LIBERTAS
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII
ON THE NATURE OF
HUMAN LIBERTY
To the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and
Bishops of the Catholic World in Grace and
Communion with the Apostolic See.
Liberty, the highest of natural endowments, being
the portion only of intellectual or rational natures, confers
on man this dignity - that he is "in the hand of his counsel"(1)
and has power over his actions. But the manner in which such dignity
is exercised is of the greatest moment, inasmuch as on the use
that is made of liberty the highest good and the greatest evil
alike depend. Man, indeed, is free to obey his reason, to seek
moral good, and to strive unswervingly after his last end. Yet
he is free also to turn aside to all other things; and, in pursuing
the empty semblance of good, to disturb rightful order and to
fall headlong into the destruction which he has voluntarily chosen.
The Redeemer of mankind, Jesus Christ, having restored and exalted
the original dignity of nature, vouchsafed special assistance
to the will of man; and by the gifts of His grace here, and the
promise of heavenly bliss hereafter, He raised it to a nobler
state. In like manner, this great gift of nature has ever been,
and always will be, deservingly cherished by the Catholic Church,
for to her alone has been committed the charge of handing down
to all ages the benefits purchased for us by Jesus Christ. Yet
there are many who imagine that the Church is hostile to human
liberty. Having a false and absurd notion as to what liberty is,
either they pervert the very idea of freedom, or they extend it
at their pleasure to many things in respect of which man cannot
rightly be regarded as free.
2. We have on other occasions, and especially
in Our encyclical letter Immortale Dei,(2) in treating of the
so-called modern liberties, distinguished between their good and
evil elements; and We have shown that whatsoever is good in those
liberties is as ancient as truth itself, and that the Church has
always most willingly approved and practiced that good: but whatsoever
has been added as new is, to tell the plain truth, of a vitiated
kind, the fruit of the disorders of the age, and of an insatiate
longing after novelties. Seeing, however, that many cling so obstinately
to their own opinion in this matter as to imagine these modern
liberties, cankered as they are, to be the greatest glory of our
age, and the very basis of civil life, without which no perfect
government can be conceived, We feel it a pressing duty, for the
sake of the common good, to treat separately of this subject.
3. It is with moral liberty, whether in individuals
or in communities, that We proceed at once to deal. But, first
of all, it will be well to speak briefly of natural liberty; for,
though it is distinct and separate from moral liberty, natural
freedom is the fountainhead from which liberty of whatsoever kind
flows, sua vi suaque sponte. The unanimous consent and judgment
of men, which is the trusty voice of nature, recognizes this natural
liberty in those only who are endowed with intelligence or reason;
and it is by his use of this that man is rightly regarded as responsible
for his actions. For, while other animate creatures follow their
senses, seeking good and avoiding evil only by instinct, man has
reason to guide him in each and every act of his life. Reason
sees that whatever things that are held to be good upon earth
may exist or may not, and discerning that none of them are of
necessity for us, it leaves the will free to choose what it pleases.
But man can judge of this contingency, as We say, only because
he has a soul that is simple, spiritual, and intellectual - a
soul, therefore, which is not produced by matter, and does not
depend on matter for its existence; but which is created immediately
by God, and, far surpassing the condition of things material,
has a life and action of its own so that, knowing the unchangeable
and necessary reasons of what is true and good, it sees that no
particular kind of good is necessary to us. When, therefore, it
is established that man's soul is immortal and endowed with reason
and not bound up with things material, the foundation of natural
liberty is at once most firmly laid.
4. As the Catholic Church declares in the strongest
terms the simplicity, spirituality, and immortality of the soul,
so with unequalled constancy and publicity she ever also asserts
its freedom. These truths she has always taught, and has sustained
them as a dogma of faith, and whensoever heretics or innovators
have attacked the liberty of man, the Church has defended it and
protected this noble possession from destruction. History bears
witness to the energy with which she met the fury of the Manichaeans
and others like them; and the earnestness with which in later
years she defended human liberty at the Council of Trent, and
against the followers of Jansenius, is known to all. At no time,
and in no place, has she held truce with fatalism.
5. Liberty, then, as We have said, belongs only
to those who have the gift of reason or intelligence. Considered
as to its nature, it is the faculty of choosing means fitted for
the end proposed, for he is master of his actions who can choose
one thing out of many. Now, since everything chosen as a means
is viewed as good or useful, and since good, as such, is the proper
object of our desire, it follows that freedom of choice is a property
of the will, or, rather, is identical with the will in so far
as it has in its action the faculty of choice. But the will cannot
proceed to act until it is enlightened by the knowledge possessed
by the intellect. In other words, the good wished by the will
is necessarily good in so far as it is known by the intellect;
and this the more, because in all voluntary acts choice is subsequent
to a judgment upon the truth of the good presented, declaring
to which good preference should be given. No sensible man can
doubt that judgment is an act of reason, not of the will. The
end, or object, both of the rational will and of its liberty is
that good only which is in conformity with reason.
6. Since, however, both these faculties are imperfect,
it is possible, as is often seen, that the reason should propose
something which is not really good, but which has the appearance
of good, and that the will should choose accordingly. For, as
the possibility of error, and actual error, are defects of the
mind and attest its imperfection, so the pursuit of what has a
false appearance of good, though a proof of our freedom, just
as a disease is a proof of our vitality, implies defect in human
liberty. The will also, simply because of its dependence on the
reason, no sooner desires anything contrary thereto than it abuses
its freedom of choice and corrupts its very essence. Thus it is
that the infinitely perfect God, although supremely free, because
of the supremacy of His intellect and of His essential goodness,
nevertheless cannot choose evil; neither can the angels and saints,
who enjoy the beatific vision. St. Augustine and others urged
most admirably against the Pelagians that, if the possibility
of deflection from good belonged to the essence or perfection
of liberty, then God, Jesus Christ, and the angels and saints,
who have not this power, would have no liberty at all, or would
have less liberty than man has in his state of pilgrimage and
imperfection. This subject is often discussed by the Angelic Doctor
in his demonstration that the possibility of sinning is not freedom,
but slavery. It will suffice to quote his subtle commentary on
the words of our Lord: "Whosoever committeth sin is the slave
of sin."(3) "Everything," he says, "is that
which belongs to it a naturally. When, therefore, it acts through
a power outside itself, it does not act of itself, but through
another, that is, as a slave. But man is by nature rational. When,
therefore, he acts according to reason, he acts of himself and
according to his free will; and this is liberty. Whereas, when
he sins, he acts in opposition to reason, is moved by another,
and is the victim of foreign misapprehensions. Therefore, `Whosoever
committeth sin is the slave of sin.' "(4) Even the heathen
philosophers clearly recognized this truth, especially they who
held that the wise man alone is free; and by the term "wise
man" was meant, as is well known, the man trained to live
in accordance with his nature, that is, in justice and virtue.
7. Such, then, being the condition of human liberty,
it necessarily stands in need of light and strength to direct
its actions to good and to restrain them from evil. Without this,
the freedom of our will would be our ruin. First of all, there
must be law; that is, a fixed rule of teaching what is to be done
and what is to be left undone. This rule cannot affect the lower
animals in any true sense, since they act of necessity, following
their natural instinct, and cannot of themselves act in any other
way. On the other hand, as was said above, he who is free can
either act or not act, can do this or do that, as he pleases,
because his judgment precedes his choice. And his judgment not
only decides what is right or wrong of its own nature, but also
what is practically good and therefore to be chosen, and what
is practically evil and therefore to be avoided. In other words,
the reason prescribes to the will what it should seek after or
shun, in order to the eventual attainment of man's last end, for
the sake of which all his actions ought to be performed. This
ordination of reason is called law. In man's free will, therefore,
or in the moral necessity of our voluntary acts being in accordance
with reason, lies the very root of the necessity of law. Nothing
more foolish can be uttered or conceived than the notion that,
because man is free by nature, he is therefore exempt from law.
Were this the case, it would follow that to become free we must
be deprived of reason; whereas the truth is that we are bound
to submit to law precisely because we are free by our very nature.
For, law is the guide of man's actions; it turns him toward good
by its rewards, and deters him from evil by its punishments.
8. Foremost in this office comes the natural
law, which is written and engraved in the mind of every man; and
this is nothing but our reason, commanding us to do right and
forbidding sin. Nevertheless, all prescriptions of human reason
can have force of law only inasmuch as they are the voice and
the interpreters of some higher power on which our reason and
liberty necessarily depend. For, since the force of law consists
in the imposing of obligations and the granting of rights, authority
is the one and only foundation of all law - the power, that is,
of fixing duties and defining rights, as also of assigning the
necessary sanctions of reward and chastisement to each and all
of its commands. But all this, clearly, cannot be found in man,
if, as his own supreme legislator, he is to be the rule of his
own actions. It follows, therefore, that the law of nature is
the same thing as the eternal law, implanted in rational creatures,
and inclining them to their right action and end; and can be nothing
else but the eternal reason of God, the Creator and Ruler of all
the world. To this rule of action and restraint of evil God has
vouchsafed to give special and most suitable aids for strengthening
and ordering the human will. The first and most excellent of these
is the power of His divine grace, whereby the mind can be enlightened
and the will wholesomely invigorated and moved to the constant
pursuit of moral good, so that the use of our inborn liberty becomes
at once less difficult and less dangerous. Not that the divine
assistance hinders in any way the free movement of our will; just
the contrary, for grace works inwardly in man and in harmony with
his natural inclinations, since it flows from the very Creator
of his mind and will, by whom all things are moved in conformity
with their nature. As the Angelic Doctor points out, it is because
divine grace comes from the Author of nature that it is so admirably
adapted to be the safeguard of all natures, and to maintain the
character, efficiency, and operations of each.
9. What has been said of the liberty of individuals
is no less applicable to them when considered as bound together
in civil society. For, what reason and the natural law do for
individuals, that human law, promulgated for their good, does
for the citizens of States. Of the laws enacted by men, some are
concerned with what is good or bad by its very nature; and they
command men to follow after what is right and to shun what is
wrong, adding at the same time a suitable sanction. But such laws
by no means derive their origin from civil society, because, just
as civil society did not create human nature, so neither can it
be said to be the author of the good which befits human nature,
or of the evil which is contrary to it. Laws come before men live
together in society, and have their origin in the natural, and
consequently in the eternal, law. The precepts, therefore, of
the natural law, contained bodily in the laws of men, have not
merely the force of human law, but they possess that higher and
more august sanction which belongs to the law of nature and the
eternal law. And within the sphere of this kind of laws the duty
of the civil legislator is, mainly, to keep the community in obedience
by the adoption of a common discipline and by putting restraint
upon refractory and viciously inclined men, so that, deterred
from evil, they may turn to what is good, or at any rate may avoid
causing trouble and disturbance to the State. Now, there are other
enactments of the civil authority, which do not follow directly,
but somewhat remotely, from the natural law, and decide many points
which the law of nature treats only in a general and indefinite
way. For instance, though nature commands all to contribute to
the public peace and prosperity, whatever belongs to the manner,
and circumstances, and conditions under which such service is
to be rendered must be determined by the wisdom of men and not
by nature herself. It is in the constitution of these particular
rules of life, suggested by reason and prudence, and put forth
by competent authority, that human law, properly so called, consists,
binding all citizens to work together for the attainment of the
common end proposed to the community, and forbidding them to depart
from this end, and, in so far as human law is in conformity with
the dictates of nature, leading to what is good, and deterring
from evil.
10. From this it is manifest that the eternal
law of God is the sole standard and rule of human liberty, not
only in each individual man, but also in the community and civil
society which men constitute when united. Therefore, the true
liberty of human society does not consist in every man doing what
he pleases, for this would simply end in turmoil and confusion,
and bring on the overthrow of the State; but rather in this, that
through the injunctions of the civil law all may more easily conform
to the prescriptions of the eternal law. Likewise, the liberty
of those who are in authority does not consist in the power to
lay unreasonable and capricious commands upon their subjects,
which would equally be criminal and would lead to the ruin of
the commonwealth; but the binding force of human laws is in this,
that they are to be regarded as applications of the eternal law,
and incapable of sanctioning anything which is not contained in
the eternal law, as in the principle of all law. Thus, St. Augustine
most wisely says: "I think that you can see, at the same
time, that there is nothing just and lawful in that temporal law,
unless what men have gathered from this eternal law."(5)
If, then, by anyone in authority, something be sanctioned out
of conformity with the principles of right reason, and consequently
hurtful to the commonwealth, such an enactment can have no binding
force of law, as being no rule of justice, but certain to lead
men away from that good which is the very end of civil society.
11. Therefore, the nature of human liberty, however
it be considered, whether in individuals or in society, whether
in those who command or in those who obey, supposes the necessity
of obedience to some supreme and eternal law, which is no other
than the authority of God, commanding good and forbidding evil.
And, so far from this most just authority of God over men diminishing,
or even destroying their liberty, it protects and perfects it,
for the real perfection of all creatures is found in the prosecution
and attainment of their respective ends; but the supreme end to
which human liberty must aspire is God.
12. These precepts of the truest and highest
teaching, made known to us by the light of reason itself, the
Church, instructed by the example and doctrine of her divine Author,
has ever propagated and asserted; for she has ever made them the
measure of her office and of her teaching to the Christian nations.
As to morals, the laws of the Gospel not only immeasurably surpass
the wisdom of the heathen, but are an invitation and an introduction
to a state of holiness unknown to the ancients; and, bringing
man nearer to God, they make him at once the possessor of a more
perfect liberty. Thus, the powerful influence of the Church has
ever been manifested in the custody and protection of the civil
and political liberty of the people. The enumeration of its merits
in this respect does not belong to our present purpose. It is
sufficient to recall the fact that slavery, that old reproach
of the heathen nations, was mainly abolished by the beneficent
efforts of the Church. The impartiality of law and the true brotherhood
of man were first asserted by Jesus Christ; and His apostles re-echoed
His voice when they declared that in future there was to be neither
Jew, nor Gentile, nor barbarian, nor Scythian, but all were brothers
in Christ. So powerful, so conspicuous, in this respect is the
influence of the Church that experience abundantly testifies how
savage customs are no longer possible in any land where she has
once set her foot; but that gentleness speedily takes the place
of cruelty, and the light of truth quickly dispels the darkness
of barbarism. Nor has the Church been less lavish in the benefits
she has conferred on civilized nations in every age, either by
resisting the tyranny of the wicked, or by protecting the innocent
and helpless from injury, or, finally, by using her influence
in the support of any form of government which commended itself
to the citizens at home, because of its justice, or was feared
by their enemies without, because of its power.
13. Moreover, the highest duty is to respect
authority, and obediently to submit to just law; and by this the
members of a community are effectually protected from the wrong-doing
of evil men. Lawful power is from God, "and whosoever resisteth
authority resisteth the ordinance of God' ;(6) wherefore, obedience
is greatly ennobled when subjected to an authority which is the
most just and supreme of all. But where the power to command is
wanting, or where a law is enacted contrary to reason, or to the
eternal law, or to some ordinance of God, obedience is unlawful,
lest, while obeying man, we become disobedient to God. Thus, an
effectual barrier being opposed to tyranny, the authority in the
State will not have all its own way, but the interests and rights
of all will be safeguarded - the rights of individuals, of domestic
society, and of all the members of the commonwealth; all being
free to live according to law and right reason; and in this, as
We have shown, true liberty really consists.
14. If when men discuss the question of liberty
they were careful to grasp its true and legitimate meaning, such
as reason and reasoning have just explained, they would never
venture to affix such a calumny on the Church as to assert that
she is the foe of individual and public liberty. But many there
are who follow in the footsteps of Lucifer, and adopt as their
own his rebellious cry, "I will not serve"; and consequently
substitute for true liberty what is sheer and most foolish license.
Such, for instance, are the men belonging to that widely spread
and powerful organization, who, usurping the name of liberty,
style themselves liberals.
15. What naturalists or rationalists aim at in
philosophy, that the supporters of liberalism, carrying out the
principles laid down by naturalism, are attempting in the domain
of morality and politics. The fundamental doctrine of rationalism
is the supremacy of the human reason, which, refusing due submission
to the divine and eternal reason, proclaims its own independence,
and constitutes itself the supreme principle and source and judge
of truth. Hence, these followers of liberalism deny the existence
of any divine authority to which obedience is due, and proclaim
that every man is the law to himself; from which arises that ethical
system which they style independent morality, and which, under
the guise of liberty, exonerates man from any obedience to the
commands of God, and substitutes a boundless license. The end
of all this it is not difficult to foresee, especially when society
is in question. For, when once man is firmly persuaded that he
is subject to no one, it follows that the efficient cause of the
unity of civil society is not to be sought in any principle external
to man, or superior to him, but simply in the free will of individuals;
that the authority in the State comes from the people only; and
that, just as every man's individual reason is his only rule of
life, so the collective reason of the community should be the
supreme guide in the management of all public affairs. Hence the
doctrine of the supremacy of the greater number, and that all
right and all duty reside in the majority. But, from what has
been said, it is clear that all this is in contradiction to reason.
To refuse any bond of union between man and civil society, on
the one hand, and God the Creator and consequently the supreme
Law-giver, on the other, is plainly repugnant to the nature, not
only of man, but of all created things; for, of necessity, all
effects must in some proper way be connected with their cause;
and it belongs to the perfection of every nature to contain itself
within that sphere and grade which the order of nature has assigned
to it, namely, that the lower should be subject and obedient to
the higher.
16. Moreover, besides this, a doctrine of such
character is most hurtful both to individuals and to the State.
For, once ascribe to human reason the only authority to decide
what is true and what is good, and the real distinction between
good and evil is destroyed; honor and dishonor differ not in their
nature, but in the opinion and judgment of each one; pleasure
is the measure of what is lawful; and, given a code of morality
which can have little or no power to restrain or quiet the unruly
propensities of man, a way is naturally opened to universal corruption.
With reference also to public affairs: authority is severed from
the true and natural principle whence it derives all its efficacy
for the common good; and the law determining what it is right
to do and avoid doing is at the mercy of a majority. Now, this
is simply a road leading straight to tyranny. The empire of God
over man and civil society once repudiated, it follows that religion,
as a public institution, can have no claim to exist, and that
everything that belongs to religion will be treated with complete
indifference. Furthermore, with ambitious designs on sovereignty,
tumult and sedition will be common amongst the people; and when
duty and conscience cease to appeal to them, there will be nothing
to hold them back but force, which of itself alone is powerless
to keep their covetousness in check. Of this we have almost daily
evidence in the conflict with socialists and members of other
seditious societies, who labor unceasingly to bring about revolution.
It is for those, then, who are capable of forming a just estimate
of things to decide whether such doctrines promote that true liberty
which alone is worthy of man, or rather, pervert and destroy it.
17. There are, indeed, some adherents of liberalism
who do not subscribe to these opinions, which we have seen to
be fearful in their enormity, openly opposed to the truth, and
the cause of most terrible evils. Indeed, very many amongst them,
compelled by the force of truth, do not hesitate to admit that
such liberty is vicious, nay, is simple license, whenever intemperate
in its claims, to the neglect of truth and justice; and therefore
they would have liberty ruled and directed by right reason, and
consequently subject to the natural law and to the divine eternal
law. But here they think they may stop, holding that man as a
free being is bound by no law of God except such as He makes known
to us through our natural reason. In this they are plainly inconsistent.
For if - as they must admit, and no one can rightly deny - the
will of the Divine Law-giver is to be obeyed, because every man
is under the power of God, and tends toward Him as his end, it
follows that no one can assign limits to His legislative authority
without failing in the obedience which is due. Indeed, if the
human mind be so presumptuous as to define the nature and extent
of God's rights and its own duties, reverence for the divine law
will be apparent rather than real, and arbitrary judgment will
prevail over the authority and providence of God. Man must, therefore,
take his standard of a loyal and religious life from the eternal
law; and from all and every one of those laws which God, in His
infinite wisdom and power, has been pleased to enact, and to make
known to us by such clear and unmistakable signs as to leave no
room for doubt. And the more so because laws of this kind have
the same origin, the same author, as the eternal law, are absolutely
in accordance with right reason, and perfect the natural law.
These laws it is that embody the government of God, who graciously
guides and directs the intellect and the will of man lest these
fall into error. Let, then, that continue to remain in a holy
and inviolable union which neither can nor should be separated;
and in all things-for this is the dictate of right reason itself-let
God be dutifully and obediently served.
18. There are others, somewhat more moderate
though not more consistent, who affirm that the morality of individuals
is to be guided by the divine law, but not the morality of the
State, for that in public affairs the commands of God may be passed
over, and may be entirely disregarded in the framing of laws.
Hence follows the fatal theory of the need of separation between
Church and State. But the absurdity of such a position is manifest.
Nature herself proclaims the necessity of the State providing
means and opportunities whereby the community may be enabled to
live properly, that is to say, according to the laws of God. For,
since God is the source of all goodness and justice, it is absolutely
ridiculous that the State should pay no attention to these laws
or render them abortive by contrary enact menu. Besides, those
who are in authority owe it to the commonwealth not only to provide
for its external well-being and the conveniences of life, but
still more to consult the welfare of men's souls in the wisdom
of their legislation. But, for the increase of such benefits,
nothing more suitable can be conceived than the laws which have
God for their author; and, therefore, they who in their government
of the State take no account of these laws abuse political power
by causing it to deviate from its proper end and from what nature
itself prescribes. And, what is still more important, and what
We have more than once pointed out, although the civil authority
has not the same proximate end as the spiritual, nor proceeds
on the same lines, nevertheless in the exercise of their separate
powers they must occasionally meet. For their subjects are the
same, and not infrequently they deal with the same objects, though
in different ways. Whenever this occurs, since a state of conflict
is absurd and manifestly repugnant to the most wise ordinance
of God, there must necessarily exist some order or mode of procedure
to remove the occasions of difference and contention, and to secure
harmony in all things. This harmony has been not inaptly compared
to that which exists between the body and the soul for the well-being
of both one and the other, the separation of which brings irremediable
harm to the body, since it extinguishes its very life.
19. To make this more evident, the growth of
liberty ascribed to our age must be considered apart in its various
details. And, first, let us examine that liberty in individuals
which is so opposed to the virtue of religion, namely, the liberty
of worship, as it is called. This is based on the principle that
every man is free to profess as he may choose any religion or
none.
20. But, assuredly, of all the duties which man
has to fulfill, that, without doubt, is the chiefest and holiest
which commands him to worship God with devotion and piety. This
follows of necessity from the truth that we are ever in the power
of God, are ever guided by His will and providence, and, having
come forth from Him, must return to Him. Add to which, no true
virtue can exist without religion, for moral virtue is concerned
with those things which lead to God as man's supreme and ultimate
good; and therefore religion, which (as St. Thomas says) "performs
those actions which are directly and immediately ordained for
the divine honor",(7) rules and tempers all virtues. And
if it be asked which of the many conflicting religions it is necessary
to adopt, reason and the natural law unhesitatingly tell us to
practice that one which God enjoins, and which men can easily
recognize by certain exterior notes, whereby Divine Providence
has willed that it should be distinguished, because, in a matter
of such moment, the most terrible loss would be the consequence
of error. Wherefore, when a liberty such as We have described
is offered to man, the power is given him to pervert or abandon
with impunity the most sacred of duties, and to exchange the unchangeable
good for evil; which, as We have said, is no liberty, but its
degradation, and the abject submission of the soul to sin.
21. This kind of liberty, if considered in relation
to the State, clearly implies that there is no reason why the
State should offer any homage to God, or should desire any public
recognition of Him; that no one form of worship is to be preferred
to another, but that all stand on an equal footing, no account
being taken of the religion of the people, even if they profess
the Catholic faith. But, to justify this, it must needs be taken
as true that the State has no duties toward God, or that such
duties, if they exist, can be abandoned with impunity, both of
which assertions are manifestly false. For it cannot be doubted
but that, by the will of God, men are united in civil society;
whether its component parts be considered; or its form, which
implies authority; or the object of its existence; or the abundance
of the vast services which it renders to man. God it is who has
made man for society, and has placed him in the company of others
like himself, so that what was wanting to his nature, and beyond
his attainment if left to his own resources, he might obtain by
association with others. Wherefore, civil society must acknowledge
God as its Founder and Parent, and must obey and reverence His
power and authority. Justice therefore forbids, and reason itself
forbids, the State to be godless; or to adopt a line of action
which would end in godlessness-namely, to treat the various religions
(as they call them) alike, and to bestow upon them promiscuously
equal rights and privileges. Since, then, the profession of one
religion is necessary in the State, that religion must be professed
which alone is true, and which can be recognized without difficulty,
especially in Catholic States, because the marks of truth are,
as it were, engravers upon it. This religion, therefore, the rulers
of the State must preserve and protect, if they would provide
- as they should do - with prudence and usefulness for the good
of the community. For public authority exists for the welfare
of those whom it governs; and, although its proximate end is to
lead men to the prosperity found in this life, yet, in so doing,
it ought not to diminish, but rather to increase, man's capability
of attaining to the supreme good in which his everlasting happiness
consists: which never can be attained if religion be disregarded.
22. All this, however, We have explained more
fully elsewhere. We now only wish to add the remark that liberty
of so false a nature is greatly hurtful to the true liberty of
both rulers and their subjects. Religion, of its essence, is wonderfully
helpful to the State. For, since it derives the prime origin of
all power directly from God Himself, with grave authority it charges
rulers to be mindful of their duty, to govern without injustice
or severity, to rule their people kindly and with almost paternal
charity; it admonishes subjects to be obedient to lawful authority,
as to the ministers of God; and it binds them to their rulers,
not merely by obedience, but by reverence and affection, forbidding
all seditious and venturesome enterprises calculated to disturb
public order and tranquillity, and cause greater restrictions
to be put upon the liberty of the people. We need not mention
how greatly religion conduces to pure morals, and pure morals
to liberty. Reason shows, and history confirms the fact, that
the higher the morality of States; the greater are the liberty
and wealth and power which they enjoy.
23. We must now consider briefly liberty of speech,
and liberty of the press. It is hardly necessary to say that there
can be no such right as this, if it be not used in moderation,
and if it pass beyond the bounds and end of all true liberty.
For right is a moral power which - as We have before said and
must again and again repeat - it is absurd to suppose that nature
has accorded indifferently to truth and falsehood, to justice
and injustice. Men have a right freely and prudently to propagate
throughout the State what things soever are true and honorable,
so that as many as possible may possess them; but lying opinions,
than which no mental plague is greater, and vices which corrupt
the heart and moral life should be diligently repressed by public
authority, lest they insidiously work the ruin of the State. The
excesses of an unbridled intellect, which unfailingly end in the
oppression of the untutored multitude, are no less rightly controlled
by the authority of the law than are the injuries inflicted by
violence upon the weak. And this all the more surely, because
by far the greater part of the community is either absolutely
unable, or able only with great difficulty, to escape from illusions
and deceitful subtleties, especially such as flatter the passions.
If unbridled license of speech and of writing be granted to all,
nothing will remain sacred and inviolate; even the highest and
truest mandates of natures, justly held to be the common and noblest
heritage of the human race, will not be spared. Thus, truth being
gradually obscured by darkness, pernicious and manifold error,
as too often happens, will easily prevail. Thus, too, license
will gain what liberty loses; for liberty will ever be more free
and secure in proportion as license is kept in fuller restraint.
In regard, however, to all matter of opinion which God leaves
to man's free discussion, full liberty of thought and of speech
is naturally within the right of everyone; for such liberty never
leads men to suppress the truth, but often to discover it and
make it known.
24. A like judgment must be passed upon what
is called liberty of teaching. There can be no doubt that truth
alone should imbue the minds of men, for in it are found the well-being,
the end, and the perfection of every intelligent nature; and therefore
nothing but truth should be taught both to the ignorant and to
the educated, so as to bring knowledge to those who have it not,
and to preserve it in those who possess it. For this reason it
is plainly the duty of all who teach to banish error from the
mind, and by sure safeguards to close the entry to all false convictions.
From this it follows, as is evident, that the liberty of which
We have been speaking is greatly opposed to reason, and tends
absolutely to pervert men's minds, in as much as it claims for
itself the right of teaching whatever it pleases - a liberty which
the State cannot grant without failing in its duty. And the more
so because the authority of teachers has great weight with their
hearers, who can rarely decide for themselves as to the truth
or falsehood of the instruction given to them.
25. Wherefore, this liberty, also, in order that
it may deserve the name, must be kept within certain limits, lest
the office of teaching be turned with impunity into an instrument
of corruption. Now, truth, which should be the only subject matter
of those who teach, is of two kinds: natural and supernatural.
Of natural truths, such as the principles of nature and whatever
is derived from them immediately by our reason, there is a kind
of common patrimony in the human race. On this, as on a firm basis,
morality, justice, religion, and the very bonds of human society
rest: and to allow people to go unharmed who violate or destroy
it would be most impious, most foolish, and most inhuman.
26. But with no less religious care must we preserve
that great and sacred treasure of the truths which God Himself
has taught us. By many and convincing arguments, often used by
defenders of Christianity, certain leading truths have been laid
down: namely, that some things have been revealed by God; that
the only-begotten Son of God was made flesh, to bear witness to
the truth; that a perfect society was founded by Him - the Church,
namely, of which He is the head, and with which He has promised
to abide till the end of the world. To this society He entrusted
all the truths which He had taught, in order that it might keep
and guard them and with lawful authority explain them; and at
the same time He commanded all nations to hear the voice of the
Church, as if it were His own, threatening those who would nor
hear it with everlasting perdition. Thus, it is manifest that
man's best and surest teacher is God, the Source and Principle
of all truth; and the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of
the Father, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the true Light which
enlightens every man, and to whose teaching all must submit: "And
they shall all be taught of God."(8)
27. In faith and in the teaching of morality,
God Himself made the Church a partaker of His divine authority,
and through His heavenly gift she cannot be deceived. She is therefore
the greatest and most reliable teacher of mankind, and in her
swells an inviolable right to teach them. Sustained by the truth
received from her divine Founder, the Church has ever sought to
fulfill holily the mission entrusted to her by God; unconquered
by the difficulties on all sides surrounding her, she has never
ceased to assert her liberty of teaching, and in this way the
wretched superstition of paganism being dispelled, the wide world
was renewed unto Christian wisdom. Now, reason itself clearly
teaches that the truths of divine revelation and those of nature
cannot really be opposed to one another, and that whatever is
at variance with them must necessarily be false. Therefore, the
divine teaching of the Church, so far from being an obstacle to
the pursuit of learning and the progress of science, or in any
way retarding the advance of civilization, in reality brings to
them the sure guidance of shining light. And for the same reason
it is of no small advantage for the perfecting of human liberty,
since our Saviour Jesus Christ has said that by truth is man made
free: "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free."(9) Therefore, there is no reason why genuine liberty
should grow indignant, or true science feel aggrieved, at having
to bear the just and necessary restraint of laws by which, in
the judgment of the Church and of reason itself, human teaching
has to be controlled.
28. The Church, indeed - as facts have everywhere
proved - looks chiefly and above all to the defense of the Christian
faith, while careful at the same time to foster and promote every
kind of human learning. For learning is in itself good, and praiseworthy,
and desirable; and further, all erudition which is the outgrowth
of sound reason, and in conformity with the truth of things, serves
not a little to confirm what we believe on the authority of God.
The Church, truly, to our great benefit, has carefully preserved
the monuments of ancient wisdom; has opened everywhere homes of
science, and has urged on intellectual progress by fostering most
diligently the arts by which the culture of our age is so much
advanced. Lastly, we must not forget that a vast field lies freely
open to man's industry and genius, containing all those things
which have no necessary connection with Christian faith and morals,
or as to which the Church, exercising no authority, leaves the
judgment of the learned free and unconstrained.
29. From all this may be understood the nature
and character of that liberty which the followers of liberalism
so eagerly advocate and proclaim. On the one hand, they demand
for themselves and for the State a license which opens the way
to every perversity of opinion; and on the other, they hamper
the Church in divers ways, restricting her liberty within narrowest
limits, although from her teaching not only is there nothing to
be feared, but in every respect very much to be gained.
30. Another liberty is widely advocated, namely,
liberty of conscience. If by this is meant that everyone may,
as he chooses, worship God or not, it is sufficiently refuted
by the arguments already adduced. But it may also be taken to
mean that every man in the State may follow the will of God and,
from a consciousness of duty and free from every obstacle, obey
His commands. This, indeed, is true liberty, a liberty worthy
of the sons of God, which nobly maintains the dignity of man and
is stronger than all violence or wrong - a liberty which the Church
has always desired and held most dear. This is the kind of liberty
the Apostles claimed for themselves with intrepid constancy, which
the apologists of Christianity confirmed by their writings, and
which the martyrs in vast numbers consecrated by their blood.
And deservedly so; for this Christian liberty bears witness to
the absolute and most just dominion of God over man, and to the
chief and supreme duty of man toward God. It has nothing in common
with a seditious and rebellious mind; and in no title derogates
from obedience to public authority; for the right to command and
to require obedience exists only so far as it is in accordance
with the authority of God, and is within the measure that He has
laid down. But when anything is commanded which is plainly at
variance with the will of God, there is a wide departure from
this divinely constituted order, and at the same time a direct
conflict with divine authority; therefore, it is right not to
obey.
31. By the patrons of liberalism, however, who
make the State absolute and omnipotent, and proclaim that man
should live altogether independently of God, the liberty of which
We speak, which goes hand in hand with virtue and religion, is
not admitted; and whatever is done for its preservation is accounted
an injury and an offense against the State. Indeed, if what they
say were really true, there would be no tyranny, no matter how
monstrous, which we should not be bound to endure and submit to.
32. The Church most earnestly desires that the
Christian teaching, of which We have given an outline, should
penetrate every rank of society in reality and in practice; for
it would be of the greatest efficacy in healing the evils of our
day, which are neither few nor slight, and are the off spring
in great part of the false liberty which is so much extolled,
and in which the germs of safety and glory were supposed to be
contained. The hope has been disappointed by the result. The fruit,
instead of being sweet and wholesome, has proved cankered and
bitter. If, then, a remedy is desired, let it be sought for in
a restoration of sound doctrine, from which alone the preservation
of order and, as a consequence, the defense of true liberty can
be confidently expected.
33. Yet, with the discernment of a true mother,
the Church weighs the great burden of human weakness, and well
knows the course down which the minds and actions of men are in
this our age being borne. For this reason, while not conceding
any right to anything save what is true and honest, she does not
forbid public authority to tolerate what is at variance with truth
and justice, for the sake of avoiding some greater evil, or of
obtaining or preserving some greater good. God Himself in His
providence, though infinitely good and powerful, permits evil
to exist in the world, partly that greater good may not be impeded,
and partly that greater evil may not ensue. In the government
of States it is not forbidden to imitate the Ruler of the world;
and, as the authority of man is powerless to prevent every evil,
it has (as St. Augustine says) to overlook and leave unpunished
many things which are punished, and rightly, by Divine Providence.(10)
But if, in such circumstances, for the sake of the common good
(and this is the only legitimate reason), human law may or even
should tolerate evil, it may not and should not approve or desire
evil for its own sake; for evil of itself, being a privation of
good, is opposed to the common welfare which every legislator
is bound to desire and defend to the best of his ability. In this,
human law must endeavor to imitate God, who, as St. Thomas teaches,
in allowing evil to exist in the world, "neither wills evil
to be done, nor wills it not to be done, but wills only to permit
it to be done; and this is good."(11) This saying of the
Angelic Doctor contains briefly the whole doctrine of the permission
of evil.
34. But, to judge aright, we must acknowledge
that, the more a State is driven to tolerate evil, the further
is it from perfection; and that the tolerance of evil which is
dictated by political prudence should be strictly confined to
the limits which its justifying cause, the public welfare, requires.
Wherefore, if such tolerance would be injurious to the public
welfare, and entail greater evils on the State, it would not be
lawful; for in such case the motive of good is wanting. And although
in the extraordinary condition of these times the Church usually
acquiesces in certain modern liberties, not because she prefers
them in themselves, but because she judges it expedient to permit
them, she would in happier times exercise her own liberty; and,
by persuasion, exhortation, and entreaty would endeavor, as she
is bound, to fulfill the duty assigned to her by God of providing
for the eternal salvation of mankind. One thing, however, remains
always true - that the liberty which is claimed for all to do
all things is not, as We have often said, of itself desirable,
inasmuch as it is contrary to reason that error and truth should
have equal rights.
35. And as to tolerance, it is surprising how
far removed from the equity and prudence of the Church are those
who profess what is called liberalism. For, in allowing that boundless
license of which We have spoken, they exceed all limits, and end
at last by making no apparent distinction between truth and error,
honesty and dishonesty. And because the Church, the pillar and
ground of truth, and the unerring teacher of morals, is forced
utterly to reprobate and condemn tolerance of such an abandoned
and criminal character, they calumniate her as being wanting in
patience and gentleness, and thus fail to see that, in so doing,
they impute to her as a fault what is in reality a matter for
commendation. But, in spite of all this show of tolerance, it
very often happens that, while they profess themselves ready to
lavish liberty on all in the greatest profusion, they are utterly
intolerant toward the Catholic Church, by refusing to allow her
the liberty of being herself free.
36. And now to reduce for clearness' sake to
its principal heads all that has been set forth with its immediate
conclusions, the summing up in this briefly: that man, by a necessity
of his nature, is wholly subject to the most faithful and ever-enduring
power of God; and that, as a consequence, any liberty, except
that which consists in submission to God and in subjection to
His will, is unintelligible. To deny the existence of this authority
in God, or to refuse to submit to it, means to act, not as a free
man, but as one who treasonably abuses his liberty; and in such
a disposition of mind the chief and deadly vice of liberalism
essentially consists. The form, however, of the sin is manifold;
for in more ways and degrees than one can the will depart from
the obedience which is due to God or to those who share the divine
power.
37. For, to reject the supreme authority to God,
and to cast off all obedience to Him in public matters, or even
in private and domestic affairs, is the greatest perversion of
liberty and the worst kind of liberalism; and what We have said
must be understood to apply to this alone in its fullest sense.
38. Next comes the system of those who admit
indeed the duty of submitting to God, the Creator and Ruler of
the world, inasmuch as all nature is dependent on His will, but
who boldly reject all laws of faith and morals which are above
natural reason, but are revealed by the authority of God; or who
at least impudently assert that there is no reason why regard
should be paid to these laws, at any rate publicly, by the State.
How mistaken these men also are, and how inconsistent, we have
seen above. From this teaching, as from its source and principle,
flows that fatal principle of the separation of Church and State;
whereas it is, on the contrary, clear that the two powers, though
dissimilar in functions and unequal in degree, ought nevertheless
to live in concord, by harmony in their action and the faithful
discharge of their respective duties.
39. But this teaching is understood in two ways.
Many wish the State to be separated from the Church wholly and
entirely, so that with regard to every right of human society,
in institutions, customs, and laws, the offices of State, and
the education of youth, they would pay no more regard to the Church
than if she did not exist; and, at most, would allow the citizens
individually to attend to their religion in private if so minded.
Against such as these, all the arguments by which We disprove
the principle of separation of Church and State are conclusive;
with this super-added, that it is absurd the citizen should respect
the Church, while the State may hold her in contempt.
40. Others oppose not the existence of the Church,
nor indeed could they; yet they despoil her of the nature and
rights of a perfect society, and maintain that it does not belong
to her to legislate, to judge, or to punish, but only to exhort,
to advise, and to rule her subjects in accordance with their own
consent and will. By such opinion they pervert the nature of this
divine society, and attenuate and narrow its authority, its office
of teacher, and its whole efficiency; and at the same time they
aggrandize the power of the civil government to such extent as
to subject the Church of God to the empire and sway of the State,
like any voluntary association of citizens. To refute completely
such teaching, the arguments often used by the defenders of Christianity,
and set forth by Us, especially in the encyclical letter Immortale
Dei,(12) are of great avail; for by those arguments it is proved
that, by a divine provision, all the rights which essentially
belong to a society that is legitimate, supreme, and perfect in
all its parts exist in the Church.
41. Lastly, there remain those who, while they
do not approve the separation of Church and State, think nevertheless
that the Church ought to adapt herself to the times and conform
to what is required by the modern system of government. Such an
opinion is sound, if it is to be understood of some equitable
adjustment consistent with truth and justice; in so far, namely,
that the Church, in the hope of some great good, may show herself
indulgent, and may conform to the times in so far as her sacred
office permits. But it is not so in regard to practices and doctrines
which a perversion of morals and a warped judgment have unlawfully
introduced. Religion, truth, and justice must ever be maintained;
and, as God has intrusted these great and sacred matters to her
office as to dissemble in regard to what is false or unjust, or
to connive at what is hurtful to religion.
42. From what has been said it follows that it
is quite unlawful to demand, to defend, or to grant unconditional
freedom of thought, of speech, or writing, or of worship, as if
these were so many rights given by nature to man. For, if nature
had really granted them, it would be lawful to refuse obedience
to God, and there would be no restraint on human liberty. It likewise
follows that freedom in these things may be tolerated wherever
there is just cause, but only with such moderation as will prevent
its degenerating into license and excess. And, where such liberties
are in use, men should employ them in doing good, and should estimate
them as the Church does; for liberty is to be regarded as legitimate
in so far only as it affords greater facility for doing good,
but no farther.
43. Whenever there exists, or there is reason
to fear, an unjust oppression of the people on the one hand, or
a deprivation of the liberty of the Church on the other, it is
lawful to seek for such a change of government as will bring about
due liberty of action. In such case, an excessive and vicious
liberty is not sought, but only some relief, for the common welfare,
in order that, while license for evil is allowed by the State,
the power of doing good may not be hindered.
44. Again, it is not of itself wrong to prefer
a democratic form of government, if only the Catholic doctrine
be maintained as to the origin and exercise of power. Of the various
forms of government, the Church does not reject any that are fitted
to procure the welfare of the subject; she wishes only - and this
nature itself requires - that they should be constituted without
involving wrong to any one, and especially without violating the
rights of the Church.
45. Unless it be otherwise determined, by reason
of some exceptional condition of things, it is expedient to take
part in the administration of public affairs. And the Church approves
of every one devoting his services to the common good, and doing
all that he can for the defense, preservation, and prosperity
of his country.
46. Neither does the Church condemn those who,
if it can be done without violation of justice, wish to make their
country independent of any foreign or despotic power. Nor does
she blame those who wish to assign to the State the power of self-government,
and to its citizens the greatest possible measure of prosperity.
The Church has always most faithfully fostered civil liberty,
and this was seen especially in Italy, in the municipal prosperity,
and wealth, and glory which were obtained at a time when the salutary
power of the Church has spread, without opposition, to all parts
of the State.
47. These things, venerable brothers, which,
under the guidance of faith and reason, in the discharge of Our
Apostolic office, We have now delivered to you, We hope, especially
by your cooperation with Us, will be useful unto very many. In
lowliness of heart We raise Our eyes in supplication to God, and
earnestly beseech Him to shed mercifully the light of His wisdom
and of His counsel upon men, so that, strengthened by these heavenly
gifts, they may in matters of such moment discern what is true,
and may afterwards, in public and private at all times and with
unshaken constancy, live in accordance with the truth. As a pledge
of these heavenly gifts, and in witness of Our good will to you,
venerable brothers, and to the clergy and people committed to
each of you, We most lovingly grant in the Lord the apostolic
benediction.
Given at St. Peter's in Rome, the twentieth day
of June, 1888, the tenth year of Our Pontificate.
LEO XIII
________________________________________
REFERENCES:
1. Ecclus. 15:14.
2. See no. 93:37-38.
3. John 8:34.
4. Thomas Aquinas, On the Gospel of St. John, cap. viii, lect.
4, n. 3 (ed. Vives, Vol. 20 p. 95).
5. Augustine, De libero arbitrio, lib. I, cap. 6, n. 15 (PL 32,
1229).
6. Rom. 13:2.
7. Summa theologiae, IIa-IIae, q. lxxxi, a. 6. Answer.
8. John 6:45.
9. John 8:32.
10. Augustine, De libero arbitrio, lib. I, cap. 6, n. 14 (PL 32,
1228).
11. Summa theologiae, la, q. xix, a. 9, ad 3m.
12. See no. 93:8-11.
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