Syllabus (pronounce sil-a-bis)
(1) In the Roman
Catholic Church, a formally issued list.
(2) In education, a
summary of topics which will be covered during an academic course, or a text or
lecture.
(3) In law reports, the
headnote of a reported case containing a summary of the the points of law
determined, prefixed to a reported case.
1650s: From the Medieval
Latin syllabus (list) which actually arose
as a misprint, its accusative plural syllabos
appearing in place of sittybas (or perhaps
sittubas) in an edition of Cicero's Ad Atticum (Letters to Atticus),
printed during the 1470s. The corrupt
form was influenced by the stem of the Ancient Greek συλλαμβάνω (sullambánō) (put together), source of σῠλλᾰβή (sullabḗ) (syllable); the true
etymon is σιττύβα (sittúba) (parchment
label; table of contents”) of unknown origin.
As was not unknown with medieval errors of transcription, the name stuck
and it too came to mean "a label for a papyrus roll" before morphing into
its current usual meaning (an outline or other brief statement of the main
points of a discourse, the subjects of a course of lectures, the contents of a
curriculum), a shift established by the mid seventeenth century. Had it been a real word, the proper plural
would be syllabi. Syllabus is a noun; the noun plural is syllabi or syllabuses.
Since
the 1980s, there has been criticism of some of the more novel courses which
have appeared on University syllabuses.
While there has always been something of a hierarchy in the perception
of the intellectual robustness demanded by various courses (physics,
engineering and such higher on most pecking orders than social work, media
studies, gender studies et al) such has been the emergence of what’s regarded
as academic promiscuity (some say prefer prostitution) that the term “Mickey
Mouse courses” was coined to describe some of the newest entries. The use of “Mickey Mouse” as a pejorative is
an example of dysphemism (an expression with connotations derogatory either
about the subject matter or to the audience) and was from the French
dysphémisme, modelled on euphémisme (euphemism), modified by the substitution
of the prefix dys-, from the Ancient Greek δυσ- (dus-) (expressing the idea of
difficulty, or bad status).
Interestingly, in Australia, “Mickey Mouse” was also used as a slang form
meaning “very good”, apparently as a form of rhyming slang (“Jack Lang in the local parlance”) based
on “full house”, a most desirable hand in poker. The use operated as late as the 1960s in
parallel with “Mickey Mouse” meaning “poor quality” attributed to the cheap, unreliable
(and fake) Mickey Mouse watches which were sold in great quantity during World War II (1939-1945).
In
some cases, the criticism is probably unfair because university economics
departments coining the term “Swiftonomics” to describe the micro-economic
effect on regional economies of Taylor Swift’s (b 1989) tour seems something most
suitable for students to study. It would be the ideal template as a case study; not only does her tour have a
beginning, a middle and an end but it would offer something onto which could be
mapped most of the tools of social and economic analysis including the dreaded
econometrics which most of us regard as having “a marginal propensity to
confuse”. Boston’s Northeastern
University is taking Swiftonomics most seriously. At least the reaction to the announcement of Swiftonomics
wasn’t as cruel as a course in the sociological importance of football being
dismissed as “David Beckham studies” and something designed to attract
enrolments from paying students rather than a “real” course of study.
Mean
Girls has appeared on a number of syllabuses and objectively, there’s no reason
why the same tools of deconstruction and analysis used of any of the texts more
traditionally part of university course shouldn’t be used and Mean Girls content
has been noted in fields such as media studies, cultural studies, gender
studies and film studies. In 2015, Colorado
College attracted attention for offered a Mean Girls themed class in which 13
students could gain credits for exploring the "motives behind why women
seek authority and the actions they are willing to take in order to hold onto
it." Once can see why the
department choose Mean Girls to dissect that sort of realpolitik and the course
included structural comparisons with tales from Greek mythology. Those who are snobby about the so-called “Mickey
Mouse” courses on syllabuses and blame it on a decline in standards should recall
astrology and alchemy once appeared on the degree rolls of many respectable institutions.
Pius IX, modernity and the Syllabus of Errors
Most famous syllabus to emerge from the Vatican was that issued by Pope Pius IX (Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti, 1792–1878; pope 1846-1878) in 1864 as Syllabus Errorum (Syllabus of Errors), a usefully comprehensive list of the faults of modernity in which His Holiness listed eighty propositions he condemned erroneous. Though controversial, even today, it is by the standards of the Holy See a pleasingly brief document and defines a coherent world-view in a few pages; some subsequent pronouncements from Rome have been more verbose and said less. The pontificate of Pius IX remains the longest in history. Since the election of Pope Francis (b 1936; pope since 2013), Pius IX has attracted a new audience of admirers, in the curia and beyond. This is at least in part because of the certainty of his positions and the unambiguity in his words. His most memorable quotes are succinct:
Liberal Catholics are the worst enemies of the Church. If a future Pope teaches anything contrary to the Catholic Faith, do not follow him.
However,
there can be consequences for those who decide not to follow a pope thought to
be teaching things “contrary to the
Catholic faith”. In November 2023,
it was announced Pope Francis had sacked (“removed
from the pastoral care of the diocese” as the Holy See puts such things) US
Bishop Joseph Strickland (b 1958; Bishop of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas
2012-2023) and appointed an interim apostolic administrator. Whether related or not, the announcement was
made only a couple of days after the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of
the Faith (the DDF, the latest name for the Inquisition) issued a statement
confirming an adult who identifies as transgender can receive the sacrament of
Baptism under the same conditions as any adult, as long as “there is no risk of causing scandal or
confusion to other Catholics”. To
clarify the matter, the DDF added that children or adolescents experiencing
transgender identity issues may also receive Baptism “if well prepared and willing”.
This remarkable statement was one of several answers to sacrament-based
questions relating to those who identify as transgender or are in same-sex
relationships which were generated in response to questions to the DDF posed in
July 2023 by Bishop José Negri (b 1959; Bishop of Santo Amaro, Sao Paulo, Brazil
since 2015). All such statements from
the Vatican (especially those which in any way touch on LGBTQQIAAOP issues)
must be assessed as part of the pope’s response to the recent sessions of the
Synod on Synodality and of great interest was the response about whether
transgender-identifying people or those in homosexual relationships (1) can be
godparents or (2) witness a marriage and (3) whether children adopted or born
through assisted reproduction to same-sex couples can be baptised. To that last matter the DDF quoted the
relevant section of the Code of Canon law, saying “For the child to be baptised there must be a well-founded hope that he
or she will be educated in the Catholic religion”. Lambeth Palace would have been proud of a fudge
like that but it anyway means transgender-identifying people can be baptized
and witness marriages.
Bishop
Strickland (appointed to his position in 2012 by Benedict XVI (1927–2022; pope
2005-2013, pope emeritus 2013-2022)) is said to be one of the WWJD (what
would Jesus do?) school and on 12 May 2023 had tweeted (ie to the whole world) “I believe Pope Francis is the pope, but it
is time for me to say that I reject his program of undermining the Deposit of
Faith. Follow Jesus." It would have been a nice touch had he’d added
“Follow Pius IX” but he resisted that
temptation. The tweet was enough for the
Vatican to launch an investigation, in response to which on more than one
occasion Bishop Strickland asserted he would not voluntarily resign. The investigation was remarkably quick by the
standards of the Holy See and early in November a spokesman for the Archdiocese
of Galveston-Houston revealed the tribunal had advised His Holiness “the continuation in office of Bishop
Strickland was not feasible.” The
pope requested the bishop resign but he declined, thus the rare sacking.
In
many ways, it’s not the sacking (though rare) which is remarkable but that it
took so long to happen. Strickland had
long argued the Roman Catholic Church has become “weak” under Francis and openly challenged the pope to dismiss him,
something which observers of the Vatican suspect might have happened some time
ago had not Benedict lived as long as he did.
Just to make sure however, shortly after Benedict was entombed, Strickland
re-tweeted a video which condemned Francis as a “diabolically disoriented clown” but despite that, he was quoted as
blaming the dismissal on his refusal to implement one of Francis’ progressive
reforms restricting the old Latin Mass.
An issue which quietly has been simmering since Second Vatican Council (Vatican
II; 1962-1965 (which Strickland probably regards as heretical)) Strickland
insisted the Latin rituals must remain “because
I can’t starve out part of my flock", adding, “I feel very much at peace in the Lord and the truth that he died for.”
Nor
is Strickland without support because early in his pontificate, some theologians
and cardinals went dangerously close to accusing Francis of being a heretic and
after the sacking, perhaps sniffing blood, the editor of The Remnant (a most traditional Catholic newspaper) took to X
(formerly known as Twitter) called the firing “total war”, adding “Francis
is a clear and present danger not only to Catholics the world over but also to
the whole world itself." No doubt
he agreed with Strickland who tweeted: “Rejoice
always that…no matter what the day brings Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth
and the Life, yesterday, today and forever. May the saints and the Blessed
Virgin Mary always inspire us to return to Christ no matter how we may wander
into darkness. Jesus is Light from Light." That is a WWJD motif: “Where there is darkness, Jesus will make the light”.
Francis
has certainly become more assertive since the death of Benedict, condemning the
“backwardness” of some conservative
Catholic leaders (notably in Germany and the US), saying what they believed in
was “not faith but political ideology”
and that Church doctrine on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage can
change. Changing something with two thousand-odd
years of inertia and institutional memory won’t be easy but Francis has the
priceless advantage enjoyed by probably no other head of government or state
currently in office: he sits atop a theocracy as an absolute sovereign, whatever
he says, goes; he has the last word.
Interestingly, whenever some matter is clearly contentious, he does increasingly
mention the word “doctrine”,
conscious no doubt that he and everybody else knows that if he chooses to speak
ex cathedra, that invokes papal infallibility
and means not only is his ruling final but that objections may no longer be
even discussed. Defined dogmatically under
Pius IX at the First Vatican Council (Vatican I; 1869–1870 (although it was then
claimed it had actually existed and been acknowledged for over a thousand
years), no pope has spoken ex cathedra
since Pius XII (1876-1958; pope 1939-1958) in 1950 but for Francis it remains his
thermo-nuclear option.
The Syllaus of Errors, Pope Pius IX, 1864
I. PANTHEISM, NATURALISM AND ABSOLUTE RATIONALISM
1. There exists no Supreme, all-wise, all-provident
Divine Being, distinct from the universe, and God is identical with the nature
of things, and is, therefore, subject to changes. In effect, God is produced in
man and in the world, and all things are God and have the very substance of
God, and God is one and the same thing with the world, and, therefore, spirit
with matter, necessity with liberty, good with evil, justice with injustice. --
Allocution "Maxima quidem," June 9, 1862.
2. All action of God upon man and the world is to be
denied. -- Ibid.
3. Human reason, without any reference whatsoever to God,
is the sole arbiter of truth and falsehood, and of good and evil; it is law to
itself, and suffices, by its natural force, to secure the welfare of men and of
nations. -- Ibid.
4. All the truths of religion proceed from the innate
strength of human reason; hence reason is the ultimate standard by which man
can and ought to arrive at the knowledge of all truths of every kind. -- Ibid.
and Encyclical "Qui pluribus," Nov. 9, 1846, etc.
5. Divine revelation is imperfect, and therefore subject
to a continual and indefinite progress, corresponding with the advancement of
human reason. -- Ibid.
6. The faith of Christ is in opposition to human reason
and divine revelation not only is not useful, but is even hurtful to the
perfection of man. -- Ibid.
7. The prophecies and miracles set forth and recorded in
the Sacred Scriptures are the fiction of poets, and the mysteries of the
Christian faith the result of philosophical investigations. In the books of the
Old and the New Testament there are contained mythical inventions, and Jesus
Christ is Himself a myth.
II. MODERATE RATIONALISM
8. As human reason is placed on a level with religion
itself, so theological must be treated in the same manner as philosophical
sciences. -- Allocution "Singulari quadam," Dec. 9, 1854.
9. All the dogmas of the Christian religion are
indiscriminately the object of natural science or philosophy, and human reason,
enlightened solely in an historical way, is able, by its own natural strength
and principles, to attain to the true science of even the most abstruse dogmas;
provided only that such dogmas be proposed to reason itself as its object. --
Letters to the Archbishop of Munich, "Gravissimas inter," Dec. 11,
1862, and "Tuas libenter," Dec. 21, 1863.
10. As the philosopher is one thing, and philosophy
another, so it is the right and duty of the philosopher to subject himself to
the authority which he shall have proved to be true; but philosophy neither can
nor ought to submit to any such authority. -- Ibid., Dec. 11, 1862.
11. The Church not only ought never to pass judgment on
philosophy, but ought to tolerate the errors of philosophy, leaving it to
correct itself. -- Ibid., Dec. 21, 1863.
12. The decrees of the Apostolic See and of the Roman
congregations impede the true progress of science. -- Ibid.
13. The method and principles by which the old scholastic
doctors cultivated theology are no longer suitable to the demands of our times
and to the progress of the sciences. -- Ibid.
14. Philosophy is to be treated without taking any
account of supernatural revelation. -- Ibid.
III. INDIFFERENTISM, LATITUDINARIANISM
15. Every man is free to embrace and profess that
religion which, guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true. --
Allocution "Maxima quidem," June 9, 1862; Damnatio "Multiplices
inter," June 10, 1851.
16. Man may, in the observance of any religion whatever,
find the way of eternal salvation, and arrive at eternal salvation. -- Encyclical
"Qui pluribus," Nov. 9, 1846.
17. Good hope at least is to be entertained of the
eternal salvation of all those who are not at all in the true Church of Christ.
-- Encyclical "Quanto conficiamur," Aug. 10, 1863, etc.
18. Protestantism is nothing more than another form of
the same true Christian religion, in which form it is given to please God
equally as in the Catholic Church. -- Encyclical "Noscitis," Dec. 8,
1849.
IV. SOCIALISM, COMMUNISM, SECRET SOCIETIES, BIBLICAL
SOCIETIES, CLERICO-LIBERAL SOCIETIES
Pests of this kind are frequently reprobated in the
severest terms in the Encyclical "Qui pluribus," Nov. 9, 1846,
Allocution "Quibus quantisque," April 20, 1849, Encyclical
"Noscitis et nobiscum," Dec. 8, 1849, Allocution "Singulari
quadam," Dec. 9, 1854, Encyclical "Quanto conficiamur," Aug. 10,
1863.
V. ERRORS CONCERNING THE CHURCH AND HER RIGHTS
19. The Church is not a true and perfect society,
entirely free- nor is she endowed with proper and perpetual rights of her own,
conferred upon her by her Divine Founder; but it appertains to the civil power
to define what are the rights of the Church, and the limits within which she
may exercise those rights. -- Allocution "Singulari quadam,&quuot;
Dec. 9, 1854, etc.
20. The ecclesiastical power ought not to exercise its
authority without the permission and assent of the civil government. --
Allocution "Meminit unusquisque," Sept. 30, 1861.
21. The Church has not the power of defining dogmatically
that the religion of the Catholic Church is the only true religion. -- Damnatio
"Multiplices inter," June 10, 1851.
22. The obligation by which Catholic teachers and authors
are strictly bound is confined to those things only which are proposed to
universal belief as dogmas of faith by the infallible judgment of the Church.
-- Letter to the Archbishop of Munich, "Tuas libenter," Dec. 21,
1863.
23. Roman pontiffs and ecumenical councils have wandered
outside the limits of their powers, have usurped the rights of princes, and
have even erred in defining matters of faith and morals. -- Damnatio
"Multiplices inter," June 10, 1851.
24. The Church has not the power of using force, nor has
she any temporal power, direct or indirect. -- Apostolic Letter "Ad
Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851.
25. Besides the power inherent in the episcopate, other
temporal power has been attributed to it by the civil authority granted either
explicitly or tacitly, which on that account is revocable by the civil
authority whenever it thinks fit. -- Ibid.
26. The Church has no innate and legitimate right of
acquiring and possessing property. -- Allocution "Nunquam fore," Dec.
15, 1856; Encyclical "Incredibili," Sept. 7, 1863.
27. The sacred ministers of the Church and the Roman
pontiff are to be absolutely excluded from every charge and dominion over
temporal affairs. -- Allocution "Maxima quidem," June 9, 1862.
28. It is not lawful for bishops to publish even letters
Apostolic without the permission of Government. -- Allocution "Nunquam
fore," Dec. 15, 1856.
29. Favours granted by the Roman pontiff ought to be
considered null, unless they have been sought for through the civil government.
-- Ibid.
30. The immunity of the Church and of ecclesiastical
persons derived its origin from civil law. -- Damnatio "Multiplices
inter," June 10, 1851.
31. The ecclesiastical forum or tribunal for the temporal
causes, whether civil or criminal, of clerics, ought by all means to be
abolished, even without consulting and against the protest of the Holy See. --
Allocution "Nunquam fore," Dec. 15, 1856; Allocution "Acerbissimum,"
Sept. 27, 1852.
32. The personal immunity by which clerics are exonerated
from military conscription and service in the army may be abolished without
violation either of natural right or equity. Its abolition is called for by
civil progress, especially in a society framed on the model of a liberal
government. -- Letter to the Bishop of Monreale "Singularis
nobisque," Sept. 29, 1864.
33. It does not appertain exclusively to the power of
ecclesiastical jurisdiction by right, proper and innate, to direct the teaching
of theological questions. -- Letter to the Archbishop of Munich, "Tuas
libenter," Dec. 21, 1863.
34. The teaching of those who compare the Sovereign
Pontiff to a prince, free and acting in the universal Church, is a doctrine
which prevailed in the Middle Ages. -- Apostolic Letter "Ad
Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851.
35. There is nothing to prevent the decree of a general
council, or the act of all peoples, from transferring the supreme pontificate
from the bishop and city of Rome to another bishop and another city. -- Ibid.
36. The definition of a national council does not admit
of any subsequent discussion, and the civil authority car assume this principle
as the basis of its acts. -- Ibid.
37. National churches, withdrawn from the authority of
the Roman pontiff and altogether separated, can be established. -- Allocution
"Multis gravibusque," Dec. 17, 1860.
38. The Roman pontiffs have, by their too arbitrary
conduct, contributed to the division of the Church into Eastern and Western. --
Apostolic Letter "Ad Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851.
VI. ERRORS ABOUT CIVIL SOCIETY, CONSIDERED BOTH IN ITSELF
AND IN ITS RELATION TO THE CHURCH
39. The State, as being the origin and source of all
rights, is endowed with a certain right not circumscribed by any limits. --
Allocution "Maxima quidem," June 9, 1862.
40. The teaching of the Catholic Church is hostile to the
well- being and interests of society. -- Encyclical "Qui pluribus,"
Nov. 9, 1846; Allocution "Quibus quantisque," April 20, 1849.
41. The civil government, even when in the hands of an
infidel sovereign, has a right to an indirect negative power over religious
affairs. It therefore possesses not only the right called that of
"exsequatur," but also that of appeal, called "appellatio ab
abusu." -- Apostolic Letter "Ad Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851
42. In the case of conflicting laws enacted by the two
powers, the civil law prevails. -- Ibid.
43. The secular Dower has authority to rescind, declare
and render null, solemn conventions, commonly called concordats, entered into
with the Apostolic See, regarding the use of rights appertaining to
ecclesiastical immunity, without the consent of the Apostolic See, and even in
spite of its protest. -- Allocution "Multis gravibusque," Dec. 17,
1860; Allocution "In consistoriali," Nov. 1, 1850.
44. The civil authority may interfere in matters relating
to religion, morality and spiritual government: hence, it can pass judgment on
the instructions issued for the guidance of consciences, conformably with their
mission, by the pastors of the Church. Further, it has the right to make
enactments regarding the administration of the divine sacraments, and the
dispositions necessary for receiving them. -- Allocutions "In
consistoriali," Nov. 1, 1850, and "Maxima quidem," June 9, 1862.
45. The entire government of public schools in which the
youth- of a Christian state is educated, except (to a certain extent) in the
case of episcopal seminaries, may and ought to appertain to the civil power,
and belong to it so far that no other authority whatsoever shall be recognized
as having any right to interfere in the discipline of the schools, the
arrangement of the studies, the conferring of degrees, in the choice or
approval of the teachers. -- Allocutions "Quibus luctuosissimmis,"
Sept. 5, 1851, and "In consistoriali," Nov. 1, 1850.
46. Moreover, even in ecclesiastical seminaries, the
method of studies to be adopted is subject to the civil authority. --
Allocution "Nunquam fore," Dec. 15, 1856.
47. The best theory of civil society requires that
popular schools open to children of every class of the people, and, generally,
all public institutes intended for instruction in letters and philosophical
sciences and for carrying on the education of youth, should be freed from all
ecclesiastical authority, control and interference, and should be fully
subjected to the civil and political power at the pleasure of the rulers, and
according to the standard of the prevalent opinions of the age. -- Epistle to
the Archbishop of Freiburg, "Cum non sine," July 14, 1864.
48. Catholics may approve of the system of educating
youth unconnected with Catholic faith and the power of the Church, and which
regards the knowledge of merely natural things, and only, or at least
primarily, the ends of earthly social life. -- Ibid.
49. The civil power may prevent the prelates of the
Church and the faithful from communicating freely and mutually with the Roman
pontiff. -- Allocution "Maxima quidem," June 9, 1862.
50. Lay authority possesses of itself the right of
presenting bishops, and may require of them to undertake the administration of
the diocese before they receive canonical institution, and the Letters
Apostolic from the Holy See. -- Allocution "Nunquam fore," Dec. 15,
1856.
51. And, further, the lay government has the right of
deposing bishops from their pastoral functions, and is not bound to obey the
Roman pontiff in those things which relate to the institution of bishoprics and
the appointment of bishops. -- Allocution "Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852,
Damnatio "Multiplices inter," June 10, 1851.
52. Government can, by its own right, alter the age
prescribed by the Church for the religious profession of women and men; and may
require of all religious orders to admit no person to take solemn vows without
its permission. -- Allocution "Nunquam fore," Dec. 15, 1856.
53. The laws enacted for the protection of religious
orders and regarding their rights and duties ought to be abolished; nay, more,
civil Government may lend its assistance to all who desire to renounce the
obligation which they have undertaken of a religious life, and to break their
vows. Government may also suppress the said religious orders, as likewise
collegiate churches and simple benefices, even those of advowson and subject
their property and revenues to the administration and pleasure of the civil
power. -- Allocutions "Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852; "Probe
memineritis," Jan. 22, 1855; "Cum saepe," July 26, 1855.
54. Kings and princes are not only exempt from the
jurisdiction of the Church, but are superior to the Church in deciding
questions of jurisdiction. -- Damnatio "Multiplices inter," June 10,
1851.
55. The Church ought to be separated from the .State, and
the State from the Church. -- Allocution "Acerbissimum," Sept. 27,
1852.
VII. ERRORS CONCERNING NATURAL AND CHRISTIAN ETHICS
56. Moral laws do not stand in need of the divine
sanction, and it is not at all necessary that human laws should be made
conformable to the laws of nature and receive their power of binding from God.
-- Allocution "Maxima quidem," June 9, 1862.
57. The science of philosophical things and morals and
also civil laws may and ought to keep aloof from divine and ecclesiastical
authority. -- Ibid.
58. No other forces are to be recognized except those
which reside in matter, and all the rectitude and excellence of morality ought
to be placed in the accumulation and increase of riches by every possible
means, and the gratification of pleasure. -- Ibid.; Encyclical "Quanto
conficiamur," Aug. 10, 1863.
59. Right consists in the material fact. All human duties
are an empty word, and all human facts have the force of right. -- Allocution
"Maxima quidem," June 9, 1862.
60. Authority is nothing else but numbers and the sum
total of material forces. -- Ibid.
61. The injustice of an act when successful inflicts no
injury on the sanctity of right. -- Allocution "Jamdudum cernimus,"
March 18, 1861.
62. The principle of non-intervention, as it is called,
ought to be proclaimed and observed. -- Allocution "Novos et ante,"
Sept. 28, 1860.
63. It is lawful to refuse obedience to legitimate
princes, and even to rebel against them. -- Encyclical "Qui
pluribus," Nov. 9, 1864; Allocution "Quibusque vestrum," Oct. 4,
1847; "Noscitis et Nobiscum," Dec. 8, 1849; Apostolic Letter
"Cum Catholica."
64. The violation of any solemn oath, as well as any
wicked and flagitious action repugnant to the eternal law, is not only not
blamable but is altogether lawful and worthy of the highest praise when done
through love of country. -- Allocution "Quibus quantisque," April 20,
1849.
VIII. ERRORS CONCERNING CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE
65. The doctrine that Christ has raised marriage to the
dignity of a sacrament cannot be at all tolerated. -- Apostolic Letter "Ad
Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851.
66. The Sacrament of Marriage is only a something
accessory to the contract and separate from it, and the sacrament itself
consists in the nuptial benediction alone. -- Ibid.
67. By the law of nature, the marriage tie is not
indissoluble, and in many cases divorce properly so called may be decreed by
the civil authority. -- Ibid.; Allocution "Acerbissimum," Sept. 27,
1852.
68. The Church has not the power of establishing diriment
impediments of marriage, but such a power belongs to the civil authority by
which existing impediments are to be removed. -- Damnatio "Multiplices
inter," June 10, 1851.
69. In the dark ages the Church began to establish
diriment impediments, not by her own right, but by using a power borrowed from
the State. -- Apostolic Letter "Ad Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851.
70. The canons of the Council of Trent, which
anathematize those who dare to deny to the Church the right of establishing
diriment impediments, either are not dogmatic or must be understood as
referring to such borrowed power. -- Ibid.
71. The form of solemnizing marriage prescribed by the
Council of Trent, under pain of nullity, does not bind in cases where the civil
law lays down another form, and declares that when this new form is used the
marriage shall be valid.
72. Boniface VIII was the first who declared that the vow
of chastity taken at ordination renders marriage void. -- Ibid.
73. In force of a merely civil contract there may exist
between Christians a real marriage, and it is false to say either that the
marriage contract between Christians is always a sacrament, or that there is no
contract if the sacrament be excluded. -- Ibid.; Letter to the King of
Sardinia, Sept. 9, 1852; Allocutions "Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852,
"Multis gravibusque," Dec. 17, 1860.
74. Matrimonial causes and espousals belong by their
nature to civil tribunals. -- Encyclical "Qui pluribus," Nov. 9 1846;
Damnatio "Multiplices inter," June 10, 1851, "Ad
Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851; Allocution "Acerbissimum," Sept.
27, 1852.
IX. ERRORS REGARDING THE CIVIL POWER OF THE SOVEREIGN
PONTIFF
75. The children of the Christian and Catholic Church are
divided amongst themselves about the compatibility of the temporal with the
spiritual power. -- "Ad Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851.
76. The abolition of the temporal power of which the
Apostolic See is possessed would contribute in the greatest degree to the
liberty and prosperity of the Church. -- Allocutions "Quibus
quantisque," April 20, 1849, "Si semper antea," May 20, 1850.
X. ERRORS HAVING REFERENCE TO MODERN LIBERALISM
77. In the present day it is no longer expedient that the
Catholic religion should be held as the only religion of the State, to the
exclusion of all other forms of worship. -- Allocution "Nemo
vestrum," July 26, 1855.
78. Hence it has been wisely decided by law, in some
Catholic countries, that persons coming to reside therein shall enjoy the
public exercise of their own peculiar worship. -- Allocution
"Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852.
79. Moreover, it is false that the civil liberty of every
form of worship, and the full power, given to all, of overtly and publicly
manifesting any opinions whatsoever and thoughts, conduce more easily to
corrupt the morals and minds of the people, and to propagate the pest of indifferentism.
-- Allocution "Nunquam fore," Dec. 15, 1856.
80. The Roman Pontiff can, and ought to, reconcile
himself, and come to terms with progress, liberalism and modern civilization.-
-Allocution "Jamdudum cernimus," March 18, 1861.
The faith teaches us and human reason demonstrates that a
double order of things exists, and that we must therefore distinguish between
the two earthly powers, the one of natural origin which provides for secular
affairs and the tranquillity of human society, the other of supernatural
origin, which presides over the City of God, that is to say the Church of
Christ, which has been divinely instituted for the sake of souls and of eternal
salvation.... The duties of this twofold power are most wisely ordered in such
a way that to God is given what is God's (Matt. 22:21), and because of God to
Caesar what is Caesar's, who is great because he is smaller than heaven.
Certainly the Church has never disobeyed this divine command, the Church which
always and everywhere instructs the faithful to show the respect which they
should inviolably have for the supreme authority and its secular rights....
. . . Venerable Brethren, you see clearly enough how sad
and full of perils is the condition of Catholics in the regions of Europe which
We have mentioned. Nor are things any better or circumstances calmer in
America, where some regions are so hostile to Catholics that their governments
seem to deny by their actions the Catholic faith they claim to profess. In
fact, there, for the last few years, a ferocious war on the Church, its
institutions and the rights of the Apostolic See has been raging.... Venerable
Brothers, it is surprising that in our time such a great war is being waged
against the Catholic Church. But anyone who knows the nature, desires and
intentions of the sects, whether they be called masonic or bear another name,
and compares them with the nature the systems and the vastness of the obstacles
by which the Church has been assailed almost everywhere, cannot doubt that the
present misfortune must mainly be imputed to the frauds and machinations of
these sects. It is from them that the synagogue of Satan, which gathers its
troops against the Church of Christ, takes its strength. In the past Our
predecessors, vigilant even from the beginning in Israel, had already denounced
them to the kings and the nations, and had condemned them time and time again,
and even We have not failed in this duty. If those who would have been able to
avert such a deadly scourge had only had more faith in the supreme Pastors of
the Church! But this scourge, winding through sinuous caverns, . . . deceiving
many with astute frauds, finally has arrived at the point where it comes forth
impetuously from its hiding places and triumphs as a powerful master. Since the
throng of its propagandists has grown enormously, these wicked groups think
that they have already become masters of the world and that they have almost
reached their pre-established goal. Having sometimes obtained what they
desired, and that is power, in several countries, they boldly turn the help of
powers and authorities which they have secured to trying to submit the Church
of God to the most cruel servitude, to undermine the foundations on which it
rests, to contaminate its splendid qualities; and, moreover, to strike it with
frequent blows, to shake it, to overthrow it, and, if possible, to make it
disappear completely from the earth. Things being thus, Venerable Brothers,
make every effort to defend the faithful which are entrusted to you against the
insidious contagion of these sects and to save from perdition those who
unfortunately have inscribed themselves in such sects. Make known and attack
those who, whether suffering from, or planning, deception, are not afraid to
affirm that these shady congregations aim only at the profit of society, at
progress and mutual benefit. Explain to them often and impress deeply on their
souls the Papal constitutions on this subject and teach, them that the masonic
associations are anathematized by them not only in Europe but also in America
and wherever they may be in the whole world.
To the Archbishops and Bishops of Prussia concerning the
situation of the Catholic Church faced with persecution by that Government....
But although they (the bishops resisting persecution)
should be praised rather than pitied, the scorn of episcopal dignity, the
violation of the liberty and the rights of the Church, the ill treatment which
does not only oppress those dioceses, but also the others of the Kingdom of
Prussia, demand that We, owing to the Apostolic office with which God has
entrusted us in spite of Our insufficient merit, protest against laws which
have produced such great evils and make one fear even greater ones; and as far
as we are able to do so with the sacred authority of divine law, We vindicate
for the Church the freedom which has been trodden underfoot with sacrilegious
violence. That is why by this letter we intend to do Our duty by announcing
openly to all those whom this matter concerns and to the whole Catholic world,
that these laws are null and void because they are absolutely contrary to the
divine constitution of the Church. In fact, with respect to matters which
concern the holy ministry, Our Lord did not put the mighty of this century in
charge, but Saint Peter, whom he entrusted not only with feeding his sheep, but
also the goats; therefore no power in the world, however great it may be, can
deprive of the pastoral office those whom the Holy Ghost has made Bishops in
order to feed the Church of God.
