Evening star., 1946-02-21

70 TIE ASSSHtUty VI Cu utItutS.
The lofty and noble sentiment
expressed by your eminent spokes
man, venerable brethren, on behal
of this, the first group of cardinals
included by us in the Senate of ths
Church, have given us much pleas.
ure.
And now we address you, 20,
who-to apply to this solemn occa'
sion the words of the great st
Augustine-are the newly-formee
flowers of canonity, opening up tt
the inspiration of the Holy Ghost
flowers of our honor, fruits of soul
choice, now crowned by us with dia.
dem not glistening with gold or pre-.
cious stones but with the color ot
fame and blood, because in flame
and blood is all the charity of Christ
which surpasseth all knowledge.
Your names, your virtues, youl
merits, the battles fought by not few
of you with heroic courage against
the oppressor in defense of truth
and justice are so well known tt
the whole world that we consider
ourselves dispensed from recording
in detail that which has already re-
ceived the recognition and praise oi
all.
United by Common Bonds.
There is sense of serene calm as
We look on you and see in you who
have come from every corner of the
world, the whole church, that "home
of the living God" as the Vatican
Council calls it, which houses all the
faithful, united by the bonds of
common faith and charity.
You have come to Peter in whom
according to words of the same
council, the episcopate and the faith
full find principles and visible
foundation of unity"
When in our address of Christmas
Eve we announced the Sacred Col
lege our intention of raising you to
the sacred purple we were fully con-
scious of the lively interest which
such manifestation of the supra
national character of the church
and of its worldwide unity would
arouse throughout the world-the
poor world which everywhere
hungers and thirsts for unity and
strives in various ways to secure it.
Consolation to Faithful.
Our words have provided the
faithful with a new motive for con-
ISOLATION and encouragement; to the
others-we speak of honest people
not those who are slaves of the
father of lies"-they have given
matter for serious reflection.
The church, as we then pointed
out, has in God, in the God Man,
in Christ, the invisible but unshak-
able principle of her unity and en-
tirety, of the unity we mean, of
her head and members in the COM
plete fullness of her own life which
embraces and santifies all that is
really human, directing and subor-
dinating their many aspirations and
particular aims to the integral and
comman end of man, which is his
likeness in the highest possible de-
gree to God.
This church stands out today in
the midst of world torn and di-
vided as warning, as a standard
unto the nations which invites all
who do not yet believe to come to
her and strengthen her sons in the
faith which they profess, for with
out God and away from God there
cannot be any true, solid, secure
unity.
II, then, today so many from every
side turn in anxious expectancy and
trembling hope to the church and
ask her what part she has to play
in the salvation of human society,
in the establishment of that in
estimable blessing, more precious
than all treasures, which is lasting
internal and external peace, the
answer of the church can be mani
fold and varied, corresponding to
her varied potentialities. But the
main definite answer, to which all
other can be reduced, always re-
mains the unity and completeness
OF the church, founded in God and
in Christ. Hence the necessity
first for the children of the church
themselves, but also for human So
ciety in general-of having clear
and exact notions of the influence
exercised in practice by this unity
and completeness.
This influence extends to the
foundation, structure and activity
OF human society. The primary i'm
portance Of the first of these three
ideas leads us to make it-in con-
junction with our Christmas mes
sage already referred to-the SUBJ
Ject of the discourse which we ad-
dress you today on this solemn, un-
usual occasion which gathers
around us new members of the
Sacred College, worthy representa-
tives of the chrch's universally.
Solidarity and Security.
The unity and completeness of
the church, made clear by the
manifestation of her supranational
character, is of great Importance for
the foundation of life in society
This does not mean that it is the
office of the church to include and
somehow embrace, as in a gigantic
world empire, all human society
Such a concept of the church as
an earthly empire and world domi-
nation is fundamentally false.
At no time in history has it been
true or corresponded to reality un-
less one persists enormously ir
transplanting into past ages the
ideas and terminology proper to oul
own.
The church-while fulfilling the
mandate of her Divine Founder oi
spreading the Gospel everywhere
and of winning over to the Gospe
every creatures not an empire
especially in the imperialistic sense
such as is now meant by the word
Her progress and expansion arr
marked by trend contrary to thai
of modern imperialism. Her devel.
opment is before all else in depth
then in length and breadth. Shit
seeks out above all man as such
Her study is to form man, to mode
and perfect in him the Divine image
Her work is done in the depth NJ