The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1919-04-26


SHOULD NOT BE LEFT IN
CHARGE OF lNFIDELs-EFFoRTs
OF PoNTIFF TO ALLEvlE'tE
suFFERINe-ANxl A""''F
CARE OF THE HOLY p,
At the recent cOnsistory' held d.
Rome, the Holy Father spoke as loi--
lows:
Venerable Brothers =
Before proceeding to the nomination
of the Bishops for the vacant sees
which is the principal motive LOT
which we have called you to@ether
here. we should like TO put before you
our present cares and anXietleS re-
gardine the Christian Orient.
The Oriental Church was always an
object of special care on the part Oh
The Roman Pontiffs. Inasmuch as, III
DrOyiding for the government OF Ile
universal Church, they are at the same
time looking 10 the prosperity OF par
\
and natural that they should turn thelr
spcciaI care to that Church o. the Ofl-
ont. where, at the very beginning OF
The work of the Redemption, the 1lrSt
flowers Of the ApOstolate and OF Mar
{vrdom were seen, followed by GLORIOUS
Fruits Of holiness and wisdom. Mar
vellous, indeed, was the Splendor OF
that Church in the happy days OF the
Union, when it gave glorious PontlhS
10 this Apostolic See, and when great
lights Of genius, virtue ana doctllile'
like Basil, Athanasius, the TWO GFeS-
orys ard ChrysostOm, irradiated such
hrilIiance on the whole ChrlStlan
world. Mindful of this ancient glory
our predecessors not only saw 10 the
preservation of the Oriental customs
and traditions separately from the
Latin. but also held their magnlhcent
rites in great honor. Ordaining that
they should be maintained in all Their
Durity that the beauty OF the spouse
of Christ might be the better sur
rounded with variety. 1t is well
known, too, that by disposition OF the
HOLY See such rites have been cele-
brated regularly in Rome itself, ana
that the holy Poatiffs nd Doctors oil
the Orient have been placed IN the
Roman Calendar, the Roman liturgy
adorned with their wise homllles. For
the rest. proofs abound Of the care or
the Popes for the Oriental Church, IN
promoting it's development by proVl-
sions of many kinds and by defending
and protecting that Christianity, which
was so often exposed to enemy at
tacks. This is not the place to enum-
crate the warm and pressing calls'
which our predecessors sent out to the
dissident churches to return at once
to the center of unity and life from
which they had so miserably separated
themselves, and to renew the tradl-
tions of, reverence and obedience
towards this Apostolic See, OF which
so splendid an example was given by
the Greek Fathers in the Ecumenlcal
Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedonia.
SoIicitude for Orient.
We. too. as soon as we were raised
nv the hidden design of God to the
government OF this Roman Church,
the mother of the Catholic Church,
turned our eyes and our most loving
care both to the Churches Of the ORR
pnt still united to this Apostolic See,
whence ecclesiastical unity arose, and
TO those separated from it, and, fol-
lowing in the footsteps OF our prede-
cessors. we determined to restore the
first to their ancient glory, and to lead
the others back to the desired unity
of faith.
To attain this double aim we found
ed first of all special Congregation
for the purpose, destined exclusively
for the Oriental Church, and then an
Institute of higher studies, where
both Latins and Orientals, even dissi
dent. could acquire a full and pro
found knowledge. of the whole Chris
tian Orient And to give the Orien
tails the best possible proof of oul
benevolence, we adorned this insti
tute with the title of Pontifcal plac
ing it under our special protection
and we reserved for ourself and our
successors the prefecture of the afore
said congregation.
AlIeviated Misery
And We did not confne Our efforts
to providing for the future good o.
the Oriental Church which the Insti
tute has in charge. AS long as The
terrible war lasted, We made ever!
effort in Our power to alleviate the
immense miseries, by which the peo
pies living in the territories of Russia
the Balkans and Turkey were op
pressed. For We saw there an entire
people massacred, almost eXtermi
mated: crowds of poor wretches leaV
ing their homes, taking refuge in th'
mountains and falling victims to hard
ship and famine; in other places Chris
tian communities scattered, priest
driven forth or imprisoned, churches
monasteries, schools, hosplces con
verted to profane uses, ecclesiastical
and private property brought to ruil
and destruction All that was in Gu
power We did to remedy these evil
without any distinction Of nationalit
or religion Our anxiety was above al
for the Armenians and the inhabitant
of G,,,,;o onI tho Inhannn q thOc