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Show PONTIFICAL ELECTION Holy Father Condemns Civil Interference Cardinals Must Be Free. ... PIUS BISHOP. Servant of the Servants of God for Federal Memory. The charge intrusted to us. by the disposition of God, of ruling the Universal Church, gravely admonishes ad-monishes us to take care by all the means in our power lest, that liberty with which Christ endowed her for the common good, and which so many messengers mes-sengers of the Gospel, so many most holy bishops, so many of our illustrious predecessoi's, have defended de-fended in speech, in writing, and even by the shedding shed-ding of their blood, should suffer any detriment from the eencroachment of a power foreign to her. Inspired by their example and authority, when first, all unworthy as we are, we ascend this chair of Peter, we deemed it a most urgent duty of our apostolic office to provide that the life of the church should manifest itself with absolute freedom, by the removal of all extraneous interference, as her divins founder willed that it siould manifest itself, and as her lofty mission imperatively requires. Now if there is one function above all others in the life of the church which demands this liberty it is certainly that which is concerned with the election of the Roman Pontiff; for when the head is in question, the health not of one member alone but of the whole body is involved (Greg. XV. Conl stit. Aeterni Patris in proem.) To this full 'liberty in the election of the Supreme Su-preme Pastor is opposed first of all that civil Veto which has been more than once brought forward by the rulers of some states, and by which it is sought to prevent to exclude ' somebody from the supreme pontificate. If this has happened sometimes, some-times, it has never been approved bythe Apostolic See. On the contrary the Roman pontiffs, in their enactments on the conclave, have been in nothing perhaps more emphatic or more earnest than in their efforts to exclude the interference of all extraneous ex-traneous powers from the sacred senate of the cardinals car-dinals summoned to elect the pontiff. This is plainly to be seen in the Constitutions In'eligendis of Pius IV. Aeterni Patris of Gregory XV., Apostolatus of-fieium of-fieium of Clement XII. and especially in those of Pius IX.. In Hac sublimi Licet per Apostolicas and Consulturi. But, and experience has shown it, the measures hitherto taken for preventing the civil Veto, or Exclusive, Ex-clusive, have not served their purpose, and on account ac-count of the changed circumstances of the times the intrusion of the civil power in our day is more clearly than ever before destitute of all foundation in. reason of equity, therefore we, by virtue of the apostolic charge intrusted to us, and following in the footsteps of our predecessors, after having maturely ma-turely deliberated, witfi certain knowledge and by our own motion, do absolutely condemn the civil Veto, or Exclusive as it also called, even when expressed ex-pressed under the form of a mere desire, and all interventions in-terventions and intercessions whatsoever, decreeing that it is not lawful for anybody, not even the supreme su-preme rulers of states, under any pretext, to interpose inter-pose or interfere in the grave matter of the election of the Roman pontiff. Wherefore, in virtue of holy obedience, under threat of the divine judgment and pain of excommunication excom-munication latae sententiae reserved in a special manner to the future pontiff, we prohibit all and single the cardinals of' holy Roman church, and likewise the secretary of the Sacred College of Cardinals Car-dinals and all others who take part in the conclave to receive, even under the form of a simple desire, the office of proposing the Veto or Exclusive, or to make known this Veto in whatever manner it may have come to their knowledge, to the Sacred College Col-lege of Cardinals either taken as a whole or to the individual Fathers Cardinals, either by writing or by word of mouth, whether directly and proximately, proximate-ly, or indirectly and through others. And it is our will that this prohibition be extended to all the interventions-whatsoever,' by which the lay powers, of whatsoever grade and order, endeavor to intrude themselves in the election of the.Pontiff. Finally we vehemently exhort, in the same words as those used by our predecessors, that in the elec-t'on elec-t'on of the Pontiff, they pay no attention whatever to the appeals of secular princes or other worldly considerations , (Constit. In eligendis 26, of Pius IV.; Const. Apostolatus' officium, 5. of Clement XII.) but solely with the glory of God and the good of the church before their eyes, give their vote3 to him whom they judge in the Lord better titled th.an the others to rule the universal church frait-ridly frait-ridly and usefully. It is pur will also that these our letters together with the other constitutions of the some kind be read in the presence of all in the first of the congregations wont to be held aftSr the death of the Pontiff; again after entrance into tho conclave; also when anybody is raised to the dignity dig-nity of the Purple, with the addition of an oath linding to the religious observance of what is decreed de-creed in the present constitution. All things, even those calling for special or even mittjf special mention, to the contrary notwithstanding. notwith-standing. Lei no man therefore infringe or temerariously ccntradiefc this page of our inhibition, mandate, declaration, innodation, will, admonition, exhortation, exhorta-tion, precept. But should anybody presume to do so let him know that he incurs the indignation of God Almighty and of his apostles Saints Peter and Paul. Given at Rome at St. Peter's in the year of tho Incarnation of Our Lord in the year one thousand nine hundred and four on the twentieth day of January, Jan-uary, in the first year of Our Pontificate. PIUS X. POPE. Rome. March 13. 1909. |