QUOD APOSTOLICI
MUNERIS
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII
ON SOCIALISM
To the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and
Bishops of the Catholic World in Grace and
Communion with the Apostolic See.
At the very beginning of Our pontificate, as
the nature of Our apostolic office demanded, we hastened to point
out in an encyclical letter addressed to you, venerable brethren,
the deadly plague that is creeping into the very fibres of human
society and leading it on to the verge of destruction; at the
same time We pointed out also the most effectual remedies by which
society might be restored and might escape from the very serious
dangers which threaten it. But the evils which We then deplored
have so rapidly increased that We are again compelled to address
you, as though we heard the voice of the prophet ringing in Our
ears: "Cry, cease not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet."(1)
You understand, venerable brethren, that We speak of that sect
of men who, under various and almost barbarous names, are called
socialists, communists, or nihilists, and who, spread over all
the world, and bound together by the closest ties in a wicked
confederacy, no longer seek the shelter of secret meetings, but,
openly and boldly marching forth in the light of day, strive to
bring to a head what they have long been planning - the overthrow
of all civil society whatsoever.
Surely these are they who, as the sacred Scriptures
testify, "Defile the flesh, despise dominion and blaspheme
majesty."(2) They leave nothing untouched or whole which
by both human and divine laws has been wisely decreed for the
health and beauty of life. They refuse obedience to the higher
powers, to whom, according to the admonition of the Apostle, every
soul ought to be subject, and who derive the right of governing
from God; and they proclaim the absolute equality of all men in
rights and duties. They debase the natural union of man and woman,
which is held sacred even among barbarous peoples; and its bond,
by which the family is chiefly held together, they weaken, or
even deliver up to lust. Lured, in fine, by the greed of present
goods, which is "the root of all evils, which some coveting
have erred from the faith,"(3) they assail the right of property
sanctioned by natural law; and by a scheme of horrible wickedness,
while they seem desirous of caring for the needs and satisfying
the desires of all men, they strive to seize and hold in common
whatever has been acquired either by title of lawful inheritance,
or by labor of brain and hands, or by thrift in one's mode of
life. These are the startling theories they utter in their meetings,
set forth in their pamphlets, and scatter abroad in a cloud of
journals and tracts. Wherefore, the revered majesty and power
of kings has won such fierce hatred from their seditious people
that disloyal traitors, impatient of all restraint, have more
than once within a short period raised their arms in impious attempt
against the lives of their own sovereigns.
2. But the boldness of these bad men, which day
by day more and more threatens civil society with destruction,
and strikes the souls of all with anxiety and fear, finds its
cause and origin in those poisonous doctrines which, spread abroad
in former times among the people, like evil seed bore in due time
such fatal fruit. For you know, venerable brethren, that that
most deadly war which from the sixteenth century down has been
waged by innovators against the Catholic faith, and which has
grown in intensity up to today, had for its object to subvert
all revelation, and overthrow the supernatural order, that thus
the way might be opened for the discoveries, or rather the hallucinations,
of reason alone. This kind of error, which falsely usurps to itself
the name of reason, as it lures and whets the natural appetite
that is in man of excelling, and gives loose rein to unlawful
desires of every kind, has easily penetrated not only the minds
of a great multitude of men but to a wide extent civil society,
also. Hence, by a new species of impiety, unheard of even among
the heathen nations, states have been constituted without any
count at all of God or of the order established by him; it has
been given out that public authority neither derives its principles,
nor its majesty, nor its power of governing from God, but rather
from the multitude, which, thinking itself absolved from all divine
sanction, bows only to such laws as it shall have made at its
own will. The supernatural truths of faith having been assailed
and cast out as though hostile to reason, the very Author and
Redeemer of the human race has been slowly and little by little
banished from the universities, the lyceums and gymnasia-in a
word, from every public institution. In fine, the rewards and
punishments of a future and eternal life having been handed over
to oblivion, the ardent desire of happiness has been limited to
the bounds of the present. Such doctrines as these having been
scattered far and wide, so great a license of thought and action
having sprung up on all sides, it is no matter for surprise that
men of the lowest class, weary of their wretched home or workshop,
are eager to attack the homes and fortunes of the rich; it is
no matter for surprise that already there exists no sense of security
either in public or private life, and that the human race should
have advanced to the very verge of final dissolution.
3. But the supreme pastors of the Church, on
whom the duty falls of guarding the Lord's flock from the snares
of the enemy, have striven in time to ward off the danger and
provide for the safety of the faithful. For, as soon as the secret
societies began to be formed, in whose bosom the seeds of the
errors which we have already mentioned were even then being nourished,
the Roman Pontiffs Clement XII and Benedict XIV did not fail to
unmask the evil counsels of the sects, and to warn the faithful
of the whole globe against the ruin which would be wrought. Later
on again, when a licentious sort of liberty was attributed to
man by a set of men who gloried in the name of philosophers,(4)
and a new right, as they call it, against the natural and divine
law began to be framed and sanctioned, Pope Pius VI, of happy
memory, at once exposed in public documents the guile and falsehood
of their doctrines, and at the same time foretold with apostolic
foresight the ruin into which the people so miserably deceived
would be dragged. But, as no adequate precaution was taken to
prevent their evil teachings from leading the people more and
more astray, and lest they should be allowed to escape in the
public statutes of States, Popes Pius VII and Leo XII condemned
by anathema the secret sects,(5) and again warned society of the
danger which threatened them. Finally, all have witnessed with
what solemn words and great firmness and constancy of soul our
glorious predecessor, Pius IX, of happy memory, both in his allocutions
and in his encyclical letters addressed to the bishops of all
the world, fought now against the wicked attempts of the sects,
now openly by name against the pest of socialism, which was already
making headway.
4. But it is to be lamented that those to whom
has been committed the guardianship of the public weal, deceived
by the wiles of wicked men and terrified by their threats, have
looked upon the Church with a suspicious and even hostile eye,
not perceiving that the attempts of the sects would be vain if
the doctrine of the Catholic Church and the authority of the Roman
Pontiffs had always survived, with the honor that belongs to them,
among princes and peoples. For, "the church of the living
God, which is the pillar and ground of truth,"(6) hands down
those doctrines and precepts whose special object is the safety
and peace of society and the uprooting of the evil growth of socialism.
5. For, indeed, although the socialists, stealing
the very Gospel itself with a view to deceive more easily the
unwary, have been accustomed to distort it so as to suit their
own purposes, nevertheless so great is the difference between
their depraved teachings and the most pure doctrine of Christ
that none greater could exist: "for what participation bath
justice with injustice or what fellowship bath light with darkness?"(7)
Their habit, as we have intimated, is always to maintain that
nature has made all men equal, and that, therefore, neither honor
nor respect is due to majesty, nor obedience to laws, unless,
perhaps, to those sanctioned by their own good pleasure. But,
on the contrary, in accordance with the teachings of the Gospel,
the equality of men consists in this: that all, having inherited
the same nature, are called to the same most high dignity of the
sons of God, and that, as one and the same end is set before all,
each one is to be judged by the same law and will receive punishment
or reward according to his deserts. The inequality of rights and
of power proceeds from the very Author of nature, "from whom
all paternity in heaven and earth is named."(8) But the minds
of princes and their subjects are, according to Catholic doctrine
and precepts, bound up one with the other in such a manner, by
mutual duties and rights, that the thirst for power is restrained
and the rational ground of obedience made easy, firm, and noble.
6. Assuredly, the Church wisely inculcates the
apostolic precept on the mass of men: "There is no power
but from God; and those that are, are ordained of God. Therefore
he that resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God. And
they that resist purchase to themselves damnation." And again
she admonishes those "subject by necessity" to be so
"not only for wrath but also for conscience' sake,"
and to render "to all men their dues; tribute to whom tribute
is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom
honor."(9) For, He who created and governs all things has,
in His wise providence, appointed that the things which are lowest
should attain their ends by those which are intermediate, and
these again by the highest. Thus, as even in the kingdom of heaven
He bath willed that the choirs of angels be distinct and some
subject to others, and also in the Church has instituted various
orders and a diversity of offices, so that all are not apostles
or doctors or pastors,(10) so also has He appointed that there
should be various orders in civil society, differing indignity,
rights, and power, whereby the State, like the Church, should
be one body, consisting of many members, some nobler than others,
but all necessary to each other and solicitous for the common
good.
7. But that rulers may use the power conceded
to them to save and not to destroy, the Church of Christ seasonably
warns even princes that the sentence of the Supreme Judge overhangs
them, and, adopting the words of divine wisdom, calls upon all
in the name of God: "Give ear, you that rule the people,
and that please yourselves in multitudes of nations; for power
is given you by the Lord, and strength by the Most High, who will
examine your works, and search out your thoughts. . . . For a
most severe judgment shall be for them that bear rule. . . . For
God will not except any man's person, neither will he stand in
awe of any man's greatness, for he bath made the little and the
great; and he bath equally care of all. But a greater punishment
is ready for the more mighty."(11) And if at any time it
happen that the power of the State is rashly and tyrannically
wielded by princes, the teaching of the Catholic church does not
allow an insurrection on private authority against them, lest
public order be only the more disturbed, and lest society take
greater hurt therefrom. And when affairs come to such a pass that
there is no other hope of safety, she teaches that relief may
be hastened by the merits of Christian patience and by earnest
prayers to God. But, if the will of legislators and princes shall
have sanctioned or commanded anything repugnant to the divine
or natural law, the dignity and duty of the Christian name, as
well as the judgment of the Apostle, urge that "God is to
be obeyed rather than man."(12)
8. Even family life itself, which is the cornerstone
of all society and government, necessarily feels and experiences
the salutary power of the Church, which redounds to the right
ordering and preservation of every State and kingdom. For you
know, venerable brethren, that the foundation of this society
rests first of all in the indissoluble union of man and wife according
to the necessity of natural law, and is completed in the mutual
rights and duties of parents and children, masters and servants.
You know also that the doctrines of socialism strive almost completely
to dissolve this union; since, that stability which is imparted
to it by religious wedlock being lost, it follows that the power
of the father over his own children, and the duties of the children
toward their parents, must be greatly weakened. But the Church,
on the contrary, teaches that "marriage, honorable in all,"(13)
which God himself instituted in the very beginning of the world,
and made indissoluble for the propagation and preservation of
the human species, has become still more binding and more holy
through Christ, who raised it to the dignity of a sacrament, and
chose to use it as the figure of His own union with the Church.
Wherefore, as the Apostle has it,(14) as Christ
is the head of the Church, so is the man the head of the woman;
and as the Church is subject to Christ, who embraces her with
a most chaste and undying love, so also should wives be subject
to their husbands, and be loved by them in turn with a faithful
and constant affection. In like manner does the Church temper
the use of parental and domestic authority, that it may tend to
hold children and servants to their duty, without going beyond
bounds. For, according to Catholic teaching, the authority of
our heavenly Father and Lord is imparted to parents and masters,
whose authority, therefore, not only takes its origin and force
from Him, but also borrows its nature and character. Hence, the
Apostle exhorts children to "obey their parents in the Lord,
and honor their father and mother, which is the first commandment
with promise";(15) and he admonishes parents: "And you,
fathers, provoke not your children to anger, but bring them up
in the discipline and correction of the Lord."(16) Again,
the apostle enjoins the divine precept on servants and masters,
exhorting the former to be "obedient to their lords according
to the flesh of Christ . . . with a good will serving, as to the
Lord"; and the latter, to "forbear threatenings, knowing
that the Lord of all is in heaven, and there is no respect of
persons with God."(17) If only all these matters were faithfully
observed according to the divine will by all on whom they are
enjoined, most assuredly every family would be a figure of the
heavenly home, and the wonderful blessings there begotten would
not confine themselves to the households alone, but would scatter
their riches abroad through the nations."
9. But Catholic wisdom, sustained by the precepts
of natural and divine law, provides with especial care for public
and private tranquility in its doctrines and teachings regarding
the duty of government and the distribution of the goods which
are necessary for life and use. For, while the socialists would
destroy the "right" of property, alleging it to be a
human invention altogether opposed to the inborn equality of man,
and, claiming a community of goods, argue that poverty should
not be peaceably endured, and that the property and privileges
of the rich may be rightly invaded, the Church, with much greater
wisdom and good sense, recognizes the inequality among men, who
are born with different powers of body and mind, inequality in
actual possession, also, and holds that the right of property
and of ownership, which springs from nature itself, must not be
touched and stands inviolate. For she knows that stealing and
robbery were forbidden in so special a manner by God, the Author
and Defender of right, that He would not allow man even to desire
what belonged to another, and that thieves and despoilers, no
less than adulterers and idolaters, are shut out from the Kingdom
of Heaven. But not the less on this account does our holy Mother
not neglect the care of the poor or omit to provide for their
necessities; but, rather, drawing them to her with a mother's
embrace, and knowing that they bear the person of Christ Himself,
who regards the smallest gift to the poor as a benefit conferred
on Himself, holds them in great honor. She does all she can to
help them; she provides homes and hospitals where they may be
received, nourished, and cared for all the world over and watches
over these. She is constantly pressing on the rich that most grave
precept to give what remains to the poor; and she holds over their
heads the divine sentence that unless they succor the needy they
will be repaid by eternal torments. In fine, she does all she
can to relieve and comfort the poor, either by holding up to them
the example of Christ, "who being rich became poor for our
sake,(18) or by reminding them of his own words, wherein he pronounced
the poor blessed and bade them hope for the reward of eternal
bliss. But who does not see that this is the best method of arranging
the old struggle between the rich and poor? For, as the very evidence
of facts and events shows, if this method is rejected or disregarded,
one of two things must occur: either the greater portion of the
human race will fall back into the vile condition of slavery which
so long prevailed among the pagan nations, or human society must
continue to be disturbed by constant eruptions, to be disgraced
by rapine and strife, as we have had sad witness even in recent
times.
10. These things being so, then, venerable brethren,
as at the beginning of Our pontificate We, on whom the guidance
of the whole Church now lies, pointed out a place of refuge to
the peoples and the princes tossed about by the fury of the tempest,
so now, moved by the extreme peril that is on them, We again lift
up Our voice, and beseech them again and again for their own safety's
sake as well as that of their people to welcome and give ear to
the Church which has had such wonderful influence on the public
prosperity of kingdoms, and to recognize that political and religious
affairs are so closely united that what is taken from the spiritual
weakens the loyalty of subjects and the majesty of the government.
And since they know that the Church of Christ has such power to
ward off the plague of socialism as cannot be found in human laws,
in the mandates of magistrates, or in the force of armies, let
them restore that Church to the condition and liberty in which
she may exert her healing force for the benefit of all society.
11. But you, venerable brethren, who know the
origin and the drift of these gathering evils, strive with all
your force of soul to implant the Catholic teaching deep in the
minds of all. Strive that all may have the habit of clinging to
God with filial love and revering His divinity from their tenderest
years; that they may respect the majesty of princes and of laws;
that they may restrain their passions and stand fast by the order
which God has established in civil and domestic society. Moreover,
labor hard that the children of the Catholic Church neither join
nor favor in any way whatsoever this abominable sect; let them
show, on the contrary, by noble deeds and right dealing in all
things, how well and happily human society would hold together
were each member to shine as an example of right doing and of
virtue. In fine, as the recruits of socialism are especially sought
among artisans and workmen, who, tired, perhaps, of labor, are
more easily allured by the hope of riches and the promise of wealth,
it is well to encourage societies of artisans and workmen which,
constituted under the guardianship of religion, may tend to make
all associates contented with their lot and move them to a quiet
and peaceful life.
12. Venerable brethren, may He who is the beginning
and end of every good work inspire your and Our endeavors. And,
indeed, the very thought of these days, in which the anniversary
of our Lord's birth is solemnly observed, moves us to hope for
speedy help. For the new life which Christ at His birth brought
to a world already aging and steeped in the very depths of wickedness
He bids us also to hope for, and the peace which He then announced
by the angels to men He has promised to us also. For the Lord's
"hand is not shortened that he cannot save, neither is his
ear heavy that he cannot hear."(19) In these most auspicious
days, then, venerable brethren, wishing all joy and happiness
to you and to the faithful of your churches, We earnestly pray
the Giver of all good that again "there may appear unto men
the goodness and kindness of God our Saviour,"(20) who brought
us out of the power of our most deadly enemy into the most noble
dignity of the sons of God. And that We may the sooner and more
fully gain our wish, do you, venerable brethren, join with Us
in lifting up your fervent prayers to God and beg the intercession
of the Blessed and Immaculate Virgin Mary, and of Joseph her spouse,
and of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, in whose prayers We
have the greatest confidence. And in the meanwhile We impart to
you, with the inmost affection of the heart, and to your clergy
and faithful people, the apostolic benediction as an augury of
the divine gifts.
Given at St. Peter's, in Rome, on the twenty-eighth
day of December, 1878, in the first year of Our pontificate.
LEO XIII
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REFERENCES:
1. Isa. 58:1.
2. Jude 8.
3. 1 Tim. 6:10.
4. See above, p. 155, note 2.
5. On Freemasonry, Humanum genus.
6. 1 Tim. 3:15.
7. 2 Cor. 6:14.
8. Eph. 3:15.
9. Rom. 13a, 7.
10. 1 Cor. 12:28.
11. Wisd. 6:3-4, 8-9.
12. Acts 5:29.
13. Heb. 13:4.
14. Eph. S:Z3.
15. Eph.6:1-2.
16. Eph. 6:4.
17. Eph.6:5-9.
18. 2 Cor. 8:9.
19. Isa. 59:1.
20. Titus 3:4.
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