MIRARI VOS

ON LIBERALISM AND RELIGIOUS INDIFFERENTISM

ENCYCLICAL OF POPE GREGORY XVI

AUGUST 15, 1832

To  All  Patriarchs,  Primates,  Archbishops, and
Bishops of the Catholic World.

Venerable  Brothers,  Greetings   and   Apostolic
Benediction.  1.  We  think  that you wonder why,
from the time of Our assuming the pontificate, We
have not yet sent a letter to you as is customary
and as  Our  benevolence  for  you  demanded.  We
wanted  very much to address you by that voice by
which We have been commanded, in  the  person  of
blessed Peter, to strengthen the brethren.[1] You
know  what  storms  of  evil  and  toil,  at  the
beginning  of  Our pontificate, drove Us suddenly
into the depths of the sea. If the right hand  of
God  had  not  given  Us  strength, We would have
drowned as the result of the terrible  conspiracy
of  impious  men.  The mind recoils from renewing
this by enumerating so many dangers;  instead  We
bless  the  Father  of  consolation  Who,  having
overthrown all  enemies,  snatched  Us  from  the
present  danger.  When He had calmed this violent
storm, He gave Us relief from fear.  At  once  We
decided  to  advise  you on healing the wounds of
Israel; but the mountain of concerns We needed to
address  in order to restore public order delayed
Us.

2. In the meantime We were again delayed  because
of  the  insolent and factious men who endeavored
to raise the standard of treason. Eventually,  We
had  to  use  Our God-given authority to restrain
the great obstinacy of these men with the rod.[2]
Before  We  did,  their  unbridled rage seemed to
grow from continued impunity and Our considerable
indulgence.  For  these  reasons  Our duties have
been heavy.

3.  But  when  We  had  assumed  Our  pontificate
according  to  the  custom and institution of Our
predecessors and when all delays  had  been  laid
aside,  We hastened to you. So We now present the
letter and testimony of Our good will toward  you
on this happy day, the feast of the Assumption of
the Virgin. Since she has  been  Our  patron  and
savior  amid so many great calamities, We ask her
assistance in writing to you and her counsels for
the flock of Christ.

4.  We come to you grieving and sorrowful because
We know that you are concerned for the  faith  in
these  difficult  times. Now is truly the time in
which the powers of  darkness  winnow  the  elect
like   wheat.[3]  "The  earth  mourns  and  fades
away....And  the  earth  is   infected   by   the
inhabitants    thereof,    because    they   have
transgressed the  laws,  they  have  changed  the
ordinances,  they  have  broken  the  everlasting
covenant."[4]

5. We speak of the things which you see with your
own eyes, which We both bemoan. Depravity exults;
science  is  impudent;  liberty,  dissolute.  The
holiness  of  the sacred is despised; the majesty
of divine worship is not only disapproved by evil
men,  but  defiled and held up to ridicule. Hence
sound doctrine is perverted  and  errors  of  all
kinds  spread boldly. The laws of the sacred, the
rights, institutions, and discipline -- none  are
safe  from  the  audacity of those speaking evil.
Our Roman See is harassed violently and the bonds
of  unity  are  daily  loosened  and severed. The
divine authority of the Church is opposed and her
rights  shorn  off.  She  is  subjected  to human
reason and with the greatest injustice exposed to
the  hatred  of  the  people  and reduced to vile
servitude. The obedience due  bishops  is  denied
and   their   rights   are   trampled  underfoot.
Furthermore, academies and schools  resound  with
new,  monstrous opinions, which openly attack the
Catholic faith; this horrible and  nefarious  war
is  openly  and  even  publicly  waged.  Thus, by
institutions and by the example of teachers,  the
minds of the youth are corrupted and a tremendous
blow is dealt to religion and the  perversion  of
morals  is  spread. So the restraints of religion
are thrown off, by which alone kingdoms stand. We
see  the destruction of public order, the fall of
principalities,  and  the  overturning   of   all
legitimate  power  approaching. Indeed this great
mass of  calamities  had  its  inception  in  the
heretical  societies  and sects in which all that
is sacrilegious, infamous,  and  blasphemous  has
gathered  as  bilge  water  in  a  ship's hold, a
congealed mass of all filth.

6. These and many other serious things, which  at
present  would  take  too long to list, but which
you know well, cause Our intense grief. It is not
enough  for Us to deplore these innumerable evils
unless We strive to uproot them. We  take  refuge
in  your faith and call upon your concern for the
salvation of the Catholic  flock.  Your  singular
prudence  and diligent spirit give Us courage and
console Us, afflicted as  We  are  with  so  many
trials.  We  must raise Our voice and attempt all
things lest a wild boar  from  the  woods  should
destroy the vineyard or wolves kill the flock. It
is Our duty to lead the flock only  to  the  food
which  is  healthful. In these evil and dangerous
times, the shepherds  must  never  neglect  their
duty; they must never be so overcome by fear that
they abandon the sheep. Let  them  never  neglect
the  flock  and become sluggish from idleness and
apathy.  Therefore,  united  in  spirit,  let  us
promote our common cause, or more truly the cause
of God; let our vigilance be one and  our  effort
united against the common enemies.

7.  Indeed you will accomplish this perfectly if,
as the duty of your office demands, you attend to
yourselves  and to doctrine and meditate on these
words: "the universal Church is affected  by  any
and  every novelty"[5] and the admonition of Pope
Agatho: "nothing of the things appointed ought to
be  diminished;  nothing  changed; nothing added;
but  they  must  be  preserved  both  as  regards
expression  and  meaning."[6]  Therefore  may the
unity which is built upon the See of Peter as  on
a sure foundation stand firm. May it be for all a
wall and a security, a safe port, and a  treasury
of  countless blessings.[7] To check the audacity
of those who attempt to infringe upon the  rights
of  this  Holy  See  or to sever the union of the
churches with the See of Peter, instill  in  your
people  a  zealous  confidence  in the papacy and
sincere veneration for it. As St. Cyprian  wrote:
"He  who  abandons  the See of Peter on which the
Church was founded, falsely believes  himself  to
be a part of the Church."[8]

8.  In  this  you  must labor and diligently take
care that the faith may be preserved amidst  this
great  conspiracy  of  impious men who attempt to
tear it down and destroy it. May all remember the
judgment concerning sound doctrine with which the
people are to be instructed. Remember  also  that
the  government  and  administration of the whole
Church rests with the Roman Pontiff to  whom,  in
the  words  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Council of
Florence, "the full power of nourishing,  ruling,
and  governing  the universal Church was given by
Christ the Lord."[9] It is the duty of individual
bishops  to cling to the See of Peter faithfully,
to guard the faith piously and  religiously,  and
to  feed  their  flock. It behooves priests to be
subject to the bishops, whom "they  are  to  look
upon  as  the  parents of their souls," as Jerome
admonishes.[10] Nor may the priests  ever  forget
that  they  are  forbidden  by  ancient canons to
undertake ministry and to  assume  the  tasks  of
teaching and preaching "without the permission of
their  bishop  to  whom  the  people  have   been
entrusted;  an  accounting  for  the souls of the
people will be  demanded  from  the  bishop."[11]
Finally  let  them  understand that all those who
struggle against this established  order  disturb
the position of the Church.

9.  Furthermore, the discipline sanctioned by the
Church must never be rejected or  be  branded  as
contrary to certain principles of natural law. It
must never be called crippled,  or  imperfect  or
subject  to  civil  authority. In this discipline
the administration of sacred rites, standards  of
morality,  and the reckoning of the rights of the
Church and her ministers are embraced.

10. To use the words of the fathers of Trent,  it
is  certain  that  the  Church "was instructed by
Jesus Christ and His Apostles and that all  truth
was  daily  taught  it  by the inspiration of the
Holy  Spirit."[12]  Therefore,  it  is  obviously
absurd   and   injurious  to  propose  a  certain
"restoration and regeneration" for her as  though
necessary  for  her  safety and growth, as if she
could  be  considered  subject   to   defect   or
obscuration  or  other  misfortune.  Indeed these
authors of novelties consider that a  "foundation
may be laid of a new human institution," and what
Cyprian detested may come to pass, that what  was
a  divine  thing "may become a human church."[13]
Let those who devise such plans  be  aware  that,
according to the testimony of St. Leo, "the right
to grant dispensation from the canons  is  given"
only  to  the  Roman  Pontiff.  He  alone, and no
private person, can decide  anything  "about  the
rules  of  the  Church  Fathers." As St. Gelasius
writes: "It is the papal responsibility  to  keep
the  canonical  decrees  in  their  place  and to
evaluate the precepts of previous popes  so  that
when  the  times  demand  relaxation  in order to
rejuvenate the churches,  they  may  be  adjusted
after diligent consideration."[14]

11.  Now, however, We want you to rally to combat
the  abominable   conspiracy   against   clerical
celibacy.  This  conspiracy  spreads daily and is
promoted by profligate  philosophers,  some  even
from  the  clerical  order.  They  have forgotten
their person and office, and  have  been  carried
away  by  the  enticements of pleasure. They have
even dared to make repeated public demands to the
princes  for  the  abolition  of  that  most holy
discipline. But it  is  disgusting  to  dwell  on
these  evil  attempts  at  length. Rather, We ask
that you strive with all your  might  to  justify
and  to  defend  the  law of clerical celibacy as
prescribed by the sacred  canons,  against  which
the  arrows  of  the lascivious are directed from
every side.

12. Now the  honorable  marriage  of  Christians,
which Paul calls "a great sacrament in Christ and
the Church,"[15] demands our shared concern  lest
anything    contrary    to   its   sanctity   and
indissolubility is proposed. Our predecessor Pius
VIII  would  recommend  to you his own letters on
the subject. However, troublesome efforts against
this  sacrament  still  continue  to be made. The
people therefore must be zealously taught that  a
marriage   rightly   entered   upon   cannot   be
dissolved; for those joined in matrimony God  has
ordained a perpetual companionship for life and a
knot of necessity which cannot be  loosed  except
by death. Recalling that matrimony is a sacrament
and therefore subject to  the  Church,  let  them
consider  and  observe  the  laws  of  the Church
concerning it. Let them take care  lest  for  any
reason  they  permit that which is an obstruction
to the teachings of the canons and the decrees of
the  councils.  They  should  be aware that those
marriages will have  an  unhappy  end  which  are
entered  upon  contrary  to the discipline of the
Church or  without  God's  favor  or  because  of
concupiscence  alone,  with  no  thought  of  the
sacrament and of the mysteries signified by it.

13. Now We consider another  abundant  source  of
the  evils  with which the Church is afflicted at
present: indifferentism. This perverse opinion is
spread  on  all  sides by the fraud of the wicked
who claim that  it  is  possible  to  obtain  the
eternal  salvation  of the soul by the profession
of any kind of religion, as long as  morality  is
maintained.  Surely,  in  so  clear a matter, you
will drive this deadly error far from the  people
committed  to  your  care. With the admonition of
the apostle that "there is one  God,  one  faith,
one  baptism"[16] may those fear who contrive the
notion that the safe harbor of salvation is  open
to  persons of any religion whatever. They should
consider the testimony  of  Christ  Himself  that
"those  who  are  not  with  Christ  are  against
Him,"[17] and that they disperse unhappily who do
not  gather with Him. Therefore "without a doubt,
they will perish forever, unless  they  hold  the
Catholic faith whole and inviolate."[18] Let them
hear Jerome who, while the Church was  torn  into
three  parts  by  schism,  tells us that whenever
someone tried to persuade him to join  his  group
he  always  exclaimed:  "He who is for the See of
Peter  is  for  me."[19]  A  schismatic  flatters
himself  falsely  if he asserts that he, too, has
been washed in the waters of regeneration. Indeed
Augustine  would reply to such a man: "The branch
has the same form when it has been cut  off  from
the  vine; but of what profit for it is the form,
if it does not live from the root?"[20]

14. This shameful font  of  indifferentism  gives
rise  to  that  absurd  and erroneous proposition
which claims that liberty of conscience  must  be
maintained  for  everyone.  It  spreads  ruin  in
sacred and civil affairs, though some repeat over
and  over  again with the greatest impudence that
some advantage accrues to religion from it.  "But
the  death  of  the soul is worse than freedom of
error," as Augustine was wont  to  say.[21]  When
all  restraints are removed by which men are kept
on the narrow path of truth, their nature,  which
is  already  inclined  to  evil,  propels them to
ruin. Then truly "the bottomless pit"[22] is open
from   which   John  saw  smoke  ascending  which
obscured the sun, and out of which  locusts  flew
forth   to  devastate  the  earth.  Thence  comes
transformation of minds,  corruption  of  youths,
contempt  of  sacred  things  and holy laws -- in
other words, a  pestilence  more  deadly  to  the
state than any other. Experience shows, even from
earliest times, that cities renowned for  wealth,
dominion,  and glory perished as a result of this
single  evil,  namely   immoderate   freedom   of
opinion,  license  of free speech, and desire for
novelty.

15. Here We must include that harmful  and  never
sufficiently  denounced  freedom  to  publish any
writings whatever and  disseminate  them  to  the
people,  which  some  dare  to demand and promote
with so great a clamor. We are horrified  to  see
what  monstrous  doctrines  and prodigious errors
are disseminated far and wide in countless books,
pamphlets, and other writings which, though small
in weight, are very great in malice.  We  are  in
tears  at the abuse which proceeds from them over
the face of the earth. Some are so  carried  away
that  they contentiously assert that the flock of
errors  arising   from   them   is   sufficiently
compensated by the publication of some book which
defends religion and truth.  Every  law  condemns
deliberately  doing  evil simply because there is
some hope that good may result. Is there any sane
man who would say poison ought to be distributed,
sold publicly, stored,  and  even  drunk  because
some  antidote  is available and those who use it
may be snatched from death again and again?

16. The Church has always taken action to destroy
the  plague  of  bad books. This was true even in
apostolic times for we  read  that  the  apostles
themselves burned a large number of books.[23] It
may be enough to consult the laws  of  the  fifth
Council  of  the  Lateran  on this matter and the
Constitution which  Leo  X  published  afterwards
lest "that which has been discovered advantageous
for the increase of the faith and the  spread  of
useful  arts be converted to the contrary use and
work harm for the salvation of the faithful."[24]
This  also was of great concern to the fathers of
Trent, who applied a remedy  against  this  great
evil   by   publishing   that   wholesome  decree
concerning the Index of books which contain false
doctrine.[25]  "We must fight valiantly," Clement
XIII says  in  an  encyclical  letter  about  the
banning  of  bad  books,  "as  much as the matter
itself demands and must  exterminate  the  deadly
poison  of  so  many  books;  for  never will the
material  for  error  be  withdrawn,  unless  the
criminal   sources   of   depravity   perish   in
flames."[26] Thus it is evident  that  this  Holy
See  has  always striven, throughout the ages, to
condemn and to remove suspect and harmful  books.
The  teaching  of those who reject the censure of
books as too heavy and onerous  a  burden  causes
immense  harm  to the Catholic people and to this
See. They are even so depraved as to affirm  that
it is contrary to the principles of law, and they
deny the  Church  the  right  to  decree  and  to
maintain it.

17.  We  have  learned that certain teachings are
being spread among the common people in  writings
which  attack  the  trust  and  submission due to
princes; the torches of  treason  are  being  lit
everywhere.  Care  must be taken lest the people,
being deceived, are led away  from  the  straight
path. May all recall, according to the admonition
of the apostle that "there is no authority except
from  God;  what  authority  there  is  has  been
appointed  by  God.  Therefore  he  who   resists
authority  resists  the  ordinances  of  God; and
those   who   resist    bring    on    themselves
condemnation."[27]   Therefore  both  divine  and
human laws cry out against those  who  strive  by
treason  and  sedition  to  drive the people from
confidence in their princes and force  them  from
their government.

18.  And  it  is  for  this reason that the early
Christians, lest they should be stained  by  such
great infamy deserved well of the emperors and of
the safety of the state  even  while  persecution
raged.  This  they  proved  splendidly  by  their
fidelity in  performing  perfectly  and  promptly
whatever   they  were  commanded  which  was  not
opposed to their religion, and even more by their
constancy  and  the  shedding  of  their blood in
battle. "Christian soldiers," says St. Augustine,
"served  an  infidel  emperor.  When the issue of
Christ was raised, they acknowledged no  one  but
the  One who is in heaven. They distinguished the
eternal Lord from the  temporal  lord,  but  were
also subject to the temporal lord for the sake of
the  eternal  Lord."[28]   St.   Mauritius,   the
unconquered  martyr  and  leader  of  the  Theban
legion had this in mind when,  as  St.  Eucharius
reports,  he answered the emperor in these words:
"We are your soldiers, Emperor, but also servants
of  God, and this we confess freely . . . and now
this final necessity of life has  not  driven  us
into rebellion: I see, we are armed and we do not
resist, because we wish rather to die than to  be
killed."[29]   Indeed  the  faith  of  the  early
Christians  shines   more   brightly,   if   with
Tertullian  we consider that since the Christians
were not lacking in numbers and in  troops,  they
could  have acted as foreign enemies. "We are but
of yesterday," he says, "yet we have  filled  all
your cities, islands, fortresses, municipalities,
assembly  places,  the  camps   themselves,   the
tribes,  the  divisions,  the palace, the senate,
the forum....For what war should we not have been
fit and ready even if unequal in forces -- we who
are so glad to be cut to pieces -- were  it  not,
of  course,  that  in  our doctrine we would have
been permitted more to be killed rather  than  to
kill?...If  so great a multitude of people should
have deserted to some remote spot  on  earth,  it
would  surely  have  covered your domination with
shame because of the loss of  so  many  citizens,
and  it would even have punished you by this very
desertion. Without a doubt you  would  have  been
terrified  at  your  solitude....  You would have
sought whom you might  rule;  more  enemies  than
citizens would have remained for you. Now however
you have fewer enemies because of  the  multitude
of Christians."[30]

19.  These  beautiful  examples of the unchanging
subjection to the princes  necessarily  proceeded
from  the  most  holy  precepts  of the Christian
religion. They condemn the  detestable  insolence
and  improbity  of  those  who, consumed with the
unbridled lust for freedom, are entirely  devoted
to   impairing   and  destroying  all  rights  of
dominion while bringing servitude to  the  people
under  the  slogan of liberty. Here surely belong
the infamous and wild plans of  the  Waldensians,
the  Beghards,  the  Wycliffites,  and other such
sons of Belial, who were the sores  and  disgrace
of  the  human race; they often received a richly
deserved anathema from the Holy See. For no other
reason  do  experienced  deceivers  devote  their
efforts, except so that they, along with  Luther,
might  joyfully deem themselves "free of all." To
attain this end more  easily  and  quickly,  they
undertake   with   audacity   any  infamous  plan
whatever.

20. Nor can We predict happier times for religion
and government from the plans of those who desire
vehemently to separate the Church from the state,
and  to break the mutual concord between temporal
authority and the priesthood. It is certain  that
that  concord  which  always  was  favorable  and
beneficial for the sacred and the civil order  is
feared by the shameless lovers of liberty.

21.  But  for  the  other  painful  causes We are
concerned about, you should recall  that  certain
societies  and  assemblages  seem  to  draw  up a
battle line together with the followers of  every
false  religion  and  cult.  They feign piety for
religion; but they are driven by  a  passion  for
promoting novelties and sedition everywhere. They
preach  liberty  of  every  sort;  they  stir  up
disturbances  in  sacred  and  civil affairs, and
pluck authority to pieces.

22. We write these things to  you  with  grieving
mind  but  trusting in Him who commands the winds
and makes them still. Take up the shield of faith
and fight the battles of the Lord vigorously. You
especially must stand as  a  wall  against  every
height  which raises itself against the knowledge
of God. Unsheath the sword of the  spirit,  which
is  the  word  of  God,  and may those who hunger
after justice receive bread from you. Having been
called  so that you might be diligent cultivators
in the vineyard of the Lord, do this  one  thing,
and  labor  in it together, so that every root of
bitterness may be removed from  your  field,  all
seeds  of  vice  destroyed,  and  a happy crop of
virtues may take root and grow. The first  to  be
embraced  with  paternal  affection are those who
apply themselves to the sacred  sciences  and  to
philosophical   studies.  For  them  may  you  be
exhorter and supporter,  lest  trusting  only  in
their   own   talents   and  strength,  they  may
imprudently wander away from the  path  of  truth
onto  the  road of the impious. Let them remember
that God is the guide to wisdom and the  director
of  the  wise.[31]  It  is impossible to know God
without God who teaches men to  know  Himself  by
His word.[32] It is the proud, or rather foolish,
men who examine  the  mysteries  of  faith  which
surpass  all  understanding with the faculties of
the human mind, and rely on human reason which by
the  condition  of  man's  nature,  is  weak  and
infirm.

23. May Our dear sons  in  Christ,  the  princes,
support  these  Our  desires  for  the welfare of
Church  and  State  with  their   resources   and
authority. May they understand that they received
their authority not only for  the  government  of
the  world, but especially for the defense of the
Church.  They  should  diligently  consider  that
whatever  work  they  do  for  the welfare of the
Church accrues to their rule  and  peace.  Indeed
let  them  persuade themselves that they owe more
to the cause of the faith than to their  kingdom.
Let  them  consider  it  something very great for
themselves as We say with Pope St.  Leo,  "if  in
addition to their royal diadem the crown of faith
may be added." Placed as if they were parents and
teachers of the people, they will bring them true
peace and tranquility, if they take special  care
that  religion  and piety remain safe. God, after
all, calls Himself "King of  kings  and  Lord  of
lords."

24.   That   all   of   this  may  come  to  pass
prosperously and happily, let Us raise  Our  eyes
and hands to the most holy Virgin Mary, who alone
crushes  all  heresies,  and  is   Our   greatest
reliance  and  the whole reason for Our hope.[33]
May she implore by  her  patronage  a  successful
outcome  for Our plans and actions. Let Us humbly
ask of the Prince of the Apostles, Peter and  his
co-apostle  Paul  that  all of you may stand as a
wall lest a foundation be laid  other  than  that
which  has  already  been  laid.  Relying on this
happy hope, We trust that the Author and Crown of
Our  faith  Jesus  Christ  will console Us in all
these Our tribulations. We  lovingly  impart  the
apostolic benediction to you, venerable brothers,
and to the sheep committed to your care as a sign
of heavenly aid.

Given  in  Rome  at St. Mary Major, on August 15,
the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin, in the
year  of  Our  Lord  1832, the second year of Our
Pontificate.

1. Lk 22.32.

2. I Cor 4.21.

3. Lk  22.53.

4.  Is 24.5.

5. St. Celestine,  Pope,  epistle  21  to  Bishop
Galliar.

6. St. Agatho, Pope, epistle to the emperor, apud
Labb., ed. Mansi, vol. 2, p. 235.

7. St. Innocent, epistle 11 apud Constat.

8. St. Cyprian, de unitate eccles.

9. Council of Florence, session 25,  in  definit.
apud Labb., ed. Venet., vol. 18, col. 527.

10. St. Jerome, epistle 2 to Nepot. a. 1, 24.

11.  From canon ap. 38 apud Labb., ed Mansi, vol.
1, p. 38.

12.  Council  of  Trent,  session   13   on   the
Eucharist, prooemium .

13. St. Cyprian, epistle 52, ed. Baluz.

14.  St. Gelasius, Pope, in epistle to the bishop
of Lucaniae.

15. Heb 13.4.

16. Eph 4.5.

17. Lk 11.23.

18. Symbol .s. Athanasius.

19. St. Jerome, epistle 57.

20. St. Augustine, in psalm. contra part. Donat.

21. St. Augustine, epistle 166.

22.  Ap  9.3.

23. Acts 19.

24. Acts of the Lateran Council  5,  session  10,
where the constitution of Leo X is mentioned; the
earlier  constitution  of  Alexander  VI,   Inter
multiplices, ought to be read, in which there are
many things on this point.

25. Council of Trent, sessions 18 and 25.

26.  Letter  of  Clement  XIII,  Christianae,  25
November 1766.

27. Rom 13.2.

28. St. Augustine in psalt. 124, n. 7.

29.  St. Euchenius apud Ruinart. Acts of the Holy
Martyrs  concerning   Saint   Maurius   and   his
companions, n. 4.

30. Tertullian, in apologet., chap. 37.

31. Wis 7.15.

32.  St.  Irenaeus,  bk.  14,  chap.  10.

33. St. Bernard, serm de nat. b.M.v., sect. 7.