Officio Sanctissimo by Pope Leo XIII
- Very Average Joe
- Mar 19
- 6 min read
Pope Leo XIII (b. 2 March 1810 – d. 20 July 1903), born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci, began his pontificate on 20 February 1878. His papacy is the fourth longest in the history of the Church. He is known for having composed the Prayer to Archangel St Michael and for the encyclical “Humanum Genus” on freemasonry published on 20 April 1884.
Countering the errors rampant in the modern era, the encyclical “Officio Sanctissimo” published on 22 December 1887 is about the state of the Church in Bavaria. The document is approximately 7,000 words in 15 paragraphs.
Leo XIII opens with comments for bishops to adequately prepare the clergy.
It is necessary that Christian wisdom, which abounds in a wonderful light, should shine before the eyes of all, so that the darkness of ignorance, which is the greatest enemy to religion, having been dispelled, the truth may shine forth far and wide, and happily reign. Nay more, it behoves that those manifold errors be refuted and dispelled which, taking their rise either in ignorance or wickedness or prejudiced opinions, perversely call away the minds of men from Catholic truth, and engender a certain hatred of it in their dispositions. This great duty, which is “to exhort in sound doctrine and to convince the gainsayers” [Titus 1:9], belongs to the order of priests, who hold it legitimately, imposed by Christ our Lord when He sent them forth to teach all nations, by His divine power, “going into the whole world preach the gospel to every creature” [Mark 16:15], equally plainly as the bishops, chosen in place of the apostles, are set over the Church of God, the priests are their assistants.
The pope then reminds the audience that the Fathers and Doctors of the Church have always struggled against opposing philosophies with actual arguments and reasoning.
But in vain did the adversaries try to arrest and stop that course of Catholic wisdom; in vain did they seek objections from the schools of Greek philosophy, especially from those of Plato and Aristotle, with high-sounding words indeed. For our champions, declining not even that kind of contest, applied themselves to the learning and study of the heathen philosophers; having examined with the greatest diligence what each one of them had professed, they took these things into consideration one by one; they examined them, they compared them; many things were rejected or corrected by them; not a few were justly approved of and accepted; they also discovered and established by them, that those things which are proved to be false by human reason and intelligence, are in the same manner opposed to Christian doctrine, so that he who withstands and opposes this doctrine, of necessity equally withstands and opposes reason.
Notice that the approach is not a wholesale dismissal or ban of pagan philosophy. Indeed, much of the Greek philosophical tradition is adopted by the Church. Faith and reason do not exclude each other, and Leo XIII cites St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas as obvious examples of those who practiced this.
The pope goes on to mention that in the past pagans might have rejected Christianity but at least favored their own beliefs and customs. Moderns, however, want to reject even that.
Thus only the heathen formerly objected to the Christian religion, that they should not be led away from the ancient and accustomed rites of their divinities, but now the most iniquitous endeavor of wicked men contend that they should eradicate from Christian people all divine and most necessary teaching connected with Our holy faith, and that they may use them worse than the heathen, and may involve them in the greatest misery, namely, the subversion and contempt of all faith and religion. Of which impure plague, than which none is more detestable, those were the founders who attributed to man that by the light of nature each one could know and judge concerning doctrine divinely revealed by virtue of his own reason and judgment…
This is modern humanism which elevates individual reason to the highest authority, thus at least implicitly denying authority structure given by God. This result is that
…this prostitution of the highest things, those who are named Rationalists or Naturalists do not hesitate to call by the false name of scientific and social progress, which in truth is nothing less than the destruction and ruin of both.
So, the education of the younger generation is obviously important.
That these may be thoroughly grounded and accomplished in the study of humanities they should not enter upon the study of sacred theology before having undergone a preparation in philosophy. We mean that deep and real philosophy, the investigator of the loftiest problems, the best patron of truth: by virtue of which they themselves will not be tossed about nor carried away “by every wind of doctrine, by the wickedness of men, by the craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive” [Ephesians 4:14]…
And, of course, freedom or liberty is not the same as “license”.
For neither can you rightly call that liberty which gathers and scatters opinions according to its own will and pleasure, nay rather it is to be reputed the vilest license, lying, and false science, a disgrace and slavery of the mind.
The religious education of youth is the Church’s responsibility.
There is therefore a just cause of grief to the Church when she sees her little ones torn away from her at the tenderest age and forced into schools where either the knowledge of God is passed over in silence, or but a maimed and perverted idea of it taught; where there is nothing to stem the torrent of error, no faith in divine revelation, no place where the truth may defend itself. But truly, to forbid the Catholic Church to use her influence in the abodes of science and literature, is most injurious, since the duty of teaching religion … has been given by God to His Church…
Well, nothing has changed.
Parents also have the responsibility to educate their children.
The counsel and cooperation of the heads of families will also be of use … that they themselves act wrongly if they commit their children at a docile and guileless age to the care of questionable teachers. In these duties, which devolve upon them with the procreation of their children, let the heads of families know that there are the same rights inherent both by nature and justice, and that they ate of such a kind that no one can free himself from them, since it is impossible by any human power to be dispensed from those duties which man owes to God.
As for the State usurping the authority of the Church and parents, the pope states that denying authority will ultimately lead to its own ruin.
Nor must We pass over in silence the fact that the Christian education of youth redounds greatly to the advantage of the State itself. … For immediately that supreme and divine rule is laid aside and despised, by whose admonition we are commanded to reverence the authority of God and in reliance upon the same God, to hold all His teachings with the most assured faith, there is a tendency of human science to fall into most grievous errors especially those of materialism and rationalism. … For once destroy the foundations on which all authority rests and the bond of human society is loosened and destroyed, there will be no State; a tyranny full of violence and cunning will take possession of all things.
One need not fear that the Christian religion takes away the powers of the State since “the Christian law does not cloud the light of human reason but adds to its brilliancy by turning it aside from falsities into which human nature easily falls…”
Leo XIII concludes with a general warning against freemasonry which promotes the aforementioned, and that it is the Church “alone has He [God] given in charge all He has revealed to men and established as sole interpreter, judge, and mistress, most wise and infallible, of the truth…”
It is likewise a matter of extreme importance, Venerable Brethren, that you should warn and guard your flocks against the dangers arising from the contagion of Freemasonry. … The faithful can never be sufficiently warned against this wicked faction, for although from the very beginning it conceived a deep hatred against the Catholic Church, and has ever since increased and inflamed it, its enmity is not always openly displayed, but more often exercises itself in an underhand and hypocritical way, especially among the young, who inexperienced and wanting in wisdom, are sadly ensnared by its deceits often concealed by appearances of piety and charity.
Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list so you get each new Opinyun that comes out!
Comments