SERTUM LAETITIAE
Encyclical of His Holiness
Pope Pius XII
On the 150th Anniversary
of the Establishment of the American Hierarchy
November 1, 1939
To Our Beloved Sons: William O'Connell, Cardinal Priest of the Holy Roman Church, Archbishop of Boston, Dennis Dougherty, Cardinal Priest of the Holy Roman Church, Archbishop of Philadelphia, and to all the Venerable Brethren, the Archbishops, Bishops and Ordinaries of the United States of America in Peace and Communion with the Apostolic See.
Venerable Brethren, Health and Apostolic Benediction:
In our desire to enrich the crown of your holy joy We cross in spirit the vast spaces of the seas and find Ourselves in your midst as you celebrate, in company with all your faithful people, the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy in the United States of America. And this We do with great gladness, because an occasion is thus afforded Us, as gratifying as it is solemn, of giving public testimony of Our esteem and Our affection for the youthfully vigorous and illustrious American people.
2. To one who turns the pages of your history and reflects upon the causes of what has been accomplished it is apparent that the triumphal progress of Divine religion has contributed in no small degree to the glory and prosperity which your country now enjoys. It is indeed true that religion has its laws and institutions for eternal happiness but It is also undeniable that it dowers life here below with so many benefits that it could do no more even if the principal reason for its existence were to make men happy during the brief span of their earthly life.
3. It is a pleasure for Us to recall the
well remembered story. When Pope Pius VI gave you your first Bishop in
the person of the American John Carroll and set him over the See of
Baltimore,
small and of slight importance was the Catholic population of your
land.
At that time, too, the condition of the United States was so perilous
that
its structure and its very political unity were threatened by grave
crisis.
Because of the long and
exhausting war the public treasury was
burdened with debt, industry languished and the citizenry wearied by
misfortunes
was split into contending parties. This ruinous and critical state of
affairs
was put aright by the celebrated George Washington, famed for his
courage
and keen intelligence. He was a close friend of the Bishop of
Baltimore.
Thus the Father of His Country and the pioneer pastor of the Church in
that land so dear to Us, bound together by the ties of friendship and
clasping,
so to speak, each the other's hand, form a picture for their
descendants, a lesson to all future generations,
and a proof that reverence for the Faith of Christ is a holy and
established
principle of the American people, seeing that it is the foundation of
morality
and decency, consequently the source of prosperity and progress.
4. Many are the causes to which must be ascribed the flowering of the Catholic Church in your country. One of them We wish to point out as worthy of attention. Numbers of priests, forced to flee to your shores from lands where persecution raged, brought welcome aid to Bishop Carroll and by their active collaboration in the sacred ministry sowed the precious seed which ripened to an abundant harvest of virtues. Some of them later became Bishops and thus had a more glorious share in the progress of the Catholic cause. And thus, as history teaches us again and again, the zeal of the apostle, provided that, nourished by unfeigned faith and sincere charity, it burns within the breast of valiant men, is not quenched by the storms of persecution but is carried farther across the earth.
5. On the centenary of the event which now fills your hearts with legitimate rejoicing, Pope Leo XIII of happy memory with his Letter Longinqua Oceani recalled and examined the progress that had been made by the Church in America and he accompanied his review with some admonitions and directions whose wisdom equals their paternal benevolence.
6. What Our august predecessor then so well wrote is worthy of repeated consideration. During these past fifty years the Church has not faltered in her course but has extended her influence to wider fields and increased her members. For in your country there prevails a thriving life which the grace of the Holy Spirit has brought to flower in the inner sanctuary of your hearts; the faithful throng your churches; around the Sacred Table they gather to receive the Bread of Angels, the Food of the Strong; the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius are followed with great devotion in your closed retreats; and many heeding the Divine Voice that calls them to the ideals of a higher life receive the priesthood or embrace the religious state.
7. At the present time there are in the United States 19 ecclesiastical provinces, 115 dioceses, almost 200 seminaries and innumerable houses of worship, elementary and high schools, colleges, hospitals, asylums for the poor and monasteries. It is with good reason then that visitors from other lands admire the organization and system under which your schools of various grades are conducted, the generosity of the faithful upon whom they depend, the vigilant care with which they are watched over by the directors. From these schools there comes forth a host of citizens, strong in heart and mind, who, by reason of their reverence for Divine and human laws, are justly considered to be the strength and the flower and the honor of Church and of country.
8. Missionary associations also, notably
the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, are well established and
active; they are outstanding examples in assisting, by prayer,
almsgiving
and other means, the heralds of the Gospel engaged in carrying the
standard
of the Cross of Salvation into the lands of the infidel. In this
connection,
We cannot refrain from a public expression of praise for those
missionary
enterprises proper to your own nation which devote themselves with zeal
and energy to the wider diffusion of the Catholic Faith. They are: The
Catholic Church Extension Society, an
organization which has gained glorious distinction for its pious
benefactions;
The Catholic Near East Welfare Association, which furnishes a
providential
aid to the interests of Christianity in the Orient; The Indian and
Negro
Missions, an association approved by the Third Council of Baltimore
(Cf.
Acts of the same Council, Chapter II) which We confirm and recommend
because
it is imposed by a very particular charity towards your fellow
citizens.
9. We confess that We feel a special paternal affection, which is certainly inspired of Heaven, for the Negro people dwelling among you; for in the field of religion and education We know that they need special care and comfort and are very deserving of it. We therefore invoke an abundance of heavenly blessing and We pray fruitful success for those whose generous zeal is devoted to their welfare.
10. Moreover, in order to render more fitting thanks to God for the inestimable gift of the true Faith, your countrymen, eager for arduous enterprise, are supplying to the ranks of the missionaries numerous recruits whose capacity for toil, whose indomitable patience and whose energy in noble initiative for the Kingdom of Christ, have gained merits which earth admires and which Heaven will crown with due reward.
11. No less vigorous among you are those works of zeal which are organized for the benefit of the children of the Church within the confines of your country: the diocesan charity offices, with their wise and practical organization, by means of the parish priests and through the labors of the religious institutes, bring to the poor, to the needy and to the sick the gifts of Christian mercy and relief from misery. In carrying on this most important ministry the sweet discerning eyes of faith see Christ present in the poor and afflicted who are the mystic suffering members of the Most Benign Redeemer.
12. Among the associations of the laity
-- the list is too long to allow of a complete enumeration -- there are
those which have won for themselves laurels of unfading glory --
Catholic
Action, the Marian Congregation, the Confraternity of Christian
Doctrine;
their fruits are the cause of joy and they bear the promise of still
more
joyful harvest in the future. Likewise the Holy Name Society, an
excellent
leader in the promotion of Christian worship
and piety.
13. Over a manifold activity of the laity, carried on in various localities according to the needs of the times, is placed the National Catholic Welfare Conference, an organization which supplies a ready and well-adapted instrument for your Episcopal ministry.
14. The more important of these institutions We were able to view briefly during the month of October, 1936, when We journeyed across the ocean and had the joy of knowing personally you and the field of your activities. The memory of what We then admired with Our own eyes will always remain indelible and a source of joy in Our heart.
15. It is proper then that, with sentiments
of adoration, We offer with you thanks to God and that We raise to Him
a canticle of thanksgiving: "Give glory to the God of heaven; for his
mercy
endureth for ever" (Psalms cxxxv: 26). The Lord Whose goodness knows no
limits, having filled your land with the bounty of His gifts, has
likewise
granted to your churches energy and power and has brought to fruition
the
results of their tireless labors. Having paid the tribute of Our
gratitude
to God, from Whom every good thing takes its origin, We recognize,
dearly
beloved, that this rich harvest which
We joyfully admire with you today is due also to the spirit of
initiative
and to the persistent activity of the pastors and of the faithful; We
recognize
that it is due also to your clergy who are inclined to decisive action
and who execute your orders with zeal; to the members of all the
religious
Orders and congregations of men who, distinguished in virtue, vie with
each other in cultivating the vineyard of the Lord: to the innumerable
religious women who, often in silence and unknown to men, consecrate
themselves
with exemplary devotion to the cause of the Gospel, veritable lilies in
the Garden of Christ and delight of the Saints.
16. We desire, however, that this Our
praise be salutary. The consideration of the good which has been done
must
not lead to slackening which might degenerate into sluggishness; it
must
not issue in a vainglorious pleasure which flatters the mind; it should
stimulate renewed energies so that evils may be avoided and those
enterprises
which are useful, prudent and worthy of praise may more surely and more
solidly mature. The Christian, if he does honor to the name he bears,
is
always an apostle; it is not permitted to the Soldier of Christ that he
quit the
battlefield, because only death puts an
end to his military service.
17. You well know where it is necessary
that you exercise a more discerning vigilance and what program of
action
should be marked out for priests and faithful in order that the
religion
of Christ may overcome the obstacles in its path and be a luminous
guide
to the minds of men, govern their morals and, for the sole purpose of
salvation,
permeate the marrow and the arteries of human society. The progress of
exterior and material possessions, even though it is to be considered
of
no little account, because of the manifold and appreciable utility
which
it gives to life, is nonetheless not enough for man who is born for
higher
and brighter destinies.
Created indeed to the image and likeness
of God, he seeks God with a yearning that will not be repressed and
always
groans and weeps if he places the object of his love where Supreme
Truth
and the Infinite Good cannot be found.
18. Not with the conquest of material space
does one approach to God, separation from Whom is death, conversion to
Whom is life, to be established in Whom is glory; but under the
guidance
of Christ with the fullness of sincere faith, with unsullied conscience
and upright will, with holy works, with the achievement and the
employment
of that genuine liberty whose sacred rules are found proclaimed in the
Gospel. If, instead, the Commandments of God are spurned, not only is
it
impossible to attain that happiness which has place beyond the brief
span
of time which is allotted to earthly existence, but the very basis upon
which rests true civilization is shaken and naught is to be expected
but
ruins over which belated tears must be shed. How, in fact, can the
public
weal and the glory of civilized life have any guarantee of stability
when
right is subverted and virtue despised and decried? Is not God the
Source
and the Giver of law? Is He not the inspiration and the reward of
virtue
with none like unto Him among lawgivers (Cf. Job xxxvi:22)? This,
according
to the admission of all reasonable men, is everywhere the bitter and
prolific
root of evils: the refusal to recognize the Divine Majesty,
the neglect of the moral law, the origin
of which is from Heaven, or that regrettable inconstancy which makes
its
victims waver between the lawful and the forbidden, between justice and
iniquity.
19. Thence arise immoderate and blind egoists, that thirst for pleasure, the vice of drunkenness, immodest and costly styles in dress, the prevalence of crime even among minors, the lust for power, neglect of the poor, base craving for ill-gotten wealth, the flight from the land, levity in entering into marriage, divorce, the break-up of the family, the cooling of mutual affection between parents and children, birth control, the enfeeblement of the race, the weakening of respect for authority, or obsequiousness, or rebellion, neglect of duty towards one's country and towards mankind.
20. We raise Our voice in strong, albeit paternal, complaint that in so many schools of your land Christ often is despised or ignored, the explanation of the universe and mankind is forced within the narrow limits of materialism or of rationalism, and new educational systems are sought after which cannot but produce a sorrowful harvest in the intellectual and moral life of the nation.
21. Likewise, just as home life, when the
law of Christ is observed, flowers in true felicity, so, when the
Gospel
is cast aside, does it perish miserably and become desolated by vice:
"He
that seeketh the law, shall be filled with it: and he that dealeth
deceitfully,
shall meet with a stumbling block therein" (Ecclesiasticus xxxii: 19).
What can there be on earth more serene and joyful than the Christian
family?
Taking its origin at the Altar of the Lord, where love has been
proclaimed
a holy and indissoluble bond, the Christian family in the same love
nourished
by
supernal grace is consolidated and receives
increase.
22. There is "marriage honorable in all,
and the [nuptial] bed undefiled" (Cf. Hebrews xiii: 4). Tranquil walls
resound with no quarreling voices nor do they witness the secret
martyrdom
which comes when hidden infidelity is laid bare; unquestioning trust
turns
aside the slings of suspicion; sorrow is assuaged and joy is heightened
by mutual affection. Within those sacred precincts children are
considered
not heavy burdens but sweet pledges of love; no reprehensible motive of
convenience, no seeking after sterile pleasure, brings about the
frustration
of the gift of life nor causes to fall into disuse the sweet names of
brother
and sister. With what solicitude do the parents take care that the
children
not only grow in physical vigor but also that, following in the
footsteps
of their forbears whose memory is often recalled to them, they may
shine
with the light which profession of the pure faith and moral goodness
impart
to them. Moved by the numerous benefits received, such children
consider
it their
paramount duty to honor their parents,
to be attentive to their desires, to be the staff of their old age, to
rejoice their gray hairs with an affection which, unquenched by death,
will be made more glorious and more complete in the mansion of Heaven.
The members of the Christian family, neither querulous in adversity nor
ungrateful in prosperity, are ever filled with confidence in God to
Whose
sway they yield willing obedience, in Whose will they acquiesce and
upon
Whose help they wait not in vain.
23. That the family may be established and maintained according to the wise teachings of the Gospel, therefore, the faithful should be frequently exhorted by those who have the directive and teaching functions in the churches, and these are to strive with unremitting care to present to the Lord a perfect people. For the same reason it is also supremely necessary to see to it that the dogma of the unity and indissolubility of matrimony is known in all its religious importance and sacredly respected by those who are to marry.
24. That this capital point of Catholic
doctrine is of great value for the solidity of the family structure,
for
the progress and prosperity of civil society for the healthy life of
the
people and for civilization that its light may not be false, is a fact
recognized even by no small number of men who, though estranged from
the
Faith, are entitled to respect for their political acumen. Oh! If only
your country had come to know from the experience of others rather than
from examples at home of the accumulation of ills which derive from the
plague of divorce; let reverence for religion, let fidelity towards the
great American people counsel energetic action that this
disease, alas so widespread, may be cured
by extirpation.
25. The consequences of this evil have
been thus described by Pope Leo XIII, in words whose truth is incisive:
"Because of divorce, the nuptial contract becomes subject to fickle
whim;
affection is weakened; pernicious incentives are given to conjugal
infidelity;
the care and education of offspring are harmed; easy opportunity is
afforded
for the breaking up of homes; the seeds of discord are sown among
families;
the dignity of woman is lessened and brought down and she runs the risk
of being deserted after she has served her husband as an instrument of
pleasure. And since it is true that for the ruination of the family and
the undermining of the
State nothing is so powerful as the corruption
of morals, it is easy to see that divorce is of the greatest harm to
the
prosperity of families and of states" (Encyclical Letter Arcanum).
26. With regard to those marriages in which
one or the other party does not accept the Catholic teaching or has not
been baptized, We are certain that you observe exactly the
prescriptions
of the Code of Canon Law. Such marriages, in fact, as is clear to you
from
wide experience, are rarely happy and usually occasion grave loss to
the
Catholic Church. A very efficacious means for driving out such grave
evils
is that individual Catholics receive a thorough training in the Divine
truths and that the people be shown clearly the road which leads to
salvation.
27. Therefore, We exhort the priests to
provide that their own knowledge of things Divine and human be wide and
deep; that they be not content with the intellectual knowledge acquired
in youth; that they examine with careful scrutiny the Law of the Lord,
Whose oracles are purer than silver; that they continually relish and
enjoy
the chaste charms of Sacred Scripture; that with the passing of the
years
they study more deeply the history of the Church, its dogmas, its
Sacraments,
its laws, its scriptures, its liturgy, its language, so that they may
advance
in grace, in culture and wisdom.
28. Let them cultivate also the study of letters and of the profane sciences, especially those which are more closely connected with religion, in order that they may be able to impart with clarity and eloquence the teaching of grace and salvation which is capable of bending even learned intellects to the light burden and yoke of the Gospel of Christ.
29. Fortunate the Church, indeed, if thus
it will lay its "foundations with sapphires" (Cf. Isaias liv: 11). The
needs of our times then require that the laity, too, and especially
those
who collaborate with the Hierarchy of the Church, procure for
themselves
a treasure of religious knowledge, not a poor and meager knowledge, but
one that will have solidity and richness through the medium of
libraries,
discussions and study clubs; in this way they will derive great benefit
for themselves and at the same time be able to instruct the ignorant,
confute
stubborn
adversaries and be of assistance to good
friends.
30. We have learned with not little joy
that your press is a sturdy champion of Catholic principles, that the
Marconi
Radio, whose voice is heard in an instant round the world -- marvelous
invention and eloquent image of the Apostolic Faith that embraces all
mankind
-- is frequently and advantageously put to use in order to insure the
widest
possible promulgation of all that concerns the Church, and We commend
the
good accomplished. But let those who fulfill this ministry be careful
to
adhere to the directives of the teaching Church even when they
explain and promote what pertains to the
social problem; forgetful of personal gain, despising popularity,
impartial,
let them speak "as from God, before God, in Christ" (II Corinthians ii:
17).
31. Because of Our constant desire that
scientific progress in all its branches be ever more universally
affirmed,
We gladly take this opportune occasion to signify to you Our cordial
interest
in the University at Washington. You remember well with what ardent
wishes
Pope Leo XIII greeted this noble temple of learning when it came into
being
and on how many occasions testimonies of particular affection were
bestowed
upon it by Our immediate predecessor. He was intimately persuaded that
if this great school, however blessed already
with success, should become still stronger
and gain even greater renown, not only would the growth of the Church
be
aided but also the civil glory and prosperity of your fellow citizens.
32. Sharing this hope, We ask you to do your very best, leaving nothing untried, that this University, protected by your benevolence, may overcome its difficulties and, with ever more gratifying increase, abundantly fulfill the high hopes that have been placed in it. We greatly appreciate, too, your desire to erect in Rome a more worthy and suitable building for the Pontifical College which receives for their ecclesiastical education students from the United States.
33. It is indeed true that the elite of our youth with profit travel abroad to complete their education, a long and happy experience shows that candidates for the priesthood derive very great profit when they are educated here close to the See of Peter, where the source of faith is purest, where so many monuments of Christian antiquity and so many traces of the Saints incite generous hearts to magnanimous enterprises.
34. We desire to touch upon another question of weighty importance, the social question, which, remaining unsolved, has been agitating States for a long time and sowing amongst the classes the seeds of hatred and mutual hostility. You know full well what aspect it assumes in America, what acrimonies, what disorders it produces. It is not necessary therefore that We dwell on these points. The fundamental point of the social question is this, that the goods created by God for all men should in the same way reach all, justice guiding and charity helping. The history of every age teaches that there were always rich and poor; that it will always be so we may gather from the unchanging tenor of human destinies. Worthy of honor are the poor who fear God because theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven and because they readily abound in spiritual graces. But the rich, if they are upright and honest, are God's dispensers and providers of this world's goods; as ministers of Divine Providence they assist the indigent through whom they often receive gifts for the soul and whose hand -- so they may hope -- will lead them into the eternal tabernacles.
35. God, Who provides for all with counsels of supreme bounty, has ordained that for the exercise of virtues and for the testing of one's worth there be in the world rich and poor; but He does not wish that some have exaggerated riches while others are in such straits that they lack the bare necessities of life. But a kindly mother of virtue is honest poverty which gains its living by daily labor in accordance with the scriptural saying: "Give me neither beggary, nor riches: give me only the necessaries of life" (Proverbs xxx: 8).
36. Now if the rich and the prosperous are obliged out of ordinary motives of pity to act generously towards the poor their obligation is all the greater to do them justice. The salaries of the workers, as is just, are to be such that they are sufficient to maintain them and their families. Solemn are the words of Our predecessor, Pius XI, on this question: "Every effort must therefore be made that fathers of families receive a wage sufficient to meet adequately normal domestic needs. If under present circumstances this is not always feasible, social justice demands that reforms be introduced without delay which will guarantee such a wage to every adult working man. In this connection We praise those who have most prudently and usefully attempted various methods by which an increased wage is paid in view of increased family burdens and special provision made for special needs." (Encyclical Letter Quadragesimo Anno.)
37. May it also be brought about that each and every able-bodied man may receive an equal opportunity for work in order to earn the daily bread for himself and his own. We deeply lament the lot of those -- and their number in the United States is large indeed -- who though robust, capable and willing, cannot have the work for which they are anxiously searching.
38. May the wisdom of the governing powers, a far-seeing generosity on the part of the employers, together with the speedy re-establishment of more favorable conditions, effect the realization of these reasonable hopes to the advantage of all.
39. Because sociability is one of man's
natural requirements and since it is legitimate to promote by common
effort
decent livelihood, it is not possible without injustice to deny or to
limit
either to the producers or to the laboring and farming classes the free
faculty of uniting in associations by means of which they may defend
their
proper rights and secure the betterment of the goods of soul and of
body,
as well as the honest comforts of life. But to unions of this kind,
which
in past centuries have procured immortal glory for Christianity and for
the
professions an untarnishable splendor,
one can not everywhere impose an identical discipline and structure,
which
therefore can be varied to meet the different temperament of the people
and the diverse circumstances of time.
40. But let the unions in question draw their vital force from principles of wholesome liberty; let them take their form from them, take their form from the lofty rules of justice and of honesty and, conforming themselves to those norms, let them act in such a manner that in their care for the interests of their class they violate no one's rights; let them continue to strive for harmony and respect the common weal of civil society.
4l. It is a source of joy to Us to know
that the above cited Encyclical, Quadragesimo Anno, as well as that of
the Sovereign Pontiff Leo XIII, Rerum No-)arum, in which is indicated
the
solution of the social question in accordance with the postulates of
the
Gospel and of the eternal philosophy, are the object in the United
States
of careful and prolonged consideration on the part of some men of
keener
intellect whose generous wish pushes them on towards social restoration
and the restrengthening of the bonds of love amongst men, and that some
employers themselves have desired to settle
the ever recurring controversies with the working man in accordance
with
the norms of these Encyclicals, respecting always the common good and
the
dignity of the human person.
42. What a proud vaunt it will be for the American people, by nature inclined to grandiose undertakings and to liberality, if they untie the knotty and difficult social question by following the sure paths illuminated by the light of the Gospel and thus lay the basis of a happier age! If this is to come to pass power must not be dissipated through disunion but rather strengthened through harmony. To this salutary union of thought and policy, whence flow mighty deeds, in all charity We invite them, too, whom Mother Church laments as separated brethren. Many of these, when Our glorious predecessor reposed in the sleep of the just and when We, shortly after his death, through the mysterious disposition of Divine Mercy ascended the throne of St. Peter; many of these -- and this did not escape Our attention -- expressed by word of mouth and by letter sentiments full of homage and noble respect. This attitude -- We openly confess -- has encouraged a hope which time does not take from Us, which a sanguine mind cherishes and which remains a consolation to Us in hard and troublous times.
43. May the enormity of the labors which it will be necessary fervently to undertake for the glory of the Most Benign Redeemer and for the salvation of souls not daunt you, Dearly Beloved, but may it rather stimulate you, whose confidence is in the Divine Help, since great works generate more robust virtues and achieve more resplendent merits.
44. May the attempts with which the enemies secretly banded together seek to pull down the Scepter of Christ be a spur to us to work in union for the establishment and advancement of His reign. No greater fortune can come to individuals, families, and nations than to obey the Author of human salvation, execute His commands, accept His reign, in which we are made free and rich in good works: ". . . a kingdom of truth and of life; a kingdom of holiness and of grace; a kingdom of justice, love and peace" (Preface of the Mass of Christ the King).
45. Wishing from Our heart that you and the spiritual flock for whose welfare you, as diligent shepherds, provide, may advance always towards better and higher goals and that also from the present solemn celebration you may gather a rich harvest of virtue, We impart to you as a pledge of Our benevolence the Apostolic Benediction.
Given at the Vatican, on the Feast of All
Saints, in the Year of Our Lord 1939, the first of Our
Pontificate.
www.catholictradition.org/Encyclicals/sertum.htm