaster. Call to mind one of the most memorable facts of sacred
history. Certainly neither courage, willingness, nor devotion to the sacred
cause of religion were lacking in those priests who gathered round Judas
Maccabeus, to fight with him against the enemies of the true God, the
profaners of the temple, the oppressors of their nation. And yet, releasing
themselves from the rules of discipline, they rashly engaged in a combat
in which they were vanquished. The Holy Spirit tells us of them "that
they were not of the race of those who might save Israel." Why? Because
they would obey only their own inspirations, and threw themselves forward
without awaiting the orders of their leaders. "In die illa ceciderunt
sacerdotes in bello, dum volunt fortiter faccre, dum sine consilio exeunt
in praelium.(25) Ipsi autem non erant de semine virorum illorum, per quos
salus facto est in Israel. "(26)
36. On
this point our enemies may serve us for an example. They are well aware
that union is strength, "vis unita fortior," so they do not
fail to unite close when it comes to attacking the holy Church of Jesus
Christ.
37. If,
then, you desire, as you certainly do, beloved sons, that in the formidable
contest being waged
against the Church by anti-Christian sects and by the city of the evil
one, the victory be for God and His Church, it is absolutely necessary
for you to fight all together in perfect order and discipline under the
command of your hierarchical leaders. Pay no heed to those pernicious
men who, though calling themselves Christians and Catholics, throw tares
into the field of the Lord and sow division in His Church by attacking
and often even calumniating the Bishops "established by the Holy
Ghost to rule the Church of God."(27) Read neither their pamphlets
nor their papers. No good priest should in any way lend authority either
to their ideas or to their license of speech. Can he ever forget that
on the day of his ordination he promised "obedientiam et reverentiam"
to his Bishop before the holy altar?
38. Above
all things, remember, beloved sons, that an indispensable condition of
true zeal and the best pledge of success in the works to which hierarchical
obedience consecrates you is purity and holiness of life. "Jesus
began by practicing before preaching."(28) Like Him, the priest must
preface preaching by word by preaching by example. "Separated from
the world and its concerns (say the Fathers of the Council of Trent),
clerics have been placed on a height where they are visible and the faithful
look into their lives as into a mirror to know what they are to imitate.
Hence clerics and all they whom God has called specially to His service
should so regulate their actions and morals that there may be nothing
in their deportment, manners, movements, words and in all the other details
of their life which is not deeply impressed with religion. They must carefully
avoid faults which, though trivial, in others would be very serious to
them, in order that there be not a single one of their acts which does
not inspire respect in all."(29) With these recommendations of the
sacred Council, which we would wish, beloved sons, to engrave in all your
hearts, those priests who certainly fail to comply, who adopted in their
preaching language our of harmony with the dignity of their priesthood
and the sacredness of the word of God; who attended popular meetings where
their presence could only excite the passions of the wicked and of the
enemies of the Church, and who exposed themselves to the grossest insults
without profit to any one, and to the astonishment, if not scandal, of
the pious faithful; who assumed the habits, manners, conduct and spirit
of laymen. Salt must certainly be mingled
with the mass which it is to preserve from corruption, but it must at
the same time defend itself against the mass under pain of losing all
savor and becoming of no use except to be thrown out and trampled under
foot.(30)
39. So,
too, the priest who is the salt of the earth must in his necessary contact
with the society by which he is surrounded, preserve modesty, gravity
and holiness in manner, action and speech, and not allow himself to become
infected with the levity, dissipation and vanity of the worldly. He must,
on the contrary, in the midst of the men, keep his soul so united with
God that he lose nothing of the spirit of his holy state, and be not constrained
to make before God and his conscience the sad and humiliating avowal:
"I never go among laymen that I do not return less a priest."
40. Is
it not because they have, with a zeal that is presumptive, set aside those
traditional rules of discretion, modesty and prudence that certain priests
consider as out of date and incompatible with "the present needs
of the ministry those principles of discipline and conduct which they
received from their masters in the senior seminary?" They are to
be seen rushing, as if by instinct, into the most perilous innovations
in speech, manners and associations. Several of them, alas! rashly putting
themselves on the slippery incline from which they have no native power
to escape, and despising the charitable warnings of their superiors and
their older and more experienced colleagues, have ended in apostasies
which rejoice the hearts of the adversaries of the Church and brought
bitterest tears into the eyes of their Bishops, their brothers in the
priesthood and the pious faithful. St. Augustine tells us: "When
a man is out of the right way the more quickly and impetuously he advances,
the more he errs."(31)
41. There
are, of course, some changes which are advantageous and calculated to
advance the kindgom of God in men's souls and in society. But, as the
Holy Gospel tells us,(32) it is the province of the "Father of the
household" and not of the children or servants to examine them, and,
if he judges well, to give them currency side by side with the time-honored
and venerable usages, which make up the rest of his treasury.
42. Lately
when fulfilling the apostolic duty of putting the Catholics of North America
on their guard
against innovations, tending, among other things, to substitute for the
principles of perfection consecrated by the teaching of doctors and the
practice of saints moral maxims and rules of life more or less impregnated
with that naturalism which nowadays endeavors to penetrate everywhere,
we proclaimed aloud that far from repudiating and rejecting "en bloc"
the progress accomplished in the present epoch, we were only too anxious
to welcome all that goes to augment the patrimony of science or to give
greater extension to public prosperity. But we took care to add that this
progress could be of efficacious service to the good cause only when harmonized
with the authority of the Church.(33)
43. As
a conclusion to this letter we are pleased to apply to the clergy of France
what we formerly wrote for the priests of our diocese of Perugia. We reproduce
here a portion of the pastoral letter we addressed to them on July 19,
1866:
44. "We
ask the ecclesiastics of our diocese to reflect seriously on their sublime
obligations and on the difficult circumstances through which we are passing
and to act in such wise that their conduct be in harmony with their duties
and always conformable to the rules of an enlightened and prudent zeal.
For thus even our enemies will seek in vain for motives of reproach and
blame: qui ex adverso est vereatur nihil habens malum dicere de nobis.(34)
45. "Although
difficulties and dangers are every day multiplying, the pious and fervent
priest must not for that be discouraged-he must not abandon his duties
or even draw rein in the accomplishment of the spiritual mission he has
received for the welfare and salvation of mankind and for the maintenance
of that august religion of which he is herald and minister. For it is
especially by difficulties and trials that his virtue becomes strong and
stable; it is in the greatest misfortunes, in the midst of political transformations
and social upheavals that the salutary and civilizing influence of his
ministry shines forth with greatest brilliancy.
46. "
. . . To come down to practice we find a teaching admirably adapted to
the circumstances in the four maxims which the great Apostle St. Paul
gave to his disciple Titus. In all things give good example by your works,
your doctrine, the integrity of your life, by the gravity of your conduct,
using none but holy and blameless language.(35) We would that each and
every member of our clergy meditate on these maxims and conform his conduct
thereto.
47. "In
omnibus teipsum praebe exemplum bonorum operum. In all things give an
example of good works; that is, of active and exemplary life, animated
by a true spirit of charity and guided by the maxims of evangelical prudence-of
a life of sacrifice and toil, consecrated to the welfare of your neighbors,
not with earthly views or for a perishable reward, but with a supernatural
object. Give an example by that language at once simple, noble and lofty,
by that sound and blameless discourse which confounds all human opposition,
calms the long standing hatred the world has sworn against you, and wins
for you the respect and even esteem of the enemies of religion. Every
one devoted to the service of the sanctuary has been at all times obliged
to show himself a living model and perfect exemplar of all the virtues;
but this obligation becomes all the more instant when, as a consequence
of social upheavals, we are treading a difficult and uncertain path where
we may at every step discover ambushes and pretexts of attack. . . .
48. "In
doctrina. In the face of the combined efforts of incredulity and heresy
to consummate the ruin of Catholic faith, it would be a real crime for
the clergy to remain in a state of hesitancy and inactivity. In such an
outpouring of error and conflict of opinion he must not prove faithless
to his mission, which is to defend dogma assaulted, morality travestied
and justice frequently outraged. It is for him to oppose himself as a
barrier to the attacks of error and the deceits of heresy; to watch the
tactics of the wicked who war on the faith and honor of this Catholic
country; to unmask their plots and reveal their ambuscades; to warn the
confiding, strengthen the timid and open the eyes of the blinded. Superficial
erudition or merely common knowledge will not suffice for all this-there
is need of study, solid, profound and continuous, in a word of a mass
of doctrinal knowledge sufficient to cope with the subtlety and remarkable
cunning of our modern opponents. . . .
49. "In
integritate. No better proof of the importance of this council could be
had than the sad evidence of what is going on around us. Do we not observe
that the lax life of some ecclesiastics brings
discredit and contempt on their ministry and proves the occasion of scandals?
If men, endowed with minds as brilliant as they are remarkable, now and
then desert the ranks of the sacred soldiery and rise in revolt against
the Church-that mother who, in her tenderness and affection had advanced
them to the direction and for the salvation of souls, their defection
and wanderings have most frequently had their origin in want of discipline
and evilness of life. . . .
50. "In
gravitate. By gravity is to be understood that serious, judicious, tactful
conduct which should be characteristic of every faithful and prudent minister
chosen by God for the government of His family. While thanking God for
having vouchsafed to raise him to this honor, he must show himself faithful
to all his obligations, and at the same time balanced and prudent in all
his actions; he must not allow himself to be dominated by base passions,
nor carried away by violent and exaggerated language; he must lovingly
sympathize with the misfortunes and weaknesses of others; do all the good
he can to every one, disinterestedly, unostentatiously, and maintaining
ever intact the honor of his character and sublime dignity."
51. We
return now to you, beloved sons in the French clergy, and we are firmly
convinced that our perceptions and counsels, solely inspired as they are
by our paternal affection, will be understood and received by you in this
sense and bearing we wished to give them in addressing you this letter.
52. We
expect much from you, because God has richly endowed you with all the
gifts and qualities necessary for performing great and holy deeds for
the advantage of the Church and society. We would that not one among you
permit himself to be tarnished by those imperfections which dim the splendor
of the sacerdotal character and injure its efficacy.
53. The
present times are evil; the future is still more gloomy and menacing,
and seems to herald the approach of a redoubtable crisis and social upheaval.
It behooves us, then, as we have said on many occasions, to honor the
salutary principles of religion, as well as those of justice, charity,
respect and duty. It is for us to imbue men's souls with these principles-and
especially those souls which have become captive to infidelity or disturbed
by destroying passions, to bring about the reign of the grace and peace
of our Divine Redeemer Who is the Light and the Resurrection and the Life,
and in Him to unite all men, notwithstanding the inevitable social distinctions
which divide them.
54.
Yes, now more than ever, is there need of the help and devotedness of
exemplary the help and devotedness of exemplary priests,full of faith,
discretion and zeal, who, taking inspiration from the gentleness and energy
of Jesus Christ, Whose true ambassadors they are, "proChristo
legatione fungimur," (36) to announce with a courageous and inexhaustible
patience the eternal truths which are seldom fruitless of Virtue in men's
souls.
55.
Their ministry will be laborious-often times even painful, especially
in countries where the people are absorbed in worldly interests and live
in forgetfulness of God and His holy religion. But the enlightened, charitable
and unwearying influence of the priest fortified by Divine grace will
work, as it has already worked, prodigies of resurrection almost beyond
belief.
56.
With all our soul arid with unspeakable joy we hail this consoling vista,
and meanwhile with all the affection of our heart we grant the Apostolic
Benediction to you, venerable brothers, and to the clergy and people of
France.
Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, on the 8th of September, in the year 1899,
the twenty-second of our Pontificate.
REFERENCES:
1. Mr
5.13.
2. 1 Tm 4.12.
3. S. Greg. M. Lib. Regulae Pasc. P. 1, c. 1.
4. Mr 4.19.
5. Mt 13.33.
6. Litt. Synod. Patrum Conc. Paris. ad clericos et fideles,
an. 1849 in Collectio Lacensis, Tom. IV, toll. 86.
7 1 Tm 6.20.
8. 2 Mc 1.19-22.
9, Encyclical letter, Aeterni Patris, August 4, 1879.
10. De studiis monasticis, Part. II, c. 9.
11. Apostolic Constitution, Triumphantis Ierusalem.
12. S. Vinc. Lir. Commonit. c. 2.
13. Apostolic constitution, Triumphantis Ierusalem.
14. November 18 1893.
15. Letter to the Min. Gen. of the Friars Minor, November
25, 1898.
16. Jb 13.7.
17. Cony. prov. Bitur., an. 1868.
18. Tm 6.20-21.
19. S. Bernard. Serm. XLIX in Cant. n. 5.
20. Epist. ad Arch Turon.
21. S. Ign. Ant. Ep. ad Smyrn. 8; idem. ad Magn. 7; idem.
ad Ephes. 4.
22. Encyclical epistle, Mirari vos, August 15, 1832.
23. Ct. 6.3.
24. 1 Tm 2.3.
25. 1 Mc 5.67.
26. 1 Mc 5.62.
27. Acts 20.28.
28. AccS 1.1.
29. S. Conc. Trid. less. XXII, de Reform. c. 1.
30. Mc 5.13.
31. Enarr. in Ps. XXXI, n. 4.
32. Mt 13.52.
33. Epist. ad S. R. E. Presbyt. Card. Gibbons, January 22, 1899.
34. Ti 2.8.
35. Ti 2.7.
36. 2 Cor 5.20.
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