The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-06-30
.EkCYCLICAL OF
POPE LEO KILL
Cardinal Gibbons Gives an
Abstract to the
Press.
OF GREAT IMPORTANCE.
Reunion of All the Christian
Churches Is the Text of
the Letter.
a REPLY TO MR.. GLADSTONE.
The Document Is Addressed to All
Bishops in Communion With
the Holy See.

CnTSt1an churches. his HOLINESS evil
IDENTIFY had in mind the recent letter of
Hon. William E. Gladstone, the English
statesman and churchman, and the letter
may be considered a reply thereto.
His Eminence received the advance
sheets of this very important document on
Saturday, and personally directed its
translation. The letter, at the Pope's re-
quest, will be given publicity throughout
Europe and America tomorrow.
The encyclicaI is addressed by his Holt
ness. Pope Leo XIII, to all Bishops in
communion with the Holy See. The alb
stract follows:
The Holy Father, intent upon the work of
bringing all to the one fold of Christ, con-
siders that it would conduce to that end were
he to set before the peoples of the Christian
world the ideal and exemplar of the church as
divinely constituted, TO which church all are
bound by Gods command to belong.
In accordance with his usual providence,
God makes use of human instruments to effect
the sanctiication and elevation of men. To
this end not only did he take upon himself
human nature, but in order to perpetuate his
mission the Son of God chose apostles and
disciples whom he had trained that they
might faithfully hand down his teachings and
commands to those who desired the blessings
he had purchased for mankind by his death.
In comm andlng "the apostles and their sue
cessors to the end of time to teach and rule the
nations, he ordered the nations to accept and
obey their authority.
In Scripture the chur is called "body,'
and the body of Christ. 1t is visible as being
3 living and organized society and is animated
by the invis ible vital principle of supernat-
ural life. Those, therefore, who either deny
Te
to allow that it has "the perennial communi-
cation of the gifts OF divine grace" are equally
ain a grievous and pernicious error" The
connection and union Of both elements is as
absolutely necessary to the true church as the
intimate union OF the soul and body is to
human nature, and as this is the essential
constitution of the church, according to Gods
viii also lesesa ned that il last till the
end OF time-this it must possess at the present
day.
1t is obviously of the first importance to de-
termine what Christ wished his church to be
and what IN fact he made it. According to this
criterion it is the unity of the Christian
church which must necessarily be considered,
for it is certain that "he who founded it wished
it 70 be one"
The mission of Christ was to save "not some
nations or peoples only, but the whole human
race, without distinction OF time OF place"
Hence, as the mission of his church was to
hand down through every age the blessing of
this salvation by the will OF its founder, it is
necessary that this church should be one in
all lands and at all times.
"a church which should embrace all men,
everywhere and at all times, was clearly fore
told by the prophet Isaiah and was typi6ed in
our Lords mystical body-s body united to
himself as head; mystical body, the members
OF which if separated one from the other can
not be united with one and the same head, -
and so another head like the Christ is another
Christ and must be invented, if besides the
one church, which is his body, men wish to
set up another.
Furthermore, 'fHe who made this one church
also gave it unity; that is, he made it such
that all who are to belong to it must be united
by the closest bonds so as to form one society,
one kingdom, one body" And he willed that
this unity among his followers should be so
perfect chat it might in some measure shadow
forth the union between himself and his
father"
AS necessary consequence, in his divine
wisdom, he ordained in his church unity of
faith-a virtue which is the first of those bonds
which unite man to God and whence we re-
ceiye the name OF the faithful. The nature of
this unity of faith must and can be ascertained
from the commands and teachings of Christ
lures is not sufficient 10 insure unity of belief,
mot merely because of the nature of the doc
trine itself and the mysteries it involves, but
also because of the divergent tendencies of
the human mind and the disturbing element
of conflicting passions"
ut was necessary that there should be an
other principle to insure union of minds in
the Christian church, and it is consequently
proper to inquire which of the many means
by which Christ our Lord could have secured
this unity he in fact adopted.
1t is the duty OF all followers of Christ not
merely to accept his doctrines generally, "but
to assent with their entire mind to all and
every point of it, since it is unlawful to with
hold faith from God, even in regard to the one
single point"
Christ endowed his apostles with authority
like to his own and promised that the spirit Of
truth should direct them and remain with
them forever, and because of this commission
ait is no more allowable to repudiate one iota
of the apostles teaching than to reject any
point of the doctrine of Christ himself"
This apostolic mission was intended for the
salvation of the whole human race, ard conse-
quently must last to the end of time. The
magisterium instituted by Christ in his church
wss by Gods will perpetuated in the successors
appointed by the apostles, and in like manner
the duty of accepting and processing all that
is thus taught is also perpetual and immu-
table"
There is nothing which the church founded
on those principles he has been more careful
to guard than the integrity of the faith. The
fathers of the church are unanimous in con-
sidering as outside the Catholic communion
any one who in the least degree deviates from
even one point of the doctrine proposed by the
authoritative magisterium OF the church.
Wherefore Christ instituted in the church
living authoritative and lasting magisterium.
He wiiled and commanded under the gravest
penalties thatits teachings should be received
as if they were his own. AS often, therefore,
as il is declared on the authority of this teach
ing that this or that is contained in the de-
post of divine revelation, it must be believed
by everyone as true.
The very nature OF divine faith makes it i'm
possible that we can reject even one point of
direct teaching, as this is practically rejecting
the authority of God himself.
Christ commanded the men, present and
future, to follow him as their leader and
Savior, and thus, not merely as individuals,