Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1919-05-10
The Great Pontin Leo KIN. the
Author of an Entire Social
Programme.
Encyclical Letter ON Condition of
Working Classes Only One
Considered.
Prof. TonioIo Justly Praises the
Heritage as Complete socIo-
logical system.
socIETc no BE REGENERA1RD.

|I|I"N
Time and again speakers and
writer's quote from and appeal fol-
support TO the encyclical letter.
"Rerum Novarum," OF Pope Leo
XIII, Now it is mentioned as the
encyclical on the labor question,
again it is termed the encyclical on
capital and labor, and practically
everywhere it is being appealed to
as if it we're the sole document
which Catholics should study, and
to which they can have recourse, as
an official pronouncement of the
chief representative of Christ on
earth on the social question.
Such an attitude is neither proper,
nor does it do justice to the great
Pontiff Leo XIII. For he has not
merely left us the one encyclical
ION the condition of the workers."
on the contrary, we have inherited
from him a magnificent heritage"
system of sociological teachings
which Prof. G. Toniolo, erstwhile
head of the Catholic Union of Italy,
designates as a completely devel-
oped system of Christian social
teachings" Prof. TOniolo groups
the social declarations of Pope Leo
XIII. as whole and comments on
them thus:
''He bequeathed to posterity a
completely developed system of
Christian social teachings The his
tory of modern science traces their
source rather far back, TO the first
decades of the nineteenth century,
from which time they continue to
progress daily. But for long time
these sources were merely mono
graphic Investigations, fragmentary
studies, academic discussions, occa-
sional keen flashes of thought. At
the present day, after the Encycli-.
calls of Leo XIII, which sustained
by the common light of the evan
gelical teachings of Christian phil
Osophy and revelation, have illumi-
mated all the phases of social, civil
and political knowledge In harmon
lous, To-, zeal connections; at the
present day we possess a unified
complex of sociological teachings,
brought together in a system, which
rests against the supernatural,
which measures up to the problems
of our age, which absorbing every
thing takes unto itself all that is
true in modern science and is
proven by experience, and thus is
prepared to successfully oppose
positivistic, materialistic and anti
Christian sociology It is a new
structure which was first declared
to be impossible or at least un-
worthy of notice, but which soon
acquired an uncontested right to
recognition-so much so that no
prominent exponent of contempt
rary economics. such as Wagner,
Philippovich. Schoenberg, Laveleye,
Stein, neglect to consider a Chris
tian school along with the other
schools.
Whoever has studiously applied
himself to the historical develop
ment of the social question: who
ever realizes, in the light of count
less Investigations and diffident
practical attempts, the depths Of the
labor movement, striving to obtain
its rights; whoever understands the
invincible tendencies of the move
ment. it's dangers. and its to a de-
gree intrinsic justification: whoever
weighs and measures the CORE
spending spread Of a scientific and
lighting Socialism, system which
assumed to itself the mission of
bringing salvation to society by
means Of violent catastrophies and