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Newsletter of the District
of Asia
Jan
- June 2003
St
Pius X :
“The Saint and the Guide for today’s men!”
(Pope
Pius XII, 1954)
By Fr. Daniel Couture
"By his
person and by his work, God has willed to prepare the Church to
the new and hard duties a troubled future was preparing.
To timely prepare a Church united in its doctrine, firm in discipline,
efficient in its pastors, generous laymen, an instructed people,a
youth sanctified in its first years, a well-formed conscience
in relation to the social problems.
If nowadays
the Church of God, far from backing up in the face of the forces
destructive of every spiritual value, suffers, fights, and by
the divine power progresses and continue to
redeem, that is thanks to the foreseeing action and sanctity of
Pius X.
It appears
manifest today that his whole Pontificate was supernaturally directed
according to a loving and redeeming plan to prepare souls to face
our own struggles and to ensure our victories and the victories
of future generations." Pius XII, sermon for the Beatification
of Pius X, June 3, 1951
"As apostle
of the interior life, he is given, in this age of machines and
technology, as the Saint and Guide of today’s men." Pius XII,
sermon for the Canonization of Blessed Pius X, May 29, 1954
The following
parallel between the writings of St. Pius X and some of the Conciliar
Church’s texts - a parallel that would need more development -
gives a striking illustration of the words
of the great Pope Pius XII quoted above, "to prepare souls
to face our own struggles..." We
mean here the struggle to keep the Catholic Faith in this day
and age when modernism, "the
synthesis of all heresies", has made its way to all aspects of
the Church’s life.
It is certainly
providential and admirable that the name and the whole program
of St Pius X is being kept well alive throughout the whole universe,
on the five continents, in all the world’s main languages, thanks
to a small "band of Gideon" called after the saintly Pope. It
is no accident. The welfare of His Immaculate Bride, the Church,
is too important for Our Lord not to provide at all times the
means to preserve its deposit of faith and its channels of grace,
the sacraments.
1) Christ-centered or man-centered religion?
| St
Pius X
Encyclical
‘E Supremi Apostolatus’
Oct. 4, 1903
To restore all things in Christ.
"We
proclaim that We have no other program in the Supreme Pontificate
but that "of restoring all things in Christ" (Ephes. 1,
10), so that "Christ may be all and in all" (Coloss. 3,
2)... The interests of God shall be Our interest, and for
these We are resolved to
spend all Our strength and Our very life. Hence, should
anyone ask Us for a symbol as the expression of Our will,
We will give this and no other: "To restore all things in
Christ. (...)
When
all this is considered there is good reason
to fear lest this great perversity may be
as it were a foretaste, and perhaps the beginning
of those evils which are reserved for
the last days; and that there may be already in
the world the "Son of Perdition" of whom the
Apostle speaks (II Thess. 2, 3). Such, in truth,
is the audacity and the wrath employed everywhere
in persecuting religion, in combating
the dogmas of the faith, in brazen effort
to uproot and destroy all relations between
man and the Divinity! While, on the other
hand, and this according to the same apostle
is the distinguishing mark of Antichrist,
man has with infinite temerity put himself in the place
of God, raising himself above all that is called God; in
such wise that although he cannot utterly extinguish in
himself all knowledge of God, he has condemned God’s majesty
and, as it were, made of the universe a temple wherein he
himself is to be adored. ‘He sitteth in the temple of God,
showing himself as if he were God" (II Thess. 2, 2). (...)
But,
Venerable Brethren, we shall never, however much we exert
ourselves, succeed in calling men back to the majesty and
empire of God, except by means of Jesus Christ. ‘No one,’
the Apostle admonishes us, ‘can lay other foundation than
that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.’ (I Cor.,
3, II.) It is Christ alone ‘whom the Father sanctified and
sent into this world’ (Is. 10, 36), ‘the splendor of the
Father and the image of His substance’ (Hebr. 1, 3), true
God and true man: without whom nobody can know God with
the knowledge for salvation, ‘neither doth anyone know the
Father but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son
to reveal Him.’ (Matth. 11, 27.) Hence it follows that to
restore all things in Christ and to lead men back to submission
to God is one and the same aim. To this, then, it behoves
Us to devote Our care - to lead back mankind under the dominion
of Christ; this done, We shall have brought it back to God.
When We say to God We do not mean to that inert being heedless
of all things human which the dream of materialists has
imagined, but to the true and living God, one in nature,
triple in person, Creator of the world, most wise Ordainer
of all things, Lawgiver most just, who punishes the wicked
and has reward in store for virtue."
**************** |
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The
Conciliar Church
Vatican II
Closing
Discourse of Paul VI, Dec. 7 1965
"Yes,
the Church of the Council has been concerned,
not just with herself and with her relationship of union
with God, but with man - man as he really is today: living
man, man all wrapped up in himself, man who makes himself
not only the center of his every interest but dares to claim
that he is the principle and explanation of all reality.
Every perceptible element in man, every one of the countless
guises in which he appears, has, in a sense, been displayed
in full view of the Council Fathers. (...)
Secular
humanism, revealing itself in its horrible anticlerical
reality has, in a certain sense, defied the Council. The
religion of the God who became man has met the religion
(for such it is) of man who makes himself God. And what
happened? Was there a clash, a battle, a condemnation? There
could have been, but there was none. The old story of the
Samaritan has been the model of the spirituality of the
Council. A feeling of boundless sympathy has permeated the
whole of it. The attention of our Council has been absorbed
by the discovery of human needs (and these needs grow in
proportion to the greatness which the son of the earth claims
for himself). But we call upon those who term themselves
modern humanists, and who have renounced the transcendent
value of the highest realities, to give the Council credit
at least for one quality and to recognize our own new type
of humanism: we, too, in fact, we more than any others,
honor man. (...) But one must realize that this Council,
which exposed itself to human judgment, insisted very much
more upon this pleasant side of man, rather than on his
unpleasant one. Its attitude was very much and deliberately
optimistic. A wave of affection and admiration flowed from
the Council over the modern world of humanity. Errors were
condemned, indeed, because charity demanded this no less
than did truth, but for the persons themselves there was
only warming, respect and love. Instead of depressing diagnoses,
encouraging remedies; instead of direful prognostics, messages
of trust issued from the Council to the present-day world.
The modern world’s values were not only respected but honored,
its efforts approved, its aspirations purified and blessed.
(...)
Another
point we must stress is this: all this rich teaching is
channeled in one direction, the service of man, of every
condition, in every weakness and need. The Church has, so
to say, declared herself the servant of humanity, at the
very time when her teaching role and her pastoral government
have, by reason of the Council’s solemnity, assumed greater
splendor and vigor: the idea of service has been central.
It might be said that all this and everything else we might
say about the human values of the Council have diverted
the attention of the Church in Council to the trend of modern
culture, centered on humanity. We would say not diverted
but rather directed. (...)
Hence
no one should ever say that a religion like the Catholic
religion is without use, seeing that when it has its greatest
self awareness and effectiveness, as it has in the Council,
it declares itself entirely on the side of man and in his
service. In this way the Catholic religion and human life
reaffirm their alliance with one another, the fact that
they converge on one single human reality: the Catholic
religion is for man. In a certain sense it is the life of
man. (...)
Our
humanism becomes Christianity, our Christianity becomes
centered on God; in such sort that we may say, to put it
differently: a knowledge of man is a prerequisite for a
knowledge of God."
John
Paul II
The
25th anniversary of the election of Pope John Paul II will
be celebrated next Oct. 15-18, 2003. To prepare the commemoration
"of this Pontificate at the service of man and to put
its historical value in service" a colloquy has been
held in the Vatican last May 8 –10, 2003.
Another
congress was held at the Lateran University at the same
time on the theme: "The Church at the service of man".
John
Paul II has expressed his satisfaction to the organizers
of this congress for having chosen this theme. "During
all the periods of my university life and of my pastoral
ministry, he stated, one of the essential points
of reference has been for me the attention to the person,
put at the center of all philosophical or theological research."
(DICI, May 17, 2003)
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2) The Sacred Liturgy : for God or for Man?
| St
Pius X
Motu Proprio ‘Tra Le Sollicitudine’
Nov. 22, 1903
On Sacred Music, and the respect in
churches
"Among
the cares of the pastoral office, not
only of this Supreme Chair, which We, though unworthy, occupy
through the inscrutable dispositions of Providence, but
of every local church, a leading one is without question
that of maintaining and promoting the decorum of the House
of God in which the august mysteries of religion are celebrated,
and where the Christian people assemble to receive the grace
of the Sacraments, to assist at the Holy Sacrifice of the
Altar, to adore the most august Sacrament of the Lord’s
Body and to unite in the common prayer of the Church in
the public and solemn liturgical offices. Nothing should
have place, therefore, in the temple calculated to disturb
or even merely to diminish the piety and devotion of the
faithful, nothing that may give reasonable cause for disgust
or scandal, nothing, above all, which directly offends the
decorum and sanctity of the sacred functions and is thus
unworthy of the House of Prayer and of the Majesty of God.
Sacred
Music
Today
Our attention is directed to one of the most common of them,
one of the most difficult to eradicate, and the existence
of which is sometimes to be deplored in places where everything
else is deserving of the highest praise - the beauty and
sumptuousness of the temple, the splendor and the accurate
performance of the ceremonies, the attendance of the clergy,
the gravity and piety of the officiating ministers. Such
is the abuse affecting sacred chant and music. And indeed,whether
it is owing to the very nature of this art, fluctuating
and variable as it is in itself, or to the succeeding changes
in tastes and habits with the course of time, or to the
fatal influence exercised on sacred art by profane and theatrical
art, or to the pleasure that music directly produces, and
that is not always easily contained within the right limits,
or finally to the many prejudices on the matter, so lightly
introduced and so tenaciously maintained even among responsible
and pious persons, the fact remains that there is a general
tendency to deviate from the right rule, prescribed by the
end for which art is admitted to the service of public worship
and which is set forth very clearly in the ecclesiastical
Canons, in the Ordinances of the General and Provincial
Councils, in the prescriptions which have at various times
emanated from the Sacred Roman Congregations, and from Our
Predecessors the Sovereign Pontiffs." We do therefore publish,
motu proprio and with certain knowledge, Our present Instruction
to which, as to a juridical code of sacred music (quasi
a codice giuridice della musica sacra), We will with
the fullness of Our Apostolic Authority that the force of
law be given, and We do by Our present handwriting impose
its scrupulous observance on all. (...)
Sacred
music should consequently possess, in the highest degree,
the qualities proper to the liturgy, and in particular sanctity
and goodness of form, which will spontaneously produce the
final quality of universality. It must be holy, and
must, therefore, exclude all profanity not only in itself,
but in the manner in which it is presented by those who
execute it. It must be true art, for otherwise it
will be impossible for it to exercise on the minds of those
who listen to it that efficacy which the Church aims t obtaining
in admitting into her liturgy the art of musical sounds.
But
it must, at the same time, be universal
in the sense that while every nation is permitted to
admit into its ecclesiastical compositions those special
forms which may be said to constitute its native music,
still these forms must be subordinated in such a manner
to the general characteristics of sacred music that nobody
of any nation may receive an impression other than good
on hearing them." |
|
The
Conciliar Church
Vatican II
Constitution
‘Sacrosanctum Concilium’
Dec.
4, 1963
Latin
& Vernacular
"36.
(1) The use of the Latin language, with
due respect to particular law, is to be preserved in the
Latin rites. (2) But since the use of the vernacular, whether
in the Mass, the administration of the sacraments, or in
other parts of the liturgy, may frequently be of great advantage
to the people, a wider use may be made of it, especially
in readings, directives and in some prayers and chants.
Regulations governing this will be given separately in subsequent
chapters. (3) These norms being observed, it is for the
competent territorial ecclesiastical authority mentioned
in Article 22:2, to decide whether, and to what extent,
the vernacular language is to be used.
Norms
for adapting the Liturgy to the temperament and traditions
of peoples
37.
Even in the liturgy the Church does not wish to impose a
rigid uniformity in matters which do not involve the faith
or the good of the whole community. Rather does she respect
and foster the qualities and talents of the various races
and nations. Anything in these people’s way of life which
is not indissolubly bound up with superstition and error
she studies with sympathy, and, if possible, preserves intact.
She sometimes even admits such things into the liturgy itself,
provided they harmonize with its true and authentic spirit.
38.
Provided that the substantial unity of the Roman rite is
preserved, provision shall be made, when revising the liturgical
books, for legitimate variations and adaptations to different
groups, regions and peoples, especially in mission countries.
This should be borne in mind when drawing up the rite and
determining rubrics.
39.
Within the limits set by the typical editions of the liturgical
books it shall be for the competent territorial ecclesiastical
authority mentioned in Article 22:2, to specify adaptations,
as regards the administration of the sacraments, sacramentals,
processions, liturgical language, sacred music and the arts,
according, however, to the fundamental norms laid down in
this Constitution.
40.
In some places and circumstances, however, an even more
radical adaptation of the liturgy is needed, and this entails
greater difficulties. For this reason: (1) The competent
territorial ecclesiastical authority mentioned in Article
22:2, must in this matter, carefully and prudently consider
which elements from the traditions and cultures of individual
peoples might appropriately be admitted into divine worship.
Adaptations which are considered useful or necessary should
then be submitted to the Holy See, by whose consent they
may be introduced. (2) To ensure that adaptations may be
made with all the necessary, the Apostolic See will grant
power to this same ecclesiastical authority to permit and
direct, as the case requires, the necessary preliminary
experiments over a determined period of time among certain
groups suitable for the purpose. (3) Because liturgical
laws usually involve special difficulties with respect to
adaptation, especially in mission lands, men who are experts
in the matters in question must be employed to formulate
them."
Comments:
Liturgical inculturation has destroyed the four marks of
Sacred Liturgy: Universality or Catholicity:
the liturgy has become a local - sometimes not even national
- ‘product’, un-exportable, unusable outside its immediate
circumstances; Unity is gone with the
vernacular and the promotion of liturgical creativity -
which is not an abuse as can be read in the text above (n.38);
Apostolicity, that is the link
with apostolic and multi-secular rites and prayers - gone
at the profit of the spur-of-the-moment rites, rites even
borrowed occasionally from non-Christian religions...(see
n.37) Sanctity: perhaps the
most striking and significant absentee in this reform. |
3)
Holy Communion
St
Pius X
Decree ‘Sacra Tridentina Synodus’
Dec. 20, 1905
On the dispositions for frequent
communion
“
1.Frequent and daily communion being greatly desired by
Our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Catholic Church, must be
made accessible to all faithful of whatever class and condition
they be, in such a way that, none if he be in the state
of grace and approach the Holy Table with a right intention,
may not be denied.
2.
The right intention consists in approaching the Holy Table,
not by habit or vanity, or for human reasons, but to satisfy
the Will of God, to be more united to Him by charity, and
thanks to this divine remedy, to combat his defects and
infirmities.
3.
Although it is highly desirable that they who receive frequent
and daily communion be free from affection to venial sins,
at least fully deliberated, it is enough that they be without
mortal sin with the firm resolution not to sin in the future.
With this firm purpose, it is not possible that those who
do communicate daily do not also overcome venial sins and
the affection to these sins.”
Decree
‘Quam Singulari’ Aug. 8, 1910
On
the age of First Holy Communion
“This
practice of preventing the faithful from receiving on the
plea of safeguarding the august Sacrament has been the cause
of many evils. It happened that children in their innocence
were forced away from the
embrace
of Christ and deprived of the food of their interior life;
and from this it also happened that in their youth, destitute
of this strong help, surrounded by so many temptations,
they lost their innocence and fell into vicious habits even
before tasting of the Sacred Mysteries. And even if a thorough
instruction and a careful Sacramental Confession should
precede Holy Communion, which does not everywhere occur,
still the loss of first innocence is always to be deplored
and might have been avoided by reception of the Eucharist
in more tender years. No less worthy of condemnation is
that practice which prevails in many places prohibiting
from Sacramental Confession children who have not yet made
their First Holy Communion, or of not giving them absolution.
Thus it happens that they, perhaps having fallen into serious
sin, remain in that very dangerous state for a longtime.
(...)
The age of discretion for receiving Holy Communion is
that at which the child knows the difference between the
Eucharistic Bread and ordinary, material bread, and can
therefore approach the altar with proper devotion. Perfect
knowledge of the things of faith, therefore, is not required,
for an elementary knowledge suffices-some knowledge (aliquacognitio);
similarly full use of reason is not required, for a certain
beginning of the use of reason, that is, some use of reason
(aliqualis usus rationis) suffices. To postpone Communion,
therefore, until later and to insist on a more mature age
for its reception must be absolutely discouraged, and indeed
such practice was condemned more than once by the Holy See." |
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The
Conciliar Church
Code of Canon Law (1983)
Proper
dispositions
“Can.
916 Anyone who is conscious of grave sin may not celebrate
Mass or receive the Body of the Lord without previously
having been to sacramental confession, unless there is a
grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in
this case the person is to remember the obligation to make
an act of perfect contrition, which includes the resolve
to go to confession as soon as possible.”
Comment:
The case of the priest in the state of sin who has to offer
the Holy Mass is different - as the common good is involved
- from that of the faithful. The practice of simply making
an act of contrition rather than going to confession has
been frequently recommended to the faithful, especially
in the case of penitential ceremonies with general absolution.
This leads to a very Protestant attitude of confessing directly
to God.
“An
interior disposition of devotion is necessary for the reception
of the Eucharist.” Archbishop Nicolas Chia of Singapore,
‘Catholic News’, June 22 & 29, 2003, p. 1.
Comments:
What
remains of the other requirements: of being Catholic, in
the state of grace, fasting, modestly dressed, etc..?
Frequency
“Can. 917 One who has received the blessed Eucharist may receive it again on the same day
only within a eucharistic celebration in which that person
participates, without prejudice to the provision of can.
921 §2."
Children
"Can. 913 §1
For holy communion to be administered to children, it is
required that they have sufficient knowledge and be accurately
prepared, so that according to their capacity they understand
what the mystery of Christ means, and are able to receive
the Body of the Lord with faith and devotion.
Can. 989 All the faithful who have reached the age of
discretion are bound faithfully to confess their grave sins
at least once a year."
Comments:
In spite of this, the age of holy Communion is being delayed
in many places (as in Ireland in the 1990s when it went from
7 to 8 years old; in Malaysia it is 8 or 9 years old). In
many places, the first confession is after the First Holy
Communion. Canon 989 does not mention the need of confession
before the first communion:
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4) The Priest, a man of God or a man of the world?
|
St
Pius X
Exhortation 'Haerent Animo'
Aug.
4, 1908
To
encourage priestly sanctity
"Therefore,
beloved sons, we will begin this exhortation by stimulating
you to that sanctity of life which the dignity of your office
demands. Anyone who exercises the priestly ministry exercises
it not for himself alone, but for others. For every high
priest taken from among men is appointed for men in the
things that pertain to God. (Heb. 5,1) Christ himself taught
that lesson when he compared the priest to salt and to light,
in order to show the nature of the priestly ministry. The
priest then is the light of the world and the salt of the
earth. Everyone knows that he fulfills this function chiefly
by the teaching of Christian truth; and who can be unaware
that this ministry of teaching is practically useless if
the priest fails to confirm by the example of his life the
truths which he teaches? Those who hear him might say, insultingly
it is true, but not without justification: They profess
that they know God but in their works they deny him (Tit.
1,16) they will refuse to accept his teaching and will derive
no benefit from the light of the priest. Christ himself,
the model of priests, taught first by the example of his
deeds and then by his words: Jesus began to do and then
to teach. (Acts 1,1) Likewise, a priest who neglects his
own sanctification can never be the salt of the earth; what
is corrupt and contaminated is utterly incapable of preserving
from corruption; where sanctity is lacking, there corruption
will inevitably find its way. Hence Christ, continuing this
comparison, calls such priests salt that has lost its savor,
which is good for nothing any more, but to be cast out and
to be trodden on by men. (...)
Priestly
Associations
Another
suggestion which we warmly recommend is that priests, as
befits brothers, should form a closer union among themselves,
with the approval and under the direction of the bishop.
It is strongly to be recommended that they should form an
association in order to help one another in adversity, to
defend the honor of their name and office against attack,
and for other similar objects. But it is even more important
that they should form an association with a view to the
cultivation of sacred learning, particularly in order to
apply themselves with greater solicitude to the object of
their vocation and to promote the welfare of souls by concerting
their ideas and their efforts. The annals of the Church
show that at times when priests generally lived in a form
of common life, this association produced many good results.
Why might not one re-establish in our own day something
of the kind, with due attention to differences of country
and priestly duties? Might not one justifiably hope, and
the Church would rejoice at it, that such an institution
would yield the same good results as formerly? There are,
indeed, associations of this kind which enjoy episcopal
approval; and the advantages they confer are all the greater
if one becomes a member early in life, in the very first
years of the priesthood."
Comments:
The SSPX therefore corresponds exactly to this warm desire
of the Saintly Pope!
|
|
The
Conciliar Church
Pope
John Paul II has written many times on the issue of the
priesthood, urging priests to live up to their noble calling.
However, since the doors of the aggiornamento — updating
of the Church to the world — have been opened with Vatican
II, without strict and strong disciplinary action on the
part of the Vatican, written documents have remain dead
letters.
"How
many of the reforms of Vatican II reflect Luther's own conclusions?
The abandonment of clerical and religious dress, widespread
marriages of the religious sanctioned even by the Holy See,
the suppression of distinctions between priest and lay man.
This egalitarianism is further manifested in the sharing
of liturgical functions formerly reserved to the Priesthood.
The
abolition of the minor orders and the sub-diaconate, and
the creation of a married diaconate, have also contributed
to the purely administrative conception of the priest, to
the detriment of his essentially priestly character, Thus
one is ordained primarily to serve the community and no
longer for the purpose of offering Christ's Sacrifice which
alone is the justification for the Catholic concept of the
Priesthood.
Worker-priests,
priests in labor unions, or in positions remunerated by
the State similarly contribute to the blurring of distinctions
between Priesthood and laity. In fact, the innovations go
much further than those of Luther." (Archbishop Lefebvre,
'Luther's Mass', 1975)
"In
our countries there are no more vocations because the priest
has lost his sense of identity", Archbishop Bernardin
of Cincinnati speaking for English-speaking countries of
the world at the Synod of Bishops in Rome.
****************
|
5) Social Kingship or Separation
of Church and State?
| St
Pius X
Encyclical
'Vehementer' Feb. 11, 1906
Encyclical
'Une fois encore', Jan. 6, 1907
Encyclical
'Iamdudum in Lusitania'
May
24, 1911
Against the separation of
Church and State
"That
the State must be separated from the Church is a thesis
absolutely false, a most pernicious error. Based, as it
is, on the principle that the State must not recognize any
religious cult, it is in the first place guilty of a great
injustice to God; for the Creator of man is also the Founder
of human societies, and preserves their existence as He
preserves our own. We owe Him, therefore, not only a private
cult, but a public and social worship to honor Him. Besides,
this thesis is an obvious negation of the supernatural order.
(...)
Hence
the Roman Pontiffs have never ceased, as circumstances required,
to refute and condemn the doctrine of the separation of
Church and State. Our illustrious predecessor, Leo XIII,
especially, has frequently and magnificently expounded Catholic
teaching on the relations which should subsist between the
two societies. 'Between them,' he says, 'there must necessarily
be a suitable union, which may not improperly be compared
with that existing between body and soul.' He proceeds:
'Human societies cannot, without becoming criminal, act
as if God did not exist or refuse to concern themselves
with religion, as though it were something foreign to them,
or of no purpose to them.' (...)
Hence,
mindful of Our Apostolic charge and conscious of the imperious
duty incumbent upon Us of defending and preserving against
all assaults the full and absolute integrity of the sacred
and inviolable rights of the Church, We do, by virtue of
the supreme authority which God has confided to Us, and
on the grounds above set forth, reprove and condemn the
kw voted in France for the separation of Church and State,
as deeply unjust to God whom it denies, and as laying down
the principle that the Republic recognizes no cult. We reprove
and condemn it as violating the natural law, the law of
nations, and fidelity to treaties; as contrary to the Divine
constitution of the Church, to her essential rights and
to her liberty; as destroying justice and trampling underfoot
the rights of property which the Church has acquired by
many titles and, in addition, by virtue of the Concordat.
We reprove and condemn it as gravely offensive to the dignity
of this Apostolic See, to Our own person, to the Episcopacy,
and to the clergy and all the Catholics of France. Therefore,
We protest solemnly and with all Our strength against the
introduction, the voting and the promulgation of this law,
declaring that it can never be alleged against the imprescriptible
rights of the Church." ('Vehementer', nn. 3,13)
"Accordingly,
under the admonition of the duty of Our Apostolic office
that, in the face of such audacity on the part of the enemies
of God, We should most vigilantly protect the dignity and
honor of religion and preserve the sacred rights of the
Catholic Church, We by our Apostolic authority denounce,
condemn, and reject the Law for the Separation of Church
and State in the Portuguese Republic. This law despises
God and repudiates the Catholic faith; it annuls the treaties
solemnly made between Portugal and the Apostolic See, and
violates the law of nature and of her property; it oppresses
the liberty of the Church, and assails her divine Constitution;
it injures and insults the majesty of the Roman Pontificate,
the order of Bishops, the Portuguese clergy and people,
and so the Catholics of the world. And whilst We strenuously
complain that such a law should have been made, sanctioned,
and published, We utter a solemn protest against those who
have had a part in it as authors or helpers, and, at the
same time, We proclaim and denounce as null and void, and
to be so regarded, all that the law has enacted against
the inviolable rights of the Church." ('Jamdudum',
n.9) |
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The
Conciliar Church
Declaration Dignitatis Humanae'
On Religious liberty
"2.
This Vatican Council declares that the human person has
a right to religious freedom. This freedom means that all
men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals
or of social groups and of any human power, in such wise
that no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary
to his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether
alone or in association with others within due limits. The
Council further declares that the right to religious freedom
has its foundation in the very dignity of the human person
as this dignity is known through the revealed word of God
and by reason itself. This right of the human person to
religious freedom is to be recognized in the constitutional
law whereby society is governed and thus it is to become
a civil right. (...)
6.
(...) Government is to see to it that equality of citizens
before the law, which is itself an element of the common
good, is never violated, whether openly or covertly, for
religious reasons. Nor is there to be discrimination among
citizens. It follows that a wrong is done when government
imposes upon its people, by force or fear or other means,
the profession or repudiation of any religion, or when it
hinders men from joining or leaving a religious community.
All the more is it a violation of the will of God and of
the sacred rights of the person and the family of nations
when force is brought to bear in any way in order to destroy
or repress religion, either in the whole of mankind or in
a particular country or in a definite community."
Paul
VI
Closing
Speech of Vatican II, Dec. 7,1965
To
the Rulers
"And
what does this Church ask of you after close to 2,000 years
of experiences of all kinds in her relations with you, the
powers of the earth? What does the Church ask of you today?
She tells you in one of the major documents of this council.
She asks of you only liberty, the liberty to believe and
to preach her faith, the freedom to love her God and serve
Him, the freedom to live and to bring to men her message
of life. Do not fear her. She is made after the image of
her Master, whose mysterious action does not interfere with
your prerogatives but heals everything human of its fatal
weakness, transfigures it and fills it with hope, truth
and beauty."
**************** |
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