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Show i (; eo's Testament i ! to ! Mankind ! ') ' : 1 j j Apostolic Letter of the Holy Father on the Dangers Which I Threaten the Church and Society, and the U Remedy for Them. n n H h y I translated for Freeman's Journal.) i- j l-y Divine Providence Pope. f T. Mil Hi- patriarchs, primates, arch-I arch-I 1 ishops ami bishops of the Catholic 1 I ..rid: ' V'-ifi-al.le Brothers. Health and M I .: - Blessing: Arrived at the I I 11 nty-fiflh year of our apostolic inin- i;'-. marveling ouiself at the course I i " have traversed in the midst of af- I ? 'hi and incessant cares, we feel nat- , I v.'-V,y drawn to raise our thoughts to! ! Hi- A 11-Blessed God, who has deigned 1 J i" erant us. among no many other ben-, J ' ! ' pontificate of such a length that I I i! has but. very few examples in his- j i. .:-y. To the Father of all, therefore. him who holds in his hands the se- 1 : t of life, let the hymn of thanksgiv-, thanksgiv-, f as-end in answer to the ardent I 1 t.cinff of our heart. In truth, no hu- f ve can penetrate all the divine ie-:pn over so prolonged and so un- , lmped-for longevity; and we. here, can I i hut adore in silence: but one thing we V know well, and it is that if he has t i been pleased to preserve our life, and if I be he pleased to preserve it still longer, it is incumbent upon us as a most sa-t sa-t ied duty to live for the welfare and tV increase of his immaculate spouse, V ,h!' 'hurch. and not to quail before r'X anxieties and fatigues, consecrating to ? this end the last remnant of our i ftrrnpth. After paying this tribute of bounden p.iiitude to our Father who is in : la-;: ven. we are glad to turn our tliiiuehts and our words to you, vener- :ihie brothers, who have been called by r th Holy Spirit to'rule elect portions of th. flock of Jesus Christ, and who ron-f-eu'-ntly share with us the struggles j :i nd triumphs, the joys and sorrows of th h pristoltc ministry. Never, no. nev-i nev-i shall we forget the manifold and I striking proofs of religious devoted ness : i. which you have continually offered us ihi-o;iehout the course of our pnntifi-j ! ,im.j iiiui ou ait i i-iii-m iiiik in t nffi i tionate rivalry on the present oc- ! ivisi.in. Intimately united to you as we are both by the duty of our oflice and i hy .,ur fatherly affection for you. these "-Hnifestationp of your devotedness are I i..-p!y welcome to us., not so much for what regards our own person, as for lh deep significance they import of i ' n-sin to this apostolic see, the cen- iri- atid the pivot, of all the other sees j ' the Catholic world. If ever it was ii ; sary that . all the hierarchical I cra bs of the church should keep jeal ously united in reciprocal chanty, so as to form but one heart and soul, it is nm;-e necessary than ever in these linns'. For who can fail to see that cvtryisjve conspiracy of hostile forces ; which is today aiming to overthrow I v ati'! destroy the great work of Jesus J ' hi isr. endeavoring with a pertinacity i I t! knows no limits: to destroy in the f um- :itctual order the treasury of heav- n'v dor-irine, and to subvert in the j so, ji order the holiest and most salu- j t.i rv r.f Cliristian institutions. But you ' o:i; selves have practical experience of :hi; I'ifrv day you have frequently t'ifr steri to us your anxiety and f c '. d-'plo-ing the mass of prejudices,! I ; ' -'-c systems and errors which are be- I oiopacated broadcast among the is i ;.!. What snares are being laid I 5 rvwhfrctn entran the faithful! ITow I I .''ny impediments are being everyday ''malted to diminish and. were that nssible, to nullify the beneficent action ' Mi. i-iiu'-rh: And at the same time. ; :f to add insult to injury, the -hurch ! i ! ing accused of not being capable i putting forth her ancient, force and I i' l'Mnc a (heck on the turbulent and 1 'h "tiring passions which threaten dir- i ; ru'n. ! i 'l a. indeeri would we be, venerable r t ;'"!be-s. to address you on topics of a j - .1.. rbenring nature and in bettei f ' ' 'ivipy wiih the happy occasion h;. h has moved us to speak to you. I "' " mi h is not jiermitted either by th. "its difficulties of the church, which ailing for instant relief, or by the ' ' ' i:'ion of modern society. which. v mic to the abandonment of the great, t ' -lit ions of Christianity, is already ; ' a . ailing both morally and materially, .J -1 i op the road to greater evils, for f I - the law of Providence, confirmed f "he teachinsrs of history, that th" I'- '' t'tiniiples of religion cannot b aside w ithout sapjdng the foun-: i-tis of social prosperity. T'nde;-i T'nde;-i ii i ircumstanccs. in order to furnish ' Iv stimulus of sjdrit. courage i faith to men's minds, it will b ; " : to consider in its genesis, causes 1 ' " ' manifold forms, the war which is ' - tts attainst the ciiurch. to point out tata conseouences. and to indit'ate ' 11 remedies. Wherefore, while calling io memory once more all that has been already said, let our words ring out, net only in the ears of the faithful, but of dissidents, and even of those unhappy unhap-py peopie who have no belief, for all are the children of the same Fathei, and all have been destined for the same supreme happiness; and let our words be taken as a testament which we wish I lo consign, now that we have almost reached the doors of eternity, to the nations in our desire and our hopes for the common weal. The holy church of Christ has been at all times obliged to sustain contradictions contra-dictions and persf f utions for truth and justice. Instituted by himself to propagate prop-agate the kingdom of God throughout-the throughout-the world, and by the light of the law of the gospel to guide fallen humanity to a supernatural destiny that is, to the attainment of immortal blessings promised by God, but beyond our strength she necessarily clashed with the passions which swarmed at the feet i of ancient decadence and enrrilnHrn I that is to say, against pride, covetous-I covetous-I ness and the unbridled love of earthly enjoyments, and against the vices and disorders which spring from these, and which have always met with their most powerful check in the church. Nor shall we be astonished by these persecutions perse-cutions when we remember that they were predicted for our instruction by the Divine Master, and when we know that they will last as long as the world itself. For how did he address his disciples dis-ciples when he sent them to bear the treasure of his doctrines to all nations? na-tions? Everybody knows: "You will be driven from one city to another; you will be hated and reviled for my name's sake; you will be dragged before be-fore the 'tribunals and condemned lo extreme punishments." And, wishing to strengthen them for the trial, he pointed to himself as an example: "If I the world hate you. know that it hath j hated me before yoti." Such are the joys and such the rewards promised here below, i Such hatred is humanly inexplicable I by any criteria, of a just and reasonable i estimate of things. Whom did the Divine Di-vine Redeemer ever offend, or in what way was he undeserving? Come down among men from an impulse of infinite love, he taught a doctrine, immac-j immac-j ulate, comfortine and most efficacious I for uniting all mankind in the frater-I frater-I nal bonds of peace and love; he had I sought no earthly greatness or honors; j he had usurped no man's rights; on the J contrary, he had been infinitely pitiful i tow ard the weak, the sick, the poor, the sinful, the oppressed, so that his whole life had been passed in sowing benefits lavishly among men. It must be, therefore, recognized as a Bheer excess of human malice, as deplorable as it' j was unjust, that he actually became, according to the prophecy of Simeon, a sign of contradiction (signum cui con-tradicteur). con-tradicteur). What wonder, then, that the church, which continues his divine mission and is the incorruptible depositary of his truths, should meet the same fate? The world is always true to itself; side beside be-side with the children of God are ever to be found the satellites of that great enemy of the human race, who, rebel as h was from the beginning to the most high, has been designated in the I gospel as the prince of this world; and hence it is that the world in the presence pres-ence of the law, and of her who presents pre-sents the law to it in the name of God, feels centred within itself with unmeasured un-measured pride the spirit of an independence inde-pendence to which it has no right. Ah! how often, in more stormy times, have the enemy banded together, with unspeakable un-speakable cruelty and with the most barefaced injustice, for the mad enterprise enter-prise of nullifying the divine work. When one form of persecution failed others were resorted to. The Roman empire, for three long centuries abusing abus-ing the brute force it possessed, multiplied multi-plied martyrs throughout every one of its provinces, and bathed with their blood every sod of the soil of this sacred sa-cred Rome;; and the united forces of heresy, now masked brazenly by sophistry so-phistry jnd by treachery, endeavored to destroy at least harmony and unity. Next came, like a devastating storm, the hordes of barbarians from the ! north and Islamism from the south, leaving ruin and desert in their tracks. So. too, whi'e the sad legacy of hatred I toward the spouse of Christ continues to pass on from age to age, a Caesar-i Caesar-i ism follows, suspicious and tyrannical, jealous of another's greatness, even I though that greatness enhanced its own. and this Caesarism unrelenting renews the assaults. (To be continued.)) i |