MOTU
PROPRIO: FIN DALLA PRIMA NOSTRA
ON POPULAR CATHOLIC ACTION
BY POPE ST. PIUS X
IN our first
Encyclical to the Bishops of the world, in which we echo all
that our glorious predecessors had laid down concerning the
Catholic action of the laity, we declared that this action was
deserving of the highest praise, and was indeed necessary in
the present condition of the Church and of society. And we cannot
but praise warmly the zeal shown by so many illustrious personages
who have for a long time dedicated themselves to this glorious
task, and the ardor of so many brilliant young people who have
eagerly hastened to lend their aid to the same. The nineteenth
Catholic Congress lately held at Bologna, and by us promoted
and encouraged, has sufficiently proved to all the vigor of
the Catholic forces as well as what useful and salutary results
may be obtained among a population of believers, when this action
is well governed and disciplined, and when unity of thought,
sentiment and action prevail among those who take part in it.
But
we are very sorry to find that certain differences which arose
in the midst of them have produced discussions unfortunately
too vivacious, which, if not dispelled in time, might serve
to divide those forces of which we have spoken, and render them
less efficacious. Before the Congress we recommended above all
things unity and harmony, in order that it might be possible
to lay down by common accord the general lines for the practical
working of the Catholic movement; we cannot therefore be silent
now. And since divergences of view in matters of practice have
commonly their origin in the domain of theory, and indeed necessarily
find their fulcrum in the latter, it is necessary to define
clearly the principles on which the entire Catholic movement
must be based.
Our
illustrious predecessor, Leo XIII., of holy memory, traced out
luminously the rules that must be followed in the Christian
movement among the people in the great Encyclicals “Quod
Apostolici muneris,” of December 28, 1878; “Rerum
novarum,” of May 15, 1891, and “Graves de communi,”
of January 18, 1901; and further in a particular Instruction
emanating from the Sacred Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical
Affairs, of January 27, 1902.
And
we, realizing, as did our predecessor, the great need that the
Christian movement among the people be rightly governed and
conducted, desire to have those most prudent rules exactly and
completely fulfilled, and to provide that nobody may dare depart
from them in the smallest particulars. Hence, to keep them more
vividly present before people’s minds, we have deemed
it well to summarize them in the following articles, which will
constitute the fundamental plan of Catholic popular movement.
FUNDAMENTAL REGULATIONS.
I.
Human society, as established by God, is composed of unequal
elements, just as the different parts of the human body are
unequal; to make them all equal is impossible, and would mean
the destruction of human society. (Encyclical, “Quod
Apostolici Muneris”).
II.
The equality existing among the various social members consists
only in this: that all men have their origin in God the Creator,
have been redeemed by Jesus Christ, and are to be judged and
rewarded or punished by God exactly according to their merits
or demerits. (Encyclical, “Quod Apostolici Muneris”).
III.
Hence it follows that there are, according to the ordinance
of God, in human society princes and subjects, masters and proletariat,
rich and poor, learned and ignorant, nobles and plebeians, all
of whom, united in the bonds of love, are to help one another
to attain their last end in heaven, and their material and moral
welfare here on earth. (Encyclical, “Quod Apostolici
Muneris”).
IV.
Of the goods of the earth man has not merely the use, like the
brute creation, but he has also the right of permanent proprietorship
and not merely of those things which are consumed by use, but
also of those which are not consumed by use. (Encyclical, “Rerum
Novarum”).
V.
The right of private property, the fruit of labor or industry,
or of concession or donation by others, is an incontrovertible
natural right; and everybody can dispose reasonably of such
property as he thinks fit. (Encyclical, “Rerum Novarum”).
VI.
To heal the breach between rich and poor, it is necessary to
distinguish between justice and charity. There can be no claim
for redress except when justice is violated. (Encyclical,
“Rerum Novarum”).
OBLIGATIONS OF JUSTICE.
VII.
The following are obligations of justice binding on the proletariat
and the workingman: To perform fully and faithfully the work
which has been freely and, according to equity, agreed upon;
not to injure the property or outrage the person of masters;
even in the defense of their own rights to abstain from acts
of violence, and never to make mutiny of their defense. (Encyclical,
“Rerum Novarum”).
VIII.
The following are obligations of justice binding on capitalists:
To pay just wages to their workingmen; not to injure their just
savings by violence or fraud, or by overt or covert usuries;
not to expose them to corrupting seductions and danger of scandal;
not to alienate them from the spirit of family life and from
love of economy; not to impose on them labor beyond their strength,
or unsuitable for their age or sex. (Encyclical, “Rerum
Novarum”).
IX.
It is an obligation for the rich and those who own property
to succor the poor and the indigent, according to the precepts
of the Gospel. This obligation is so grave that on the Day of
Judgment special account will be demanded of its fulfillment,
as Christ Himself has said (Matthew 25). (Encyclical, “Rerum
Novarum”).
X.
The poor should not be ashamed of their poverty, nor disdain
the charity of the rich, for they should have especially in
view Jesus the Redeemer, who, though He might have been born
in riches, made Himself poor in order that He might ennoble
poverty and enrich it with merits beyond price for heaven. (Encyclical,
“Rerum Novarum”).
XL
For the settlement of the social question much can be done by
the capitalists and workers themselves, by means of institutions
designed to provide timely aid for the needy and to bring together
and unite mutually the two classes. Among these institutions
are mutual aid societies, various kinds of private insurance
societies, orphanages for the young, and, above all, associations
among the different trades and professions. (Encyclical, “Rerum
Novarum”).
CHRISTIAN DEMOCRACY.
XII.
This end is especially aimed at by the movement of Christian
Popular Action of Christian Democracy in its many and varied
branches. But Christian Democracy must be taken in the sense
already authoritatively defined. Totally different from the
movement known as “Social Democracy,” it has for
its basis the principles of Catholic faith and morals especially
the principle of not injuring in any way the inviolable right
of private property. Encyclical, “Graves de Communi”).
XIII.
Moreover, Christian Democracy must have nothing to do with politics,
and never be able to serve political ends or parties; this is
not its field; but it must be a beneficent movement for the
people, and founded on the law of nature and the precepts of
the Gospel. (Encyclical, “Graves de Communi,”
Instructions of the S. Cong, of E. E. Affairs).
Christian
Democrats in Italy must abstain from participating in any political
action this is under present circumstances forbidden to every
Catholic for reasons of the highest order. (Instructions as
cited).
XIV.
In performing its functions, Christian Democracy is bound most
strictly to depend upon ecclesiastical authority, and to offer
full submission and obedience to the Bishops and those who represent
them. There is no meritorious zeal or sincere piety in enterprises,
however beautiful and good in themselves, when they are not
approved by the pastor. (Encyclical, “Graves de Communi”).
XV.
In order that the Christian Democratic movement in Italy may
be united in its efforts, it must be under the direction of
the Association of Catholic Congresses and Committees, which,
during many years of fruitful labor, has deserved so well of
Holy Church, and to which Pius IX and Leo XIII., of holy memory,
entrusted the charge of directing the whole Catholic movement,
always, of course, under the auspices and guidance of the Bishops.
(Encyclical, “Graves de Communi”).
CATHOLIC WRITERS.
XVI.
Catholic writers must, in all that touches religious interests
and the action of the Church in society, subject themselves
entirely in intellect and will, like the rest of the faithful,
to their Bishops and to the Roman Pontiff. They must above all,
take care not to anticipate the judgments of the Holy See in
this important matter. (Instruction as cited).
XVII.
Christian Democratic writers must, like all other Catholic writers,
submit to the previous examination of the ordinary all writings
which concern religion, Christian morals and natural ethics,
by virtue of the Constitution “Officiorum et munerum”
(Art. 41). By the same Constitution ecclesiastics must obtain
the previous consent of the ordinary for publication of writings
of a merely technical character. (Instruction).
XVIII.
They must, moreover, make every effort and every sacrifice to
ensure that charity and harmony may reign among them. When causes
of disagreement arise, they should, instead of printing anything
on the matter in the papers, refer it to the ecclesiastical
authority, which will then act with justice. And when taken
to task by the ecclesiastical authority, let them obey promptly
without evasion or public complaints the right to appeal to
a higher authority being understood when the case requires it;
and it should be made in the right way. (Instruction).
XIX.
Finally, let Catholic writers take care, when defending the
cause of the proletariat and the poor, not to use language calculated
to inspire aversion among the people of the upper classes of
society. Let them refrain from speaking of redress and justice
when the matter comes within the domain of charity only, as
has been explained above. Let them remember that Jesus Christ
endeavored to unite all men in the bond of mutual love, which
is the perfection of justice, and which carries with it the
obligation of working for the welfare of one another. (Instruction).
The
foregoing fundamental rules we of our own initiative and with
certain knowledge do renew by our apostolic authority in all
their parts, and we ordain that they be transmitted to all Catholic
committees, societies and unions of every kind. All these societies
are to keep them exposed in their rooms and to have them read
frequently at their meetings. We ordain, moreover, that Catholic
papers publish them in their entirety and make declaration of
their observance of them and, in fact, observe them religiously;
failing to do this they are to be gravely admonished, and if
they do not then amend, let them be interdicted by ecclesiastical
authority.
But
as words and energetic action are of no avail unless preceded,
accompanied and followed constantly by example, the necessary
characteristic which should shine forth in all the members of
every Catholic association is that of openly manifesting their
faith by the holiness of their lives, by the spotlessness of
their morals and by the scrupulous observance of the laws of
God and of the Church. And this because it is the duty of every
Christian, and also in order that he “who stands against
us may blush, having nothing evil to say of us.” (Tit.
ii., 8).
From
this solicitude of ours for the common good of Catholic action,
especially in Italy, we hope, through the blessing of God, to
reap abundant and happy fruits.
Given
at Rome, at St. Peter’s, on December 18, 1903, in the
first year of our Pontificate.
Pius
X., POPE.
(Source:
American Catholic Quarterly Review, Vol. XXIX (1904)
234-239).
