Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1890-02-19
CHURCH AND STATE.

Pope Loo Kill Gives His vicws on Their
Rclations--Cathoiics Arc Informed That
Their Allegiance 10 Due First to Relig-
lon and Then to the Government.
New York, Feb. 1O.--The most i'm.
portant encyclical, from worldly point
OF view at least, issued by Leo MIL
since his accession to the throne of the
Pontiff reached this city Sunday
and was made the subject of dis.
course in several of the Roman
Catholic churches. 1t is a long document
dealing with the relations of church
and State, and will be interesting to
from the fact that it defines the duty of
the Catholic citizen, his obligations to
his church, and the extent of his obe-
dience to the State. Its principal points
are as follows
The Pope urges that all power comes frora
God. States that neglect God in the admins
tration of their affairs, he contends, can no,
long remain safe because when Christign
institutions and morals fall away the prin.
cipal foundations of human society must
crumblc." He says that If the natural law or.
dains that Catholics should protect with par,
ticular affection the land on which they were
born and reared, with greater treason ought
they to be animated with similar sentiments
towards the church, the city of the living God,
from whom she had received her constitution.
He continues:
''ff the laws OF the State are in open contra.
diction to the Divine law, if they command any
thing prejudicial to the church. are hostile tc
the duties imposed by religion, or violate in the
person of the Supreme Pontif the authority OF
Jesus Christ, then indeed it is duty to resis;
them and crime to obey them-a crime
fraught with injury to the State itself. For
every offense against religion recoils on the
State. To love the two fatherlands, the earthly
and the heavenly, but in such manner that
the love of the heavenly country prevails over
that Of the other, and that human laws are not
preferred to the laws OF God. Such is the es.
sential duty of Christians from which spring,
as from their source, all the other dutes.n
The church approves of all governments that
respect religion and Divine law, is Indifferent,
to parties, and, according to the Pope 40 seel,
to engage the church in the quarrels of parties
and to attempt to make use of its support tc
triumph more easily over adversuries is to com.
NIT an indiscrete abuse of religion"
The Pope believes, however, and so advises,
that lin politics, which is inseparably bound
up with the laws of morality and religious
duties, mon ought always and in the
first place to take care to serve the in
terest of Catholicism. AS soon as these
interests are to be in danger all differences
should cease between them, so that united in
the same thoughts, and the same designs, they
may undertake the protection and defense OF
religion, the common and great end to which
all things should be referred"
TT is duty assigned to the church by God,''
continues the encyclical, ito offer opposition
whenever the laws of the State in.
jure religion and to endeaver earn.
easily to infuse the spirit of the Gospel into
the laws and institutions of peoples. And since
the fate of States depends principally on
those at the head of the Government the church
can not grant its patronage or favor to men
whom it knows to be hostile to it, wht
openly refuse to respect its rights, who seel
to break the alliance established by the
nature OF things between religious interests
and the interests of the civil orders.
On the contrary, it is its duty to favor those
who, having sound ideas as to the relation
between church and State, wish to make
them both harmonic for the common good.
These principles contained the rule ac.
cording to which every Catholic ought to
model his public life-that is to say.
whenever it is lawful in the eyes OF the church
to take part in public affairs men OF recognized
probity and who promise TO merit well OF
Catholicism ought to be supported and there
can be no case in which it would be permissible
10 prefer TO them men who are hostile to re-
ligion."