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Show SPIRIT OF INSUBORDINATION Pius X's Encyclical a Strong Document-Disobedience Document-Disobedience of the Clergy to Be Deplored De-plored Bishops Should Exercise Vigilance Vigi-lance in Seminaries and in the Conduct of the Priesthood in the Discharge .of Their Sacred Functions, .and .Their. Worldly Actions. (Written for The InternnHintain Catholic.) A magnificent letter teeming with forceful and pertinent truths concerning the cancer of insubordination insubor-dination now threatening ti eat its way through tho virile body of the priesthood of the Catholic church has recently been addressed to the Bishop of Italy by Pope Pius X. and every line of this puissant and grand epistle of the present liberal, saintly and broad-minded successor of St." Peter will aptly apply to every diocese of the Catholia ; universe. ' Whatever weakness exists within the church. ' says His Holiness, is due to insubordination, from ! which all disaffection springs, not only in ecclesias- ' tical life, but in domestic and social domains a well. Anarchism, popular communism, liberalism in doctrine, false notions of independence, and a i J general depreciation of the rights of authority are i the noxious influences that pervade modern society j and weaken the efforts and teachings of Christian- j ity. Many bishops are testifying to the spirit of j insubordination now manifesting its dragon head! among many of the younger clergy. "We have before us." writes the Pontiff, '"let- ters of complaint from not a few members of tho ! episcopate, written with bitter sadness and regret ; because of the spirit of insubordination and independence inde-pendence which is gaining ' ground among our clergy." The letter, while written in the Pontiff's usual simple yet forceful manner, betrays a remarkable remark-able knowledge of the ecclesia doeem (bod v of ! pastors and teachers) throughout ' the vvKoIe world, j foretelling, as it does, to a prodigious degree the I terrible consequences that will surely follow the 'I penetration of the ghastly spirit of rebellion into I the minds of the priests, a sanctified army ot men I whom the Holy Spirit of God designates a royal race, whose cardinal characteristic is loyal obedi- enee and charity. J Pope Pius emphasizes the fact that it is among the younger clergy that this evil makes its inroads, I from which arise all manner of novel and false l theories touching the duty of priestly obedience. ; We quote from the epistle direct : I "What is worse, there are those disaffected spir- ; I its who. in order to gain numerous associates to j propagate their rebellious notions, set themselves ; ! secretly to instil the evil among the students in! 5 our seminaries who are preparing for the priest-j t hood." What a dreadful accusation this is, coming j. from the foremost head of Christendom. It dis- j covers a terrible state of affairs which, if Christ j the God were not back wf the organization He j founded on a rock, would certainly work its tragic) ruin. It is a trumpet call to all the bishops of tho j whole world to display the hand of a Bismarck j and the sternness of a Caesar in dealing with those i who flout legal ecclesiastical commands. Such j black shepherds, such archangels of insurrection, j ; should be driven from the House of God with' scourging words, j This evil is not confined to Italy. We see it ! at home in various forms. Disrespect for author- j ! ity in church and state are manifest ou all sides; pride, worldliness, no soirit of mortification, but a strong tendency to frequent places of public , amusement, are among the evils to be deplored j among the professional and worldly-minded clergy. ; If these were no harm in themselves, the example j is. because anything that tends to make the priest- ; ; hood worldly minded hurts the unthinking laity. ' Catholic and non-Catholic, exceedingly. There is! only one heroic remedy. The power should be , placed, if it is not so now, in the Ordinary to ex- j pel or unfrock a member of the eeele.-da docens if, after two or three cautions, he or she refuses obedience; obe-dience; for if the church lose these rebellious branches, it would gain in morality, membership, discipline and power for good. ' Besides, a few examples ex-amples might suffice to efface all disobedience. His Holiness says that the bishops, who owe their allegiance to him, should stir up the timid and awaken the sentinels at their posts, lest the army be destroyed. They are bidden to remember remem-ber St. Paul's admonition to Titus. Make use of thy authority to bring before thee the guilty, and let no man gainsay the dignity of thy office. "Be vigorous in exacting from your priests and clerics that obedience which, if it be absolutely binding upon the faithful in general, constitutes likewise one of the principal obligations of the priesthood." Pope Pius would have the bishops restrict the too great facility of organization which has brought untold misery on the church in the past. The Sovereign Pontiff thinks that the end to be accomplished can be reached by the bishops ruling rul-ing wisely and firmly, but not governing in a domineering dom-ineering or too despotic manner. A gentle and firm unbending in defense of obedience seems to be the golden mean. Tn the following words Pope Pius deems prevention the best cure: "In order to prevent in time the increase of those rebellious dispositions in your midst. Venerable Vener-able Brethren, we would have you remember tho injunction of St. Paul to Timothy: 'Impose not hands rashly upon any one.' For it is the facility Continued on Page 4. ) SPIRIT OF INSUBORDINATION. Continued from Page 1. which you permit in admitting persons to sacred orders that naturajly opens the gates to the entrance en-trance into the sanctuary of the class of men who become the source of sorrow to our people." The Head of the Catholie Church then goes on to censure the local conditions of Italy which permit per-mit the number of priests to exceed the needs of the faithful. lie asks how a bishop can answer for having frequently imposed hands upon men for whom he could not provide adequate work in the holy ministry. Xor does he admit the claims and insistence of candidates to be ordained as a sufficient suffi-cient reason for their admission to sacred orders. Such a condition does not obtain here, where priests are in great demand. The epistle goes on to say : "The priesthood of Jesus Christ for the salvation salva-tion of souls is not, in sooth, a trade or profession profes-sion which any one who has a mind to do so may claim to enter upon by his own right. Let the bishops, therefore, in promoting candidates, bp moved not by the aspirations or pretensions of those who offer themselves, but rather by the needs of the church and by the prescriptions of the Council Coun-cil of Trent. In acting thus they will be able to make a right choice of those only who are fit for the sacred ministry, and reject such as show themselves them-selves unworthy by inclinations contrary to the priestly calling, and. above all. such as manifest a certain pride of disposition which renders them unwilling un-willing to submit to discipline." To effect this separation of the cockle fr6m the whc.it the Pc-nti-ff worth! have a rigid vigilance paid by the bishops to the system of discipline in the seminary. "Let us insist, Venerable Brethren." writes Pius X, "upon that most serious duty before God. a watchful care to promote right teaching and proper prop-er discipline in your seminaries. Your priests will be what you make them by your training of them. We want the ordinances seriously given on this subject carried out." " These are timely and appropriate counsels-which should be heeded by all American prelates who have the interests of Christ, His Church and -His' flocks at heart. Pope Pius, this twentieth century St. Peter who has been called by Jus enemies a saint, goes on to emphasize the great necessity of eternal vigilance vig-ilance being exercised by the bishops in these pertinent per-tinent and telling words; "The Bishops -will exercise the most scrupulous i-vigilance over the teachers and their instruction-, i calling, to task those professors who go off into vagaries and dilate upon dangerous novelties tha' profit nothing." Under no earthly plea are seminarists to be identified iden-tified w-ith public movements that create turmoil and disturbance. Newspapers and popular periodicals period-icals are to be left to the multitudes of the world, but the seminaries should not be open to the reception recep-tion of any brand except those that furnish solid nutrition for the mind that is dedicated to sacred objects. The latter part of the epistle deals with preaching. The bishops are reminded that the function of preaching belongs primarily to their office and that they are bound to . provide good preaching for the people, and no priest is to be allowed al-lowed to exhort the Hocks whose sacerdotal life as well of knowledge and right judgment are not f till v attest:-.!. The bishops are to debar priests from preaching preach-ing it! their dioceses unless they possess express permission from their own Ordinaries. In sermons the sacred test is to be the absolute j essential and foundation of all discourses: The j people are to be tamth' the dreadful danger of 1 living and dying in sinful enmity to God. Political Polit-ical harangue or ' any topic savoring of the lecture lec-ture hall .r public rostrum are to be scrupulously eschewed in tin- sanctuary. The source of all the pre:chevs material and inspiration is to be the Sacred Sa-cred Sr-ripi'.:!.-. explained, not' according to the pets a:a! views of doubtful interpreters, but in the suiri' - : Catholic tradition safeguarded by the titi-erri.:'.;.-; te::eltin..i of .the Church. Tha- Pontiff then gha s ;'-.a bkiK ps direct ami positive command as to t h- -,:!.ag c.mvFf to he pursued in case of ne-ec-a; ' cenv.ul.-i'-.n. no matter how disagreeable tha i-ryii-g oitt of this imperative duty may be. ' be : th; -. re; iai-i i'pon our fc'i-einicf any re-sTa.-'s'ktkv i ' res oect of this, important matter, w.-- i a'-; !-;;-'' a: id en jr. in upon all the bishops in their v -a edw dk -es that they refuse permk-sia: permk-sia: i -.-.ad: suspend from the office of preachers preach-ers ,v ..it in ike vey midst of the sermon any e;a-. be he -vede'- or religious, who violates the in-jir.u-.dov.s la.M down by the Saercd Congregation regarding the subject of pnaieh'ng in the church. It is greatly to be preferred tint the people hear a simple homily or an explanation of some part of the catechism from the lips of their pastor, than that they should Ik ton to harangues that usually produce pro-duce more harm than good." These are extraordinarily powerful words, but any one acquainted with human nature, even in a superficial manner knows they are apt and true. The'participation of the young clergy, or old for that matter, in social and political agifatien ... ; breeds discontent and wrangling and the mistakes made and suspicions aroused thereby work -.ned. cuhible havoc to true rdiuion. Vv'riti'c-s even technical tu diameter, nr.- -, : , -ubv.-'i'r-d to" the (rdi:i:ry kk,.ye publication. k k . : , .a i..- . . ue;, ku.-v of the Bible ; : . vi; el ! ' ; -, . I ... , ! . -' p.'opba are positiv j "' "'. !,.;;. ak -ubliuie and niomenroa- k .-, .-, k'Yr c : r.uandiuont t follow, the :::!;...:. v,'.v i; 'a '. t'.i ' br-aeon light to guid -... , .',',,! is -' d-. i- ihe loyal obedience '; ''i "..'"". ,, j J.. i !,' 'te-ti.-.'iti fact, of the nece . ' k. .ken' - ' ' ' v'llo!'' :l'ru' "f U; ' ' eirek. Ti e c'd'dr- i! to ;ho i.arenis. child;-. ., ; - ,.n.. ..-s j., e. they i turn to the-ir- i.e. : 1 j. v':',,. - (... kt-!...v-, on u? t. tb.e vi-ibi.- i . and 'vieo. oi" Chd- and tk-n a. Sav'or of ('a- Worb! "km-di ..r H.s gr.a.t. r ... ; a.nd a-barv a, d lite ' rfmmatjoii of IL- ... j ( -, a- if'i-. hi 'a avn. f.-r ' wit 'ear a r.-.',k i iw of f.bcdiene it; familv. -fate and d lir- k ! ;!ie,..c.-. k- o.. !;" -: 1-ut cvuk-. n -iik: O.-e : arch-. ii.d Aiaddia'- e--y-'v--.-o ea- '..imn:iii.l:,. ,o e!e .!" vkf-.!. c.-tab :a--:ng the la. i- ' l ! H':; s:';iv-' ";;',-r-,niv'"'k1.k V- : Te-s of , e ! da.-dcal !-vr a:;.! dk. -if line in tk : . .,':; words tak ; f ';;) the I'ord ch.q,:. XfatJiew. !( end :5"d v. r-es. 'I'heii Jesti- -p. a., tb . o:ut( kndas a-a! r. didnb-s, saying: 'ik . -:: i-:k-, and i iv- Phark.-- bav- -ifien .a, tie . , . ' i ,. .j. Ail t'i'na-; t !ie!--f.r'' hatsoev.-r I sliall s.-y. to'you. ob-arv.- a-d do; but a. rdiaa (''a ir v.ork do ye ret; i' the'- say. and n .' But let us Ik-P" 'bat the gie-K body of pa-io,-, .., teachers in the Catli.-lic churc'n will take exanq. br i heir illu-tt'i-' us au! h."iorel predi-ce-..rs of ;'a K'UO year-' that tl ev will not onlv do and- to. a-1 . but that they will meekly bow in a Ohrktdke a. a-. nor to the lawful commandment of their -upei-i e- a |