Christian Democracy

851. State of the question. Since these things are so, the office rests upon upright and Catholic men, but especially upon priests, of striving with all their powers that they make the condition of workers better, insofar as this can be done, and thus render concord and peace between the rich and proletarians more firm. To the point Leo XIII: "As regards the Church, she will at no time and in no way allow her work to be wanting, and she will bring so much more assistance, the more liberty in acting shall have fallen to her... let the ministers of sacred things direct all the powers of mind and industry." - These words indeed, spoken in the year 1891, laymen and priests heard, and in various regions they gave themselves to Catholic action; hence diverse institutes were created for the benefit of workers: "banks for loans to countrymen; associations, some for rendering mutual assistance, others for relieving necessities due to misfortunes; sodalities of workers; other helps of this kind, both of societies and of works."¹ This manner of acting received from some the name of Christian socialism, yet less rightly, since socialism, such as it is in fact defended, openly contradicts Christian dogmas; - but from others, popular Christian action, and elsewhere Christian democracy: the former appellation indeed suffers no difficulty; the latter, which did not please many, is nevertheless permitted by Leo XIII, provided it is not twisted to a political sense, and does not seem to exclude superiors and the rich, but "pertains solely to this, that those who sustain life by hand and art be brought to a more tolerable state, and gradually have that by which they may provide for themselves; that at home and openly they freely fulfill the offices of virtues and religion; that they feel themselves to be not animals but men, not pagans but Christians; and thus strive toward that one thing necessary."²

¹ Thus Leo XIII, in the Encyclical Graves de Communi, Jan. 18, 1901; Max Turmann described the evolution of Catholic action from the year 1891, Le Catholicisme social depuis l'Encycl. Rerum Novarum, Paris, 1900.

² Leo XIII, the cited Encyclical Graves de Communi, which is to be read attentively in its entirety; you have a commentary in the little work: L'Eglise et la Democratie chretienne by Goyau, Toniolo, and Pottier, Liege, 1901. - What in past centuries the Gallican clergy did for promoting also the temporal good of the faithful, Sicard sets forth, L'ancien Clerge de France, Paris, 1893, t. I, pp. 142-192; 318-335.

It will not therefore be unpleasant to enumerate briefly the principal means hitherto used for improving the condition of workers: 1. the young are to be instructed by Christian education, so that they become good workers; 2. adults are to be united together by various associations, so that they may more securely provide for themselves; 3. they are to be aided by other associations instituted among the richer; 4. they are to be strengthened in faith and virtue through religious associations.

852. 1. The Christian, virile, and professional education of the young. For rendering the lot of workers better, the good education of the young contributes greatly; for many, whether at home or in neutral schools, are not rightly instructed. It is necessary therefore that education be completed in pious works which are called patronages, or in study circles (cercles d'etudes, debating clubs). This indeed ought to be: (A) Christian; for piety "is useful for all things, having the promise of the life which now is, and of the future";¹ for by forming young people who are sober, chaste, lovers of labor and thrift, it certainly helps them much to manage even temporal matters prosperously. But, since today errors are scattered everywhere, the faith of the young must be nourished and strengthened: it is not enough to explain rightly, but it is necessary to prove by solid arguments the principal dogmas, such as the existence of God, the immortality of the soul, the divine mission of Christ, the authority of the Church, etc. Let adolescents be taught how, according to their capacity, they may answer the common difficulties of unbelievers, and, in more difficult matters, have recourse to learned men. Among them let some be chosen, endowed with a sharper intellect, a nobler character, and greater fortitude, who may form a special society, imbued with an apostolic spirit, and draw other young persons to the practice of virtues by words and examples. They will be like so many apostles, who will greatly help priests in defending the faith and reforming morals.²

¹ 1 Tim., IV, 8.

² Congres international officiel du Patronage de la Jeunesse ouvriere, from June 10 to 13, 1900, Paris, 1901; Max Turmann, Les Oeuvres complementaires de l'Ecole, Paris, 1900; id., Les Patronages, 3rd ed. 1901; Gatouillat, Reflexions pratiques sur la necessite et la direction des Patronages de Jeunes Gens, Troyes, 1899.

853. (B) Virile, that is, tending to furnish courage of soul and invincible strength of will; and therefore gradually to change boys into men, who can suffice for themselves. For workers are exposed to various allurements, whether internally from passions, or externally from vain human fear and diverse occasions by which they are enticed to evil; it is therefore of the greatest importance that they firmly believe and exteriorly manifest their faith by works, without boasting and without shame; likewise that, strengthened in virtue, they despise the allurements of pleasures, and vigorously resist depraved companions. Wherefore let them gradually be taught how, with the grace of God helping, they can increase their own powers and act manfully, by fleeing useless occasions of sin, and in necessary ones by fighting bravely.¹ Let it be set forth to them how great is the efficacy of association for overcoming difficulties and multiplying energies; and how necessary it is that the upright be united together, so that they may crush the audacity of the evil.

¹ "Obliged without doubt to preserve the child from certain dangers superior to his age or his powers, education nevertheless does not have preservation for its end: this would be the substitution of the effort of the master for the effort of the child. On the contrary, it aims to form energies which can suffice for themselves and guard themselves: it is necessary to help the weak, but to arrive at making them robust enough to do without helps... One word sums up everything: our moral education wishes to make men." (Ackermann, in Congres internat., p. 30-31.)

854. (C) Professional, insofar as it forms workers skilled in their own art;² for the more skilled and at the same time the more honest they are, the more they will be esteemed both by associates and by masters; wherefore at the opportune time they will obtain a greater wage and nobler offices. But in our days it is altogether expedient that the chief principles of social science be handed on to them, so that they may more easily refute the sophisms of socialists, and have very much authority in workers' associations; for thus they will be able to protect moderately and wisely their own rights and those of their associates; thus also the way will be prepared for concord between masters and workers. - But to girls let there be given not only speculative education in letters and arts, but practical education, so that they may learn how they can attend to domestic affairs.³

² "Yes, it is necessary to develop professional formation and to prepare the young man for social cooperation. Industrial evolution obliges to the one, social evolution imposes the other: these are two new elements which it is urgent to introduce into the education of the child of the people. One will therefore complete his instruction, one will therefore develop his intelligence and his technical skill. Then one will accustom him to foresight, to economy, to the sentiment of solidarity." - Cf. Law of July 21, 1919, on professional teaching.

³ Thus in Belgium there have been instituted schools which are called housekeeping schools (ecoles menageres), cf. Mme Van Gehuchten, Guide de la Jeune Menagere, Lierre (Belgium), 1894; de Diesbach, L'enseignement menager, Paris, 1903.

855. 2. Various associations instituted among Catholic workers. (A) First of all let workers' associations (syndicats professionnels) be promoted; for unless upright and Catholic men are joined together among themselves, they will not be able to protect their rights, and besides, socialist sodalities will altogether preside over the workers and will soon overturn the social order; concerning these associations we have already treated above, n. 833. But among countrymen let societies be instituted which are called agricultural syndicates, by which farmers are helped not a little in learning the best means for cultivating fields more perfectly, and for protecting their rights legally.¹

¹ On their origin, evolution, many advantages, and organization, de Rocquigny discusses, Les syndicats agricoles, leur oeuvre professionnelle, economique, sociale, Paris, 1898; de Gailhard-Bancel, Manuel pratique des Syndicats agricoles, 6th ed., Paris, 1900. - What part priests had in their foundation in Belgium, Max Turmann describes, Les Associations agricoles en Belgique, Paris, 1903.

(B) Let those mutual associations (mutualites) also be promoted, by which workers can render help and assistance to one another, and increase thrift.² For since workers receive a modest wage, and are liable to many damages from unforeseen cases or diseases, or from cessation from labor, they will certainly profit much if, by living soberly, chastely, and frugally, they set aside some money at the time when matters are succeeding rather prosperously, and deposit it with those societies called mutuals, which have been instituted in various regions. Certain ones have been created in schools, so that already from boyhood the young may be able to study thrift, and, vain prodigality having been despised, become accustomed to living more sparingly and providing for future necessities;³ it is altogether expedient to institute these in Catholic schools.

² F. Lepine, La Mutualite, ses principes, ses bases veritables, Paris, 1903; L. Mabilleau, La Prevoyance sociale en Italie, Paris; Rostand, t. III, p. 663-678.

³ Lepine, op. cit., p. 53-67; M. Turmann, Educ. populaire, p. 69-76.

856. (C) To these can be joined cooperative societies, whether for buying merchandise at a lower price, or also for producing certain things.⁴ The former are easily instituted and managed; but in small towns it is generally expedient to create societies which do not directly buy goods in order to sell them to cooperators at a lower price, but enter an agreement with merchants, so that these consent to cede to the cooperators some determined part of their profit; otherwise, the hatred and envy of merchants is stirred up, who from the foundation of a cooperative society not rarely lose the greatest part of their profit. - It is much more difficult happily and prosperously to manage the care of societies which are called productive; for for this two things are desired: no small capital, not only for obtaining instruments, but also for paying the manifold expenses which it is necessary to incur for several months before any profit is received; and an expert administrator, who can manage the matter wisely, and who has sufficient authority for commanding the other workers; these things indeed can scarcely be found.¹

⁴ Ch. Gide, La Cooperation, Paris, 1900; id., L'Economie Sociale a l'Exposition de 1900, Paris, 1902, p. 273-294; id., Les societes cooperatives de consommation, Paris, 1904; Clavel et Soria, Guide pour l'organisation et l'administration des societes cooperatives de consommation, 4th ed., Paris, 1901; Hubert-Valleroux, La Cooperation, Paris, 1904; Congres des Associat. ouvrieres de production, Paris, 1900; Comptes-rendus du Congres de l'Alliance cooperative internationale, Paris, 1902; Bertrand, Histoire de la Cooperation en Belgique, Brussels; Beatrice Potter, The Cooperative Movement in Great Britain, London.

¹ Nevertheless bakery societies, or those instituted for making bread, profit better, both because the baker's art is rather easy, and because in well-organized bakeries (boulangeries) the price of bread is much diminished, as may be seen in Gide, Coop. de consommation, p. 84. - Socialists happily manage not a few productive societies; among these that one excels which is called Vooruit, concerning which read Le Vooruit, la cooperation et l'organisation socialiste en Belgique, in Musee social, Dec. 20, 1897; - about societies of the same kind in France, cf. Une Enquete sur les boulangeries cooperatives rurales, in Musee social, Dec. 1899. - How necessary it is for Catholics to institute cooperative societies is clear from the fact that socialists use these to spread their errors; for M. Lauzel says, Manuel du Cooperateur socialiste, Paris, 1900, p. 17: "In the hands of socialists, cooperation is only a means of socialist action, a powerful lever, capable of moving the capitalist world on its bases of individual property and social injustice. We do not wish to be cooperators for the satisfaction of diminishing a little the infinite misery of the proletariat: We wish to be cooperators in order to cooperate more efficaciously in the social revolution."

Whatever may be the case, if a priest has been the promoter of these societies, let him consent to lie hidden in secret, and commit the thing to be managed to upright and prudent laymen, who at the opportune time will render an account of the whole matter to the members.² It must likewise be guarded against that societies of this sort seem to bring some profit to the priests themselves; for if workers suspected this, they would soon be turned away from those societies.

² "I call quite particularly the attention of the founding Cure to this important point. Do you wish to have men in your church? Do you wish to form a numerous, lasting, and honorable meeting? Let them administer themselves. Give them a home of their own: they must not be at your home, but at theirs... The changes which have occurred for a century in French society have only made more imperative this need of autonomy, of self-government, as the English say." (L. de la R., Les Associations d'hommes, Marseilles, 1903, p. 7, 9.)

857. (D) Among those societies there are deservedly praised those banks which were first invented by Raiffeisen (caisses Raiffeisen), and are also called societies of mutual credit (pret mutuel), because they give money on loan, with the smallest interest.¹ They consist of farmers of the same parish, who possess certain immovables; these form a certain civil society, constituted according to the laws of each region; directors are elected, who fulfill their office gratis; only the treasurer (tresorier) receives some recompense, yet a minimum one. Now poor farmers can borrow money from the society, with the directors approving, if they promise to restore the capital with a small interest; each year the accounts are rendered to the presidents of the society; and if any profit remains, it is not distributed to the creditors, but is either kept, or is spent upon a work of public utility, e.g., for acquiring those recently invented machines by which the work of sowing and reaping is accomplished much more promptly and easily. - To these societies there can be attached insurances against fire, hail, pestilence of animals, etc.²

¹ A. Kannengieser, Catholiques allemands, Paris, 1892, p. 138-148; Max Turmann, Associations agricoles, p. 322-374; G. Malherbe, Le Raiffeisenisme, Brussels, 1902; C. Ract, Les Caisses de Famille, Paris, 1896.

² Max Turmann, op. cit. p. 375-408; de Rocquigny, Les petites Institutions mutuelles de prevoyance contre la mortalite des animaux, in Musee social, June 1898.

858. 3. Associations formed among the richer for aiding workers. Since workers can scarcely aid themselves and their own sufficiently by their own powers, it is necessary that societies be instituted among the richer for furnishing assistance to proletarians.³ Now, among those which have already been founded in various regions, these excel: -

³ Leo XIII certainly inculcates this, in the Encyclical Graves de Communi, where he says: "In a not dissimilar way that other head of offense must be removed from Christian democracy: namely, that it so places its cares in the advantages of the lower orders that it seems to pass over the higher; whose use, however, is no less for the conservation and perfection of society... Their benign work is especially advocated, to whom place, census, and cultivation of talent and soul conciliate somewhat more authority in the city."

(A) Societies for building healthy houses,⁴ which can be rented or sold to workers at a lower price. This indeed is of the greatest moment: for when workers inhabit a decent house, they not only remain well, but also think less of entering taverns, and live a domestic life which greatly favors good morals and social order. For this, however, it is also required that the wives of workers practically learn the art of attending cleanly and orderly to domestic affairs. - Hence among various Nations laws have been made by which advantages not to be despised are conferred on these societies, especially immunity from certain taxes.¹

⁴ Rostand, L'action sociale par l'initiative privee, t. I, p. 147; II, p. 313; Siegfried, Les Habitations a bon marche; Gans et Weber, L'Ouvrier stable et l'Habitation ouvriere, Paris, 1897; H. Barrau, Le Congres internat. des Habitations a bon marche, in Musee social, July 1900; C. Wright and Gould, The Housing of the Working People, 1895; J. Perez Canto, El Obrero propietario, Santiago de Chile, 1903; Reforme sociale, March 1, 1904, p. 382-395.

¹ For France see P. Pic, op. cit., n. 1368, where the laws of Nov. 30, 1894, and March 31, 1896, are set forth; for other regions, Ann. de legislation etrangere, 1898, p. 546; 1900, p. 26, etc.

(B) To these can be joined societies which rent or sell gardens to workers at a modest price;² for they can cultivate these with their own hands, and receive from them fruits by which they are helped not a little in domestic affairs; moreover, it has been found by experience that by the cultivation of gardens relations are made better between the rich, who rent them gratis or for a modest price, and workers who enjoy them, - drunkenness is diminished, - thrift is increased, - the vanity of socialism appears, insofar as cultivators of gardens perceive better the utility of private dominion.

² The origin, utility, and practical organization of these societies is described by L. Riviere, La Terre et l'Atelier, Jardins ouvriers, Paris, 1904; cf. D. Lancry, Une visite aux Jardins ouvriers de Sedan, in Democratie chretienne, Oct. 1897; Lemire, who wrote various things on this matter in the periodical Le Coin de terre et le Foyer.

859. (C) To these can be added various associations of insurance against fortuitous cases, or involuntary cessation from labor; for since workers themselves often cannot pay the whole sum of money for protecting themselves against diverse dangers, it is certainly expedient that they be helped in this matter by the richer: this can be done in such a way that when they furnish such a sum of money, benefactors lavish another equal or even twice greater one.³ - In certain regions, as in Germany, insurance is prescribed by civil law, and a fund is constituted from which pensions can be paid to all workers who labor under disease or old age: to this fund the workers themselves, masters, and the State contribute a determined sum of money. This system indeed has been attacked by many as too much invading the rights of private persons; in reality, however, it has had rather happy effects;⁴ whence, in other regions, laws more or less similar to the law which prevailed in Germany are being prepared. Catholics can favor these, yet watching that excessive power not be conceded to the State, but that their rights be preserved for private societies and individuals.

³ L. Lefebure, Le Devoir social, Paris, 1890, p. 217-247; 292-297.

⁴ P. Pic, n. 1388-1391, 1394. - In the same place, n. 1392-1393, what has been established in other regions is set forth; and n. 1396-1397, what has been proposed in France concerning this matter. Cf. Salauin, Les retraites ouvrieres en Belgique, in Musee social, June 1901, July 1902; Ghio, Les retraites ouvrieres en Italie, Musee social, Dec. 1902; Lemire, Discours sur les Caisses de retraites ouvrieres; Les Questions actuelles, t. LIX, 1901, pp. 354, 386, 418; t. LX, 1901, p. 2, 72, 107, 112, 130; t. LXVII, 1903, p. 56-63.

A remedy cannot so easily be brought to involuntary cessation from labor (chomage force). Yet this brings many evils with it; for it hands over a valid worker to idleness and to all the vices which follow from it, deprives him of the means of honestly supporting himself and his own, and not rarely makes the same man a beggar, a wanderer, and a drunkard.¹ This miserable condition is sometimes alleviated by private charity, especially when not only alms are given, but labor to be furnished is also offered; or also by workers' associations, which furnish to their members a modest sum of money until they are hired;² or by those private or public institutes, by whose help workers can more easily be hired (bureaux de placement),³ without being compelled on this account to undergo useless expenses; and certainly it is greatly to be desired that institutes of this sort be multiplied among Catholics. But since, notwithstanding all these means, not a few are compelled to be idle from work, in certain regions a new form of insurance has been created, by force of which the fund is increased which workers' associations divide among members hired by no one.⁴ Likewise, in certain cities, subventions have been granted to these associations:⁵ this indeed can be expedient at a time when a special crisis flourishes; but, outside this case, it is certainly better so to order the production of things that the number of those who cease involuntarily from work may be diminished.

¹ Varlez, Les Formes nouvelles de l'assurance contre le chomage, Paris, 1903, vividly describes these evils, p. 13-15; and also the remedies, p. 23-265; cf. Rostand, t. II, p. 817-897; t. III, p. 609-626; Gide, Econ. sociale, p. 235-244; Crafts, Practical Christian Sociology, New York, 1896, p. 138-146.

² Thus in the periodical Bulletin de l'Office du Travail, June 1903, p. 485-488, there is set forth what the Federation of typographers furnished in this matter; cf. M. Lecoq, L'Assistance par le travail en France, Paris, 1900.

³ Le Bailly, Bureaux Municipaux de Placement gratuit, Paris, 1890.

⁴ On this read Varlez, op. cit., p. 23-71.

⁵ Varlez, p. 248-254.

860. 4. Catholic associations by which workers can be aided either in cultivating virtues, or in fulfilling the offices of religion. For the social question is not only economic, but also and chiefly moral and religious. For in vain will the wage paid to workers be doubled, in vain will the price of those things which are necessary for food or clothing be diminished, or the hours consumed in laboring be shorter, unless at the same time the proletarians are well-moraled, sober, chaste, honest, and religious. For if they waste their wage and time in feasts, drinking-bouts, games of chance, and other things of this sort, their condition will become more miserable than before.¹ It is necessary therefore that Catholics enter societies for preparing better things for the people, for solidly instructing the ignorant, for vigorously strengthening the weak, and confirming the unstable in faith; and also for converting those who have been alienated from the true religion, and for gradually drawing all who already believe to a more perfect practice of virtues and religion.

¹ Leo XIII sets this forth excellently, in the Encyclical Graves de Communi: "Grant that the wages of those who hire out their work are doubled; that there is also cheapness of provision: yet, if the wage-earner hears those doctrines, as he is accustomed, and uses those examples, which allure to casting off reverence for the Deity and to corrupting morals, it is necessary that even his labors and property waste away. By trial and use it has been perceived that most workers live narrowly and miserably who, although they have work of shorter space and more abundant wage, nevertheless live with corrupt morals and no discipline of religion. Take away from souls the sentiments which Christian wisdom inserts and cultivates; take away providence, modesty, thrift, patience, and the other right habits of nature: you will pursue prosperity in vain, even if you strive much. This plainly is the cause why We have never exhorted Catholic men to enter assemblies for preparing better things for the people, and to introduce other similar institutes, without at the same time warning that these things be done under the auspice of religion, with it as helper and companion."

In this matter it is necessary today that priests assume as cooperators certain upright and pious laymen, who burn with zeal for souls. For everywhere socialists, positivists, and rationalists with all their powers daily strive to scatter their errors among the people; and unless Catholic priests and laymen unite counsels, powers, and efforts, and provoke one another by fraternal emulation to furnish better things, it will be impossible happily to resist the associated powers of adversaries, and to lead back to the right path those wandering from the way of truth.

861. (A) It is indeed greatly expedient to erect confraternities, for promoting piety among those who already cultivate religion; for in our days it is necessary that some faithful lead a more intense Christian life, who can instruct and edify others by words and examples; now confraternities, which, under the auspice and as promoter of a devoted priest, are often gathered to hear pious exhortations and to render life more conformable to the Gospel, contribute not a little to this more perfect practice of virtues. Among these certainly excels the sodality of the Third Order of St. Francis, whose members closely approach the religious life, without however breaking the bonds of family; for the spirit of this order is this, that luxury and vain delights be despised, and the poor be loved as bearing the image of Christ.¹

¹ On this see the Encyclical of Leo XIII Auspicato concessum, Sept. 17, 1882.

(B) Nor must those societies be omitted which, while they promote the sanctification of the members, lavish on others alms not only corporal, but also spiritual. Such are the Societies of St. Vincent de Paul, which F. Ozanam happily instituted and propagated; for the members visit the poor, and furnish to them not only temporal food, but also the bread of the divine word and of human consolation. Today's socialists indeed attack alms as injurious to the inborn nobility of man, which certainly can be true when it is given from ostentation; but Christian charity, which loves and aids men as brothers, brings nothing indecorous before itself, but rather fosters true fraternity and solidarity: "For there is no man so wealthy that he needs no one; no one is so needy that he cannot profit another in some way: this is inborn, that men confidently ask and benevolently bear help among themselves."²

² Encyclical Graves de Communi.

862. (C) For announcing the word of God to those who have wandered far from the Catholic faith, popular institutes have been created (instituts populaires, universites populaires),³ in which there come together, for peacefully disputing about moral and religious matters, on the one side learned Catholics, and on the other, plebeians who have said farewell to the practice of religion or even to faith. These institutes indeed in our days seem altogether necessary: for there are many who never enter churches, and therefore never hear the word of God; unless therefore Catholics go to those sheep which have perished, it can scarcely be hoped that these will ever return to the sheepfold. Therefore laymen and priests who try to lead wandering sheep back to salutary pastures are worthy of every honor.

³ On these see Max Turmann, L'Education populaire, p. 61-110, where those things which have already been instituted by Catholics in this matter are described.

(D) But since one of the vices which today brings the greatest detriment to workers is intemperance, or the abuse of intoxicating drinks, societies instituted for promoting temperance are very opportune. "For excess of this sort is a perpetual tinder of sin, and a fecund origin of miseries; it buries countless men and whole families in the worst ruin, and drags very many souls headlong into eternal destruction."⁴ Hence, in certain regions, especially Great Britain and America, societies have been instituted, whose members abstain altogether from the use of intoxicating drinks. But in France and the Latin regions, in which almost all are accustomed to drink wine, beer, or other fermented liquors, societies have been created in which the members promise to abstain altogether from distilled liquors (liqueurs distillees), and to use fermented liquors, such as wine, moderately. Therefore let priests promote those societies which can be better adapted to the character of each region, and let them not omit to furnish a good example in this matter. By laws also the making and commerce of alcohol can be restricted; by education received in schools and family this vice can be diminished; against a scourge of this sort science, morals, the State, and Religion must fight without ceasing.¹

⁴ Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, n. 262. - On the extent and remedies of this abuse see M. Vanlaer, L'Alcoolisme et ses remedes, Paris, 1897; J. Bertillon, L'Alcoolisme et les moyens de le combattre juges par l'experience, Paris, 1904; Cyclopedia of Temperance, New York.

¹ On this we disputed more fully in Tr. on Sins, n. 550-555.

863. Points to be noted for practice. So that priests may act more prudently, before they institute new works, let them carefully inspect those things which in the same region have already flourished for some time, so that, taught by the experience of others, they may avoid rocks and proceed safely. - Moreover Catholic action, of whatever sort it may be, will obtain a happier effect, if all associations, with the rights of each preserved, are joined in one and the same federation.² But in any diocese, Catholic priests and laymen should remain subject to the authority of the Bishops: "Finally We again and more gravely admonish this, that whatever plan, in the same cause, either individual men or associated men undertake to be accomplished, they should remember that they must obey the authority of the Bishops entirely."³ In reality in many dioceses special councils have been instituted for promoting and directing Catholic action; and deservedly indeed: for to new times new means of apostolate must be accommodated.⁴

² Hence, in Italy, the Holy Pontiff ordered that all Catholic associations be directed by Catholic Congresses; and it is certainly to be desired that in other regions Catholic Congresses be often gathered, under the auspice and leadership of sacred Prelates, in which common action can be determined by certain general rules.

³ Encyclical Graves de Communi.

⁴ "If labor is not imposed upon us as a necessity of existence, let us know how to embrace it and to labor at social works, syndicates, mutualities, and other forms of beneficent action." (Card. Richard, Mandement for Lent, 1904, p. 10.)

By these and other means which zeal for souls, informed by prudence, will suggest, the condition of workers will certainly be rendered better, and gradually all things will be restored in Christ.

Toniolo, Il concetto cristiano della democrazia [The Christian Concept of Democracy];¹ Chiaudano, Democrazia cristiana e movimento cattolico [Christian Democracy and the Catholic Movement];² Gayraud, Les Démocrates chrétiens, leur Doctrine et leur Programme [Christian Democrats: Their Doctrine and Their Program];³ Antoine, Démocratie politique et démocratie chrétienne [Political Democracy and Christian Democracy]; La Démocratie chrétienne [Christian Democracy]; a booklet published anonymously at Liège in 1899 by Le Bien du Peuple; Vermeersch, La nouvelle Encyclique sociale [The New Social Encyclical].

¹ This study, which obtained the greatest celebrity, first appeared in the periodical Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali e Discipline Ausiliarie, Rome, 1896. It was rendered into French under this title: La notion chrétienne de la démocratie [The Christian Notion of Democracy]. Paris, Maison de la Bonne Presse.

² Against the expediency of this appellation.

³ This work stirred no slight controversy concerning the Catholic character of democracy. In this controversy the author had as adversaries both the writer of certain letters sent in the month of March to the newspaper L’Univers, and the newspaper Osservatore Romano, and the aforementioned Toniolo. You have these documents in the periodical Questions Actuelles, vols. 48, 49.

77. In what manner we shall speak of Democracy. It would be equally foreign both to the argument of this work, which concerns principles absolutely true, and to our intention to take up those questions which can require one solution for some circumstances and times and another for others. Nevertheless, we are not thereby prohibited from presenting distinct accounts either of the words or of the controversies, especially since a just account of things is ordinarily the beginning of concord among minds.

Therefore, since in most regions Christian Democracy is most frequently discussed, and in three of them—in Belgium, France, and Italy—there is no slight dispute concerning the thing and the name, it seemed good to us to set forth, with the greatest clarity we can, what this appellation looks toward and what points, controversies being omitted, ought to be agreed among Catholics concerning this matter. There is also this special reason: that this name seems first to have been invented in Belgium, in the year 1891.⁴

⁴ Cf. the historical inquiry placed before our booklet La nouvelle Encyclique sociale [The New Social Encyclical].

78. In what various senses the name is used. It cannot be denied that many meanings are attached to this expression. Of these we shall give the principal ones, to which, unless we are mistaken, the remaining definitions can be reduced.

1) In its original and most proper signification, democracy designates a political regime by which the multitude or common people become in some manner participants in the commonwealth; that is, they obtain sovereignty in whole or in part. This democracy is called direct when laws are enacted and affairs determined by a plebiscite; indirect if magistrates who administer the commonwealth are appointed by popular suffrage; it is called mixed if the monarchical or aristocratic form is tempered by a certain rule of the people; pure if the other forms are entirely excluded.⁵ Hence it is evident that today the regime is democratic almost everywhere, though generally mixed; while scarcely anywhere—for example, in Switzerland—do traces remain of direct democracy, which many ancient states employed.

⁵ Cf. de Parieu, Principes de la politique [Principles of Politics], ch. 4.

If you use the name of democracy in this way, then those among Catholics who strive by zeal and work that a democratic form of government be introduced or preserved must be said to espouse the cause of Christian democracy,⁶ as must those who, regarding the growing authority of the people as an unavoidable fact, labor to bring it about that this regime be informed by Christian principles and morals.⁷ For the latter, the end is religious, and democracy is not a matter of great concern; the former, on the contrary, embrace democracy itself with their affection and desire that the Church join democracy to herself by association and alliance.

⁶ Thus, at the Congress of Blois (4 April 1899), those who in France are called Christian Democrats professed themselves to be “a distinctly republican, distinctly democratic, distinctly Christian party.”

⁷ In this manner democratic studies were proposed in the letter which appeared in L’Univers, 10 March 1899. Cf. Questions Actuelles, vol. 49. E. Schérer, La Démocratie et la France [Democracy and France], emphasizes the unconquerable necessity of the fact in these words: “It is unworthy of a serious man, whatever sentiment democracy may inspire in him, to flatter himself that it can be overcome.”

2) Then, leaving aside consideration of the political form, by the name of Christian democracy may be signified the popular party of those who, adhering to Catholic truth, under any regime favor the common people and apply themselves to their good and advantages. They favor the interests of the common people (in French you would say, the interests of the people, of the workers), just as others favor the interests of industry and of the middle class (the interests of industry, of the bourgeoisie).

3) But for some years the word democracy has begun to be employed in another, social sense, in which it designates a society in which, privileges having been suppressed, citizens enjoy equal rights, freely practice trades, and can aspire to every office.⁸

⁸ Cf., for example, M. Block, Petit dictionnaire politique et social [Little Political and Social Dictionary]. Paris, Perrin, 1896, s.v. “Démocratie.”

Sufficiently akin, though not entirely the same, is the acceptation of democracy among those who take the part of Christian democracy. For them a democratic regime is a regime which takes peculiar care for the lot of the common people; and democracy itself is nothing other than the complex of social relations, or a social order in which there is a general cooperation of all for the good of the lower classes. Yet a moderate care for the other classes is not repugnant to this cooperation.

And they call this democracy Christian, because this manner of ordering society would correspond especially well to the principles of the Gospel.⁹

⁹ They appeal, for example, to this passage of the Encyclical Rerum Novarum: “The sum of these things is this: whoever has received a greater abundance of goods by the gift of God, whether these be goods of the body and external things or goods of the mind, has received them for this reason, that he may employ them for his own perfection and, at the same time, as a minister of divine providence, for the advantage of others.”

79. Accordingly, to set forth more fully the things which are commonly¹⁰ pleasing to those who defend true¹¹ Christian Democracy:

¹⁰ For in concrete circumstances, according as the variety of circumstances bears, some declare that they desire one thing and others another (their program).

¹¹ For it cannot be doubted, after the things which we have seen done in Belgium and elsewhere, that there is a counterfeit species of patrons of Christian Democracy.

1) They are especially hostile to economic liberalism and socialism. Against liberalism they object chiefly to individualism and to the defective political theory according to which only a certain negative protection of rights would belong to the State. They reject socialism because of the hatred by which it separates the classes of citizens and because of the war which it declares upon the family and the private possession of goods.

2) No form of government is repugnant to them, nor do they seek the suppression of royal dignity; nevertheless, they sufficiently favor the enlargement of the political rights of the people. For through these they hope that they will better promote the cause of the people. From another quarter, the more the people increase in resources and the civil culture of all is perfected, the more, as though by a downward-flowing channel, a democratic form of political government is reached.¹²

¹² Cf. Gayraud, op. cit., pp. 14–144.

3) They enlist citizens of all classes into their party, and they do not wish to be regarded as a private party. But if they seem to make greater use of the common people, they say that this must be attributed to the indolence or prejudices by which many citizens of better fortune are hindered from complying with their counsels.

4) They assign a twofold reason why they aim so greatly at promoting the advantage of workers: both because they judge that, under the present constitution of society, the common people are treated unjustly and labor under many evils; and because, as they contend, the genuine administration of the commonwealth ought chiefly to redound to the good of the class which surpasses the others in number.

5) They perpetually rely upon the Encyclical Rerum Novarum; they especially favor associations of incorporated workers (corporations); in many matters in which workers cannot hope from liberty alone for an efficacious protection of their rights, they appeal to the protection of the State or of the law. Examples are: compensation for accidents, care for women and minors, and even for those who are strong in body, whom they wish to be free from labor either excessively prolonged or imposed without necessity on feast days or at night.

They affirm, moreover, that the present order of things needs correction in very many respects; and they consider that associations of citizens of the same condition (corporations) will be the principal instrument of reform and, as it were, the hinge of a better order.¹³

¹³ “The Christian democratic party is above all a social party, which wills and pursues, first and directly, profound reforms in the economic organization of this society.” Gayraud, op. cit., p. 159.

80. What things ought to be agreed among Catholics concerning these matters.

1) “No one of the various forms of the commonwealth is condemned in itself, since they contain nothing repugnant to Catholic doctrine.... Indeed, neither is it condemned in itself that the people should participate more or less in the commonwealth; and this, at certain times and under certain laws, can pertain not only to the advantage but also to the duty of citizens.” Leo XIII wrote these things in the Encyclical Immortale Dei (1 November 1885). Earlier the same Pontiff had warned that “the license of seditions is repugnant to reason.”

It follows from this that Christians are free, each according to his own persuasion, to favor the democratic form of political government by legitimate means, or to oppose it. But that the regime existing in fact be imbued with Christian principles, every true Christian will procure by desire and work.

Thus far concerning the first acceptation of the expression.

2) As regards the second: just as nobles, the wealthy, and men of the middle class are legitimately associated so that they may provide for their own advantage, so indeed are parties honestly constituted for the peculiar benefit of workers. Nevertheless, a party of this kind will be distinguished from the more general cause of good men as a part from the whole.

3) What, however, must be observed concerning the third signification?

a) Concerning the end of society, first, we must reject the error of many rationalists, who hold as the ultimate end of civil society some public good conceived in an abstract manner, or the good of some collective Being, and attribute to it a despotic authority over the citizens. That error must be rejected no less than the other, which has prevailed more in practice than in theory, and from which kings would reign for themselves. But “philosophy and Christian faith agree alike that the administration of the commonwealth belongs by nature, not to the advantage of those to whom it has been entrusted, but to the advantage of those who have been entrusted to them.”¹⁴ But that through this administration the good of the lowest class ought to be pursued more than that of the others can be freely disputed among Catholics.

¹⁴ Encyclical Rerum Novarum.

b) That in present-day society men who are devoted to servile arts are afflicted by many evils and must be assisted is inculcated far too openly in the Encyclical Rerum Novarum for it to be denied by a Catholic man.¹⁵

¹⁵ While we speak thus, we attribute to these letters the authority which in itself is common to Encyclicals. For through them the Supreme Pontiffs ordinarily propose authoritatively a doctrine infallibly and exclusively safe, to which, as coming from the legitimate Pastor and universal Legislator, external and internal assent is owed. Nevertheless, they do not exercise intensively the supreme authority which they possess unless they employ words which clearly signify the will to define, that is, to bind the universal Church by a definitive judgment to assent to a doctrine as infallibly true. Pius IX, for example, employed words of this kind at the end of the celebrated Encyclical Quanta Cura.

It is sufficient to adduce these passages: “We plainly see—and all agree—that provision must be made quickly and fittingly for men of the lowest lot, since the greatest part of them are undeservedly placed in a miserable and calamitous condition.”¹⁶

¹⁶ This very word, and the reasons which are immediately added, do not permit you to distort the expression into the signification of moral misery.

“As regards the protection of bodily and external goods, first of all the wretched workers must be delivered from the cruelty of greedy men who intemperately use persons as things for gain.” In the same place various things which must be protected are indicated. “On one side, a party powerful because exceedingly wealthy.... On the other, a needy and powerless multitude.”

To what extent, however, in this or that region the common people are oppressed by evils of this kind is left undecided by the pontifical letter.

c) That workers, through institutions and laws, “have been handed over isolated and defenseless”; that their associations have the greatest power to remedy present evils; and that there is a place for the opportune intervention of public power: these things are expressly taught in the aforementioned Encyclical. Yet to what extent the evils cohere with the present manner of practicing the trades (with mechanization and capitalism, as they say); in what manner workers are to be assisted by the protection of the commonwealth, and their associations organized; and to what extent, finally, the present social ordering is to be changed for the better: concerning these things, so far as concerns the Encyclical, a free option is permitted.

81. Concerning what matters Catholics chiefly disagree.

1) Whether or not it is expedient to call the universal cause of good men by a new name (Christian Democracy).

2) What must be held theoretically concerning certain points; for example, by what title a family wage must be paid.

3) What must be thought concerning the present state of affairs, since some incline to a harsher interpretation and others to a milder one.

82. Consequences of the things said.

1) Leaving aside both those who rather manifestly support the tenets of the liberals, and those who all but openly sow hatreds and discords after the manner of the socialists, those who are called Catholics in the true sense, as regards the matter, at least if you consider doctrines or principles,¹⁷ do not seem to disagree greatly among themselves; and so many endeavors are common that the few things which are disputed cannot greatly obstruct concord among minds.¹⁸ Add also that several things which are less clearly evident are to be left by each side to the expediency of times and circumstances. For all who are wise, whether they adhere to democracy or oppose it, will neither imprudently thrust new things upon society, nor, if it is later established that something in the present order must be corrected, will they refuse their labor.

¹⁷ We add this because, concerning execution (putting into practice), perhaps there is greater disagreement in certain regions and among Catholics. For those who abound in resources easily fear that burdensome duties must be sustained by them and that the loss of many things must be borne. But to move the minds of those who are pious and religious, it will always be better to insist firmly but prudently than, by a violent or precipitate manner of acting, to give them cause openly to resist your undertakings and to harden themselves in their former way contrary to your desires.

¹⁸ The same is affirmed by the distinguished Toniolo at the beginning of his study.

2) Bitter dissensions have flowed less from arguments than from the manner of speaking and acting by which persons were offended; and above all it is to be deplored how, in certain newspapers, the things which are said and done by Catholic men who favor the other opinion are subjected to greater ridicule, reproaches, or suspicions than if they were the sayings or deeds of an open enemy.

3) Nothing has harmed Democracy more than the evident excesses of certain persons;¹⁹ and it is especially to be desired for that cause that they employ the works of all classes to accomplish the things which they contemplate for the benefit of the common people. For in this way the advantage of the poor and workers will be served more efficaciously. In this matter we shall be greatly assisted if we employ methods which savor not only of Christian firmness but also of meekness and longanimity.

¹⁹ Hence there are some who, in order that occasions of error be cut off, judge that the expression Catholic democracy should be substituted for the name Christian democracy.

4) All must strive with a sincere will toward this: that they obey those wishes of the Holy See and of the sacred Prelates which more than once have been expressed,²⁰ and, internal contests being omitted except when an opportunity is given to deliberate peacefully concerning them, that “with minds and endeavors united,” all contend for that “which is the common purpose of all: to preserve religion and the commonwealth.” At the end of this commentary, it is worth the effort to recall other admonitions which the Supreme Pontiff gives at the end of the Encyclical Immortale Dei concerning the manner in which those things “about which honorable disagreement can exist” are to be disputed. “If there was any dissension beforehand,” the Supreme Pastor thus continues, “it is necessary to destroy it by a certain voluntary forgetfulness; if anything was done rashly, if anything unjustly, to whomsoever that fault may at last belong, it must be compensated for by mutual charity and redeemed by a certain special obedience of all toward the Apostolic See.”

²⁰ The documents which more properly concern Belgium you have in our Manuel social [Social Manual], pp. 219, 232–234 (1st ed.). There should be added the letter of the Most Reverend Bishop of Liège, sent from Rome to the Reverend Father D. Rutten on 18 April 1899, with the preface of the Bien Public of the same month.

82bis. What the Encyclical Graves de Communi taught.²¹ Of these things written earlier, no part seems to us to be retracted or corrected after Leo XIII determined to deliver authentic documents to Catholics concerning this argument. For in the Encyclical Letter Graves de Communi, socialism again having been repudiated, the Supreme Pontiff in the first part permits Catholics, while retaining the social use of the word Democracy, to call by the name Christian Democracy “the endeavor to console and elevate the common people,” which “according to the natural and divine law tends to this alone: that those who sustain life by hand and craft be brought into a more tolerable condition and gradually have the means by which they may provide for themselves; that at home and openly they may freely fulfill the duties of the virtues and of religion; that they may feel themselves to be, not animals, but men; not pagans, but Christians; and thus that they may strive more easily and zealously toward that one necessary thing, toward the ultimate good for which we were born.” At the same time, as from something Christian, he wishes various causes of offense removed from it:

²¹ Our humble commentaries on these letters, set forth in the booklet La nouvelle Encyclique sociale [The New Social Encyclical], were offered to the Supreme Pontiff together with this work De Iustitia and were kindly honored by a letter given by him.

“Lest, under any concealed endeavor, a popular state be fostered or preferred to the other political forms; lest the virtue of the Christian religion appear to be narrowed to the advantages of the common people, as though the other classes of the commonwealth were set aside; lest, finally, under a painted name there lie hidden some design of detracting from any legitimate authority, civil or sacred.”

To Our Venerable Brethren, All Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Bishops and Other Ordinaries in Peace and Communion With the Apostolic See.

Venerable Brothers, Health and Apostolic Benediction.

THE grave discussions on economical questions which for some time past have disturbed the peace of several countries of the world are growing in frequency and intensity to such a degree, that the minds of thoughtful men are filled, and rightly so, with worry and alarm. These discussions take their rise in the bad philosophical and ethical teaching which is now widespread among the people. The changes also which the mechanical inventions of the age have introduced, the rapidity of communication between places and the devices of every kind for diminishing labor and increasing gain all add bitterness to the strife; and lastly matters have been brought to such a pass by the struggle between capital and labor, fomented as it is by professional agitators, that the countries where these disturbances most frequently occur, find themselves confronted with ruin and disaster.

At the very beginning of Our Pontificate We clearly pointed out what the peril was which confronted Society on this head, and We deemed it Our duty to warn Catholics, in unmistakable language, how great the error was which was lurking in the utterances of Socialism, and how great the danger was that threatened not only their temporal possessions, but also their morality and religion. That was the purpose of Our Encyclical Letter Quod Apostolici Muneris which we published on the 18th of December in the year 1878; but as these dangers day by day threatened still greater disaster, both to individuals and the commonwealth, We strove with all the more energy to avert them. This was the object of Our Encyclical Rerum Novarum of the 15th May, 1891, in which We dwelt at length on the rights and duties which both classes of Society—those, namely, who control capital, and those who contribute labor—are bound in relation to each other; and at the same time, We made it evident that the remedies which are most useful to protect the cause of Religion, and to terminate the contest between the different classes of Society, were to be found in the precepts of the Gospel.

Nor, with God’s grace, were Our hopes entirely frustrated. Even those who are not Catholics, moved by the power of truth, avowed that the Church must be credited with a watchful care over all classes of Society, and especially those whom fortune had least favored. Catholics of course profited abundantly by these Letters, for they not only received encouragement and strength for the admirable enterprises in which they were engaged but also obtained the light which they desired, by the help of which they were able with greater safety and with more plentiful blessings to continue the efforts which they had been making in the matter of which We are now speaking. Hence it happened that the differences of opinion which prevailed among them were either removed or their acrimony diminished and the discussion laid aside. In the work which they had undertaken this was effected, viz.: that in their efforts for the elevation of the poorer classes, especially in those places where the trouble is greatest, many new enterprises were set on foot ; those which were already established were increased and all reaped the blessing of a greater stability imparted to them. Some of these works were called Bureaus of the People, their object being to supply information. Rural Savings Banks had been established, and various Associations, some for mutual aid, others, of relief, were organized. There were Working Men's Societies and other enterprises for work or beneficence. Thus under the auspices of the Church, united action of Catholics was secured as well as wise discrimination exercised in the distribution of help for the poor, who are often as badly dealt with by chicanery and exploitation of their necessities, as they are oppressed by indigence and toil. These schemes of popular benevolence were, at first, distinguished by no particular appellation. The name of Christian Socialism with its derivatives which was adopted by some was very properly allowed to fall into disuse. Afterwards some asked to have it called The Popular Christian Movement. In the countries most concerned with this matter, there are some who are known as Christian Socialists. Elsewhere the movement is described as Christian Democracy, and its partisans Christian Democrats, in contradistinction to those who are designated as Socialists, and whose system is known as Social Democracy. Not much exception is taken to the former, i.e., Christian Socialism, but many excellent men find the term Christian Democracy objectionable. They hold it to be very ambiguous and for this reason open to two objections. It seems by implication to covertly favor popular government, and to disparage other methods of political administration. Secondly, it appears to belittle religion by restricting its scope to the care of the poor, as if the other sections of Society were not of its concern. More than that, under the shadow of its name, there might easily lurk a design to attack all legitimate power either civil or sacred. Wherefore, since this discussion is now so widespread, so exaggerated and so bitter, the consciousness of duty warns Us to put a check on this controversy and to define what Catholics are to think on this matter. We also propose to describe how the movement may extend its scope and be made more useful to the commonwealth.

What Social Democracy is and what Christian Democracy ought to be, assuredly no one can doubt. The first, with due consideration to the greater or less intemperance of its utterance, is carried to such an excess by many as to maintain that there is really nothing existing above the natural order of things, and that the acquirement and enjoyment of corporal and external goods constitute man’s happiness. It aims at putting all government in the hands of the people, reducing all ranks to the same level, abolishing all distinction of class, and finally introducing community of goods. Hence, the right of ownership is to be abrogated, and whatever property a man possesses, or whatever means of livelihood he has, is to be common to all.

As against this, Christian Democracy, by the fact that it is Christian, is built, and necessarily so, on the basic principles of Divine Faith, and provides for the betterment of the masses, with the ulterior object of availing itself of the occasion to fashion their minds for things which are everlasting. Hence, for Christian Democracy justice is sacred; it must maintain that the right of acquiring and possessing property cannot be impugned, and it must safeguard the various distinctions and degrees which are indispensable in every well-ordered commonwealth. Finally it must endeavor to preserve in every human society the form and the character which God ever impresses on it. It is clear, therefore, that there is nothing in common between Social and Christian Democracy. They differ from each other as much as the sect of Socialism differs from the profession of Christianity.

Moreover it would be a crime to distort this name of Christian Democracy to politics, for although democracy, both in its philological and philosophical significations, implies popular government, yet in its present application it is so to be employed that, removing from it all political significance, it is to mean nothing else than a benevolent and Christian movement in behalf of the people. For the laws of nature and of the Gospel, which by right are superior to all human contingencies, are necessarily independent of all modifications of civil government, while at the same time they are in concord with everything that is not repugnant to morality and justice. They are, therefore, and they must remain absolutely free from political parties, and have nothing to do with the various changes of administration which may occur in a nation; so that Catholics may and ought to be citizens according to the constitution of any state, guided as they are by those laws which command them to love God above all things, and their neighbors as themselves. This has always been the discipline of the Church. The Roman Pontiffs acted upon this principle, whenever they dealt with different countries, no matter what might be the character of their governments. Hence, the mind and the action of Catholics who are devoted to the amelioration of the working classes, can never be actuated with the purpose of favoring and introducing one government in place of another.

In the same manner, from Christian Democracy, We must remove another possible subject of reproach, namely: that while looking after the advantage of the working people they should act in such a manner as to forget the upper classes of Society ; for they also are of the greatest use in preserving and perfecting the commonwealth. As We have explained, the Christian law of charity will prevent Us from so doing. For it extends to all classes of Society, and all should be treated as members of the same family, as children of the same Heavenly Father, as redeemed by the same Saviour, and called to the same eternal heritage. Hence the doctrine of the Apostle who warns us that : “we are one body and one spirit called to the one hope in our vocation; one Lord, one Faith and one Baptism ; one God and the Father of all who is above all, and through all, and in us all.” Wherefore on account of the nature of the union which exists between the different classes of Society and which Christian brotherhood makes still closer, it follows that no matter how great Our devotion may be in helping the people, We should all the more keep Our hold upon the upper classes, because association with them is proper and necessary, as We shall explain later on, for the happy issue of the work in which We are engaged.

Let there be no question of fostering under this name of Christian Democracy any intention of diminishing the spirit of obedience, or of withdrawing people from their lawful rulers. Both the natural and the Christian law command us to revere those who, in their various grades, are above us in the State, and to submit ourselves to their just commands. It is quite in keeping with our dignity as men and Christians to obey, not only exteriorly but from the heart, as the Apostle expresses it, for conscience sake, when he commands us to keep our soul subject to the higher powers. It is abhorrent to the profession of a Christian for any one to be unwilling to be subject and obedient to those who rule in the Church, and first of all to the bishops whom (without prejudice to the universal power of the Roman Pontiff) “the Holy Ghost has placed to rule the Church of God which Christ has purchased by His blood” (Acts xx. 28). He who thinks or acts otherwise is guilty of ignoring the grave precept of the Apostle who bids us to obey our rulers and to be subject to them, for they watch, having to give an account of our souls. Let the faithful everywhere implant these principles deep in their souls, and put them in practice in their daily life, and let the ministers of the Gospel meditate them profoundly, and incessantly labor not merely by exhortation but especially by example to make them enter into the souls of others.

We have recalled these matters which on other occasions We have made the subject of Our instructions, in the hope that all dissension about the name of Christian Democracy will cease and that all suspicion of any danger coming from what the name signifies will be put at rest. And with reason do We hope so; for neglecting the opinions of certain men, with regard to the power and the efficacy of this kind of Christian Democracy, which at times are exaggerated and are not free from error, let no one however condemn that zeal which, according to the natural and Divine law, has this for its object, viz.: to make the condition of those who toil more tolerable; to enable them to obtain, little by little, those means by which they may provide for the future; to help them to practice in public and in private the duties which morality and religion inculcate; to aid them to feel that they are not animals but men, not heathens but Christians, and so to enable them to strive more zealously and more eagerly for the one thing which is necessary, viz.: that ultimate good for which we are all born into this world. This is the intention; this is the work of those who wish that the people should be animated by Christian sentiments and should be protected from the contamination of Socialism which threatens them.

We have designedly made mention here of virtue and religion. For, it is the opinion of some, and the error is already very common, that the social question is merely an economic one, whereas in point of fact, it is above all a moral and religious matter, and for that reason must be settled by the principles of morality and according to the dictates of religion. For even though wages are doubled and the hours of labor are shortened and food is cheapened, yet if the workingman hearkens to the doctrines that are taught on this subject, as he is prone to do, and is prompted by the examples set before him to throw off respect for God and to enter upon a life of immorality, his labors and his gain will avail him naught.

Trial and experience have made it abundantly clear that many a workman lives in cramped and miserable quarters, in spite of his shorter hours and larger wages, simply because he has cast aside the restraints of morality and religion. Take away the instinct which Christian virtue has planted and nurtured in men’s hearts, take away prudence, temperance, frugality, patience and other correct natural habits, no matter how much he may strive, he will never achieve prosperity. That is the reason why We have incessantly exhorted Catholics to enter these associations for bettering the condition of the laboring classes, and to organize other undertakings with the same object in view; but We have likewise warned them that all this should be done under the auspices of religion, with its help and under its guidance.

The zeal of Catholics on behalf of the masses is especially noteworthy by the fact that it is engaged in the very field in which, under the benign inspiration of the Church, the active industry of charity has always labored, adapting itself in all cases to the varying exigencies of the times. For the law of mutual charity perfects, as it were, the law of justice, not merely by giving each man his due and in not impeding him in the exercise of his rights, but also by befriending him in case of need, “not with the word alone, or the lips, but in deed and in truth”; being mindful of what Christ so lovingly said to His own: “A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you love also one another. By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for the other.” This zeal in coming to the rescue of Our fellowmen should, of course, be solicitous, first for the imperishable good of the soul, but it must not neglect what is necessary and helpful for the body.

We should remember what Christ said to the disciples of the Baptist who asked Him: “Art Thou He that art to come or look we for another?” He invoked, as the proof of the mission given to Him among men, His exercise of charity, quoting for them the text of Isaias: “The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Matth. xi. 5). And speaking also of the last judgment and of the rewards and punishments He will assign, He declared that He would take special account of the charity men exercised towards each other. And in that discourse there is one thing that especially excites our surprise, viz.: that Christ omits those works of mercy which comfort the soul and refers only to external works which, although done in behalf of men, He regards as being done to Himself. “For I was hungry and you gave Me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; naked and you covered Me; sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me” (Matth. xxv. 35).

To the teachings which enjoin the twofold charity of spiritual and corporal works, Christ adds His own example so that no one may fail to recognize the importance which He attaches to it. In the present instance we recall the sweet words that came from His paternal heart: “I have pity on the multitude ” (Mark vii. 2), as well as the desire He had to assist them even if it were necessary to invoke His miraculous power. Of His tender compassion we have the proclamation made in Holy Writ, viz.: that “He went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil ” (Acts x. 38). This law of charity which He imposed upon His apostles they in the most holy and zealous way put into practice; and after them those who embraced Christianity originated that wonderful variety of institutions for alleviating all the miseries by which mankind is afflicted. And these institutions carried on and continually increased their powers of relief and were the especial glories of Christianity and of the civilization of which it was the source, so that right-minded men never fail to admire those foundations, aware as they are of the proneness of men to concern themselves about their own and neglect the needs of others.

Nor are we to eliminate from the list of good works the giving of money for charity, in pursuance of what Christ has said: “ But yet that which remaineth, give alms ” (Luke xi. 41). Against this, the Socialist cries out and demands its abolition as injurious to the native dignity of man. But if it is done in the manner which the Scripture enjoins (Matth. vi. 2), and in conformity with the true Christian spirit, it neither connotes pride in the giver nor inflicts shame upon the one who receives. Far from being dishonorable for man it draws closer the bonds of human society by augmenting the force of the obligation of the duties which men are under with regard to each other. No one is so rich that he does not need another’s help; no one so poor as not to be useful in some way to his fellowman; and the disposition to ask assistance from others with confidence, and to grant it with kindness, is part of our very nature. Thus justice and charity are so linked with each other, under the equable and sweet law of Christ, as to form an admirable cohesive power in human society and to lead all of its members to exercise a sort of providence in looking after their own and in seeking the common good as well.

As regards not merely the temporary aid given to the laboring classes, but the establishment of permanent institutions in their behalf, it is most commendable for charity to undertake them. It will thus see that more certain and more reliable means of assistance will be afforded to the necessitous. That kind of help is especially worthy of recognition which forms the minds of mechanics and laborers to thrift and foresight so that in course of time they may be able, in part at least, to look out for themselves. To aim at that is not only to dignify the duty of the rich towards the poor, but to elevate the poor themselves; for while it urges them to work for a better degree of comfort in their manner of living, it preserves them meantime from danger by checking extravagance in their desires, and acts as a spur in the practice of the virtues proper to their state. Since, therefore, this is of such great avail and so much in keeping with the spirit of the times, it is a worthy object for charity to undertake with all prudence and zeal.

Let it be understood, therefore, that this devotion of Catholics to comfort and elevate the mass of the people is in keeping with the spirit of the Church and is most conformable to the examples which the Church has always held up for imitation. It matters very little whether it goes under the name of “The Popular Christian Movement,” or “Christian Democracy,” if the instructions that have been given by Us be fully carried out with the submission that is due. But it is of the greatest importance that Catholics should be one in mind, will and action in a matter of such great moment. And it is also of importance that the influence of these undertakings should be extended by the multiplication of men and means devoted to the same object.

Especially must there be appeals to the kindly assistance of those whose rank, worldly wealth and culture give them importance in the community. If their help is excluded, scarcely anything can be done which will be of any assistance for the wants which now clamor for satisfaction in this matter of the well-being of the people. Assuredly the more earnestly many of those who are prominent in the State conspire effectively to attain that object the quicker and surer will the end be reached. We wish them to understand that they are not at all free to look after or neglect those who happen to be beneath them, but that it is a strict duty which binds them. For no one lives only for his personal advantage in a community; he lives for the common good as well, so that when others cannot contribute their share for the general object, those who can do so are obliged to make up the deficiency. The very extent of the benefits they have received increases the burden of their responsibility, and a stricter account will have to be rendered to God who bestowed those blessings upon them. What should also urge all to the fulfilment of their duty in this regard is the widespread disaster which will eventually fall upon all classes of Society, if this assistance does not arrive in time ; and therefore is it that he who neglects the cause of the distressed poor is not doing his duty to himself or to the State.

If this social movement extends its scope far and wide in a true Christian fashion, and grows in its proper and genuine spirit, there will be no danger, as is feared, that those other institutions, which the piety of our ancestors has^† established and which are now flourishing, will decline or be absorbed by new foundations. Both of them spring from the same root of charity and religion, and not only do not conflict with each other, but can be made to coalesce and combine so perfectly as to provide by a union of their benevolent resources in a more efficacious manner against the graver perils and necessities of the people which confront us to-day.

The condition of things at present proclaims, and proclaims vehemently, that there is need for a union of brave minds with all the resources they can command. The harvest of misery is before Our eyes, and the dreadful projects of the most disastrous national upheavals are threatening Us from the growing power of the socialistic movement. They have insidiously worked their way into the very heart of the State, and in the darkness of their secret gatherings, and in the open light of day, in their writings and their harangues, they are urging the masses onward to sedition ; they fling aside religious discipline, they scorn duties and clamor only for rights ; they are working incessantly on the multitudes of the needy which daily grow greater, and which, because of their poverty, are easily deluded and hurried off into ways that are evil. It is equally the concern of the State and of Religion, and all good men should deem it a sacred duty to preserve and guard both in the honor which is their due.

That this most desirable agreement of wills should be maintained, it is essential that all refrain from giving any causes of dissension in hurting and alienating the minds of others. Hence in newspapers and in speeches to the people, let them avoid subtle and useless questions which are neither easy to solve nor to understand except by minds of unusual ability and only after the most serious study. It is quite natural for people to think differently in doubtful questions, but those who address themselves to these subjects in a proper spirit will preserve their mental calm and not forget the respect which is due to those who differ from them. If minds see things in another light it is not necessary to become alienated forthwith. To whatever opinion a man’s judgment may incline, if the matter is yet open to discussion let him keep it, provided his mental attitude is such that he is ready to yield if the Holy See should otherwise decide.

This Catholic action, of whatever description it may be, will work with greater effect if all of the various associations, while preserving their individual rights, move together under one primary and directive force.

In Italy We desire that this directive force should emanate from the Catholic Congresses and Reunions so often praised by Us, to further which Our Predecessor and We Ourselves have ordered that these meetings should be controlled and guided by the Bishops of the country. So let it be for other nations, in case there be any leading organization of this description to which this matter has been legitimately entrusted.

Now in all questions of this sort where the interests of the Church and the Christian people are so closely allied, it is evident what they who are in the sacred ministry should do, and it is clear how industrious they should be in inculcating right doctrine and in teaching the duties of prudence and charity. To go out and move among the people, to exert a healthy influence on them by adapting themselves to the present condition of things, is what more than once in addressing the clergy We have advised. More frequently also in writing to the Bishops and other dignitaries of the Church, and especially of late (to the Minister General of the Minorites, November 25, 1898) We have lauded this affectionate solicitude for the people and declared it to be the especial duty of both the secular and regular clergy. But in the fulfilment of this obligation let there be the greatest caution and prudence exerted, and let it be done after the fashion of the saints. Francis, who was poor and humble, Vincent of Paul, the Father of the afflicted classes, and very many others whom the Church keeps ever in her memory, were wont to lavish their care upon the people, but in such wise as not to be engrossed overmuch or to be unmindful of themselves or to let it prevent them from laboring with the same assiduity in the perfection of their own soul and the cultivation of virtue.

There remains one thing upon which We desire to insist very strongly, in which not only the ministers of the Gospel, but also all those who are devoting themselves to the cause of the people, can with very little difficulty bring about a most commendable result. That is to inculcate in the minds of the people, in a brotherly way and whenever the opportunity presents itself, the following principles, viz.: to keep aloof on all occasions from seditious acts and seditious men; to guard inviolate the rights of others; to show a proper respect to superiors; to willingly perform the work in which they are employed; not to grow weary of the restraint of family life which in many ways is so advantageous; to keep to their religious practices above all, and in their hardships and trials to have recourse to the Church for consolation. In the furtherance of all this, it is very efficacious to propose the splendid example of the Holy Family of Nazareth, and to advise the invocation of its protection, and it also helps to remind the people of the examples of sanctity which have shone in the midst of poverty, and to hold up before them the reward that awaits them in the better life to come.

Finally We recur again to what We have already declared and We insist upon it most solemnly, viz.: that whatever projects individuals or associations form in this matter should be done with due regard to Episcopal authority and absolutely under Episcopal guidance. Let them not be led astray by an excessive zeal in the cause of charity. If it leads them to be wanting in proper submission it is not a sincere zeal; it will not have any useful result and cannot be acceptable to God. God delights in the souls of those who put aside their own designs and obey the rulers of His Church as if they were obeying Him; He assists them even when they attempt difficult things and benignly leads them to their desired end. Let them show also examples of virtue, so as to prove that a Christian is a hater of idleness and indulgence, that he gives willingly from his goods for the help of others, and that he stands firm and unconquered in the midst of adversity. Examples of that kind have a power of moving people to dispositions of soul that make for salvation, and have all the greater force as the condition of those who give them is higher in the social scale.

We exhort you, Venerable Brethren, to provide for all this, as the necessities of men and of places may require, according to your prudence and your zeal, meeting as usual in council to combine with each other in your plans for the furtherance of these projects. Let your solicitude watch and let your authority be effective in controlling, compelling, and also in preventing, lest any one under the pretext of good should cause the rigor of sacred discipline to be relaxed or the order which Christ has established in His Church to be disturbed. Thus by the correct, concurrent, and ever-increasing labor of all Catholics, the truth will flash out more brilliantly than ever, viz.: that truth and true prosperity flourish especially among those people whom the Church controls and influences; and that she holds it as her sacred duty to admonish every one of what the law of God enjoins, to unite the rich and the poor in the bonds of fraternal charity, and to lift up and strengthen men’s souls in the times when adversity presses heavily upon them.

Let Our commands and Our wishes be confirmed by the words which are so full of apostolic charity which the Blessed Paul addressed to the Romans: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, be reformed in the newness of your mind ; he that giveth, with simplicity; he that ruleth, with carefulness ; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation—hating that which is evil; clinging to that which is good; loving one another with the charity of brotherhood; with honor preventing one another; in carefulness, not slothful ; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation ; instant in prayer; communicating to the necessities of the saints; pursuing hospitality. Rejoice with them that rejoice; weep with them that weep; being of one mind to one another ; to no man rendering evil for evil; providing good things not only in the sight of God but also in the sight of men.”

As a pledge of these benefits receive the Apostolic Benediction which, Venerable Brethren, We grant most lovingly in the Lord to you and your clergy and people.

Given at Rome in St. Peter’s, the 18th day of January 1901, in the 23d year of Our Pontificate.

LEO XIII., POPE.