Chapter LXII: Section 88 (11)

"In the autumn of 1895 the idea of union was in higher favour
at the Vatican than ever. Cardinal Rampolla encouraged the
foundation of the 'Revue Anglo-Romaine,' a journal devoted to
the treatment of problems concerning the union of Churches,
and particularly the re-union of the Anglican Church, and
edited by the Abbé Portal, a French priest, and a personal
friend of Lord Halifax. This movement in favour of union was,
however, regarded by the Catholics in England with no little
apprehension and mistrust, and their opposition alone would
have been sufficient to wreck it for the time being. Cardinal
Vaughan viewed the idea of incorporate union as a chimera, but
treated the efforts to realise it as a real danger. … Leo, who
would fain have maintained an attitude of judicial
impartiality, soon found out that he must take a side: he must
either definitely encourage the hopes of the Anglicans, or he
must do something to calm the excited fears of the Catholics.
Even at Rome, if we except the Pope and Cardinal Rampolla, who
for a long time fondly hoped that they could make this policy
of union a means of accomplishing very large results,
theological opinion was adverse to the validity. Were there
not, indeed, decisions of the Sacred Congregations which
settled the dispute? There were, but in spite of them all the
Pope was not disabused of his fancy. Compelled at last to take
some action, he named a Commission of theologians, which sat
at Rome in the spring of the present year [1896], under the
presidency of Cardinal Mazzella. … The theologians set forth
the arguments which favoured their respective views; papers
were written, and, after a series of deliberations, a report
was placed in the hands of the Pope. No conclusion was arrived
at: none could be come to in this preliminary assembly. Only the
materials for a judgment were worked out, in case his Holiness
should think fit to pronounce a decision. … The Pope himself
tells us, in the Bull Apostolicæ Curæ, that he left the final
examination of the question to the congregation of cardinals
called ' Suprema.' … The 'Suprema' met on July 16, under the
presidency of the Pope. All the cardinals were of opinion that
the matter had been long since decided, and that the debates
in the preliminary commission had served to show how wise the
decision had been. … The Bull declaring Anglican Orders null
and void was published about the middle of September."

_Catholicus,
The Pope and the Anglicans: The Policy of the Bull
(Contemporary Review, December, 1896)._

PAPACY: A. D. 1897.
Influence in Austria.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1897.

PAPACY: A. D. 1898 (January).
Encyclical Letter of Pope Leo XIII. on the
Manitoba School Question.

See (in this volume)
CANADA: A. D. 1898 (JANUARY).

PAPACY: A. D. 1899.
Secession of German Catholics in Austria from the Church.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1899-1000.

PAPACY: A. D. 1899 (January).
Encyclical Letter of Pope Leo XIII. condemning certain
opinions "called by some 'Americanism.'"

The following passages are from the translation of an
encyclical letter addressed, on the 22d of January, 1899, by
Pope Leo XIII. to Cardinal Gibbons, for communication to the
bishops and clergy of the Catholic Church in America:

"To Our Beloved Son, James, Cardinal Gibbons, Cardinal Priest
of the Title Sancta Maria, Beyond the Tiber, Archbishop of
Baltimore: … We have often considered and admired the noble
gifts of your nation which enable the American people to be
alive to every good work which promotes the good of humanity
and the splendor of civilization. Although this letter is not
intended, as preceding ones, to repeat the words of praise so
often spoken, but rather to call attention to some things to
be avoided and corrected; still because it is conceived in
that same spirit of apostolic charity which has inspired all
our letters, we shall expect that you will take it as another
proof of our love; the more so because it is intended to
suppress certain contentions which have arisen lately among
you to the detriment of the peace of many souls.

"It is known to you, beloved son, that the biography of Isaac
Thomas Hecker, especially through the action of those who
undertook to translate or interpret it in a foreign language,
has excited not a little controversy, on account of certain
opinions brought forward concerning the way of leading
Christian life. We, therefore, on account of our apostolic
office, having to guard the integrity of the faith and the
security of the faithful, are desirous of writing to you more
at length concerning this whole matter.

"The underlying principle of these new opinions is that, in
order to more easily attract those who differ from her, the
Church should shape her teachings more in accord with the
spirit of the age and relax some of her ancient severity and
make some concessions to new opinions. Many think that these
concessions should be made not only in regard to ways of
living, but even in regard to doctrines which belong to the
deposit of the faith. They contend that it would be opportune,
in order to gain those who differ from us, to omit certain
points of her teaching which are of lesser importance, and to
tone down the meaning which the Church has always attached to
them. It does not need many words, beloved son, to prove the
falsity of these ideas if the nature and origin of the
doctrine which the Church proposes are recalled to mind. The
Vatican Council says concerning this point: 'For the doctrine
of faith which God has revealed has not been proposed, like a
philosophical invention to be perfected by human ingenuity,
but has been delivered as a divine deposit to the Spouse of
Christ to be faithfully kept and infallibly declared. Hence
that meaning of the sacred dogmas is perpetually to be
retained which our Holy Mother, the Church, has once declared,
nor is that meaning ever to be departed from under the pretense
or pretext of a deeper comprehension of them.'

_Constitutis de Fide Catholica, Chapter iv._ …

{346}

"Let it be far from anyone's mind to suppress for any reason
any doctrine that has been handed down. Such a policy would
tend rather to separate Catholics from the Church than to
bring in those who differ. There is nothing closer to our
heart than to have those who are separated from the fold of
Christ return to it, but in no other way than the way pointed
out by Christ.

"The rule of life laid down for Catholics is not of such a
nature that it cannot accommodate itself to the exigencies of
various times and places. The Church has, guided by her Divine
Master, a kind and merciful spirit, for which reason from the
very beginning she has been what St. Paul said of himself: 'I
became all things to all men that I might save all.'

"History proves clearly that the Apostolic See, to which has
been intrusted the mission not only of teaching but of
governing the whole Church, has continued 'in one and the same
doctrine, one and the same sense, and one and the same
judgment.'

_Constitutis de fide, Chapter iv._

"But in regard to ways of living she has been accustomed to so
yield that, the divine principle of morals being kept intact,
she has never neglected to accommodate herself to the
character and genius of the nations which she embraces. Who
can doubt that she will act in this same spirit again if the
salvation of souls requires it? In this matter the Church must
be the judge, not private men who are often deceived by the
appearance of right. In this, all who wish to escape the blame
of our predecessor, Pius the Sixth, must concur. He condemned
as injurious to the Church and the spirit of God who guides
her the doctrine contained in proposition lxxviii of the Synod
of Pistoia, 'that the discipline made and approved by the
Church should be submitted to examination, as if the Church
could frame a code of laws useless or heavier than human
liberty can bear.'

"But, beloved son, in this present matter of which we are
speaking, there is even a greater danger and a more manifest
opposition to Catholic doctrine and discipline in that opinion
of the lovers of novelty, according to which they hold such
liberty should be allowed in the Church, that her supervision
and watchfulness being in some sense lessened, allowance be
granted the faithful, each one to follow out more freely the
leading of his own mind and the trend of his own proper
activity. They are of opinion that such liberty has its
counterpart in the newly given civil freedom which is now the
right and the foundation of almost every secular state.

"In the apostolic letters concerning the constitution of
states, addressed by us to the bishops of the whole Church, we
discussed this point at length; and there set forth the
difference existing between the Church, which is a divine
society, and all other social human organizations which depend
simply on free will and choice of men. It is well, then, to
particularly direct attention to the opinion which serves as
the argument in behalf of this greater liberty sought for and
recommended to Catholics.

"It is alleged that now the Vatican decree concerning the
infallible teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff having been
proclaimed that nothing further on that score can give any
solicitude, and accordingly, since that has been safe-guarded
and put beyond question a wider and freer field both for
thought and action lies open to each one. But such reasoning
is evidently faulty, since, if we are to come to any
conclusion from the infallible teaching authority of the
Church, it should rather be that no one should wish to depart
from it and moreover that the minds of all being leavened and
directed thereby, greater security from private error would be
enjoyed by all. And further, those who avail themselves of
such a way of reasoning seem to depart seriously from the
over-ruling wisdom of the Most High—which wisdom, since it was
pleased to set forth by most solemn decision the authority and
supreme teaching rights of this Apostolic See—willed that
decision precisely in order to safeguard the minds of the
Church's children from the dangers of these present times.

"These dangers, viz., the confounding of license with liberty,
the passion for discussing and pouring contempt upon any
possible subject, the assumed right to hold whatever opinions
one pleases upon any subject and to set them forth in print to
the world, have so wrapped minds in darkness that there is now
a greater need of the Church's teaching office than ever
before, lest people become unmindful both of conscience and of
duty.

"We, indeed, have no thought of rejecting everything that
modern industry and study has produced; so far from it that we
welcome to the patrimony of truth and to an ever-widening
scope of public well-being whatsoever helps toward the
progress of learning and virtue. Yet all this, to be of any
solid benefit, nay, to have a real existence and growth, can
only be on the condition of recognizing the wisdom and
authority of the Church. …

"From the foregoing it is manifest, beloved son, that we are
not able to give approval to those views which, in their
collective sense, are called by some 'Americanism.' But if by
this name are to be understood certain endowments of mind
which belong to the American people, just as other
characteristics belong to various other nations, and if,
moreover, by it is designated your political condition and the
laws and customs by which you are governed, there is no reason
to take exception to the name. But if this is to be so
understood that the doctrines which have been adverted to
above are not only indicated, but exalted, there can be no
manner of doubt that our venerable brethren, the bishops of
America, would be the first to repudiate and condemn it as
being most injurious to themselves and to their country. For
it would give rise to the suspicion that there are among you
some who conceive and would have the Church in America to be
different from what it is in the rest of the world.

"But the true church is one, as by unity of doctrine, so by
unity of government, and she is catholic also. Since God has
placed the centre and foundation of unity in the chair of
Blessed Peter, she is rightly called the Roman Church, for
'where Peter is, there is the church.' Wherefore, if anybody
wishes to be considered a real Catholic, he ought to be able
to say from his heart the self-same words which Jerome
addressed to Pope Damasus; 'I, acknowledging no other leader
than Christ, am bound in fellowship with Your Holiness: that
is, with the chair of Peter. I know that the church was built
upon him as its rock, and that whosoever gathereth not with
you, scattereth.' …"

_American Catholic Quarterly Review,
April, 1899._

{347}

PAPACY: A. D. 1900 (September-October).
Church and State in Austria.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1900 (SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER).

PAPACY: A. D. 1900 (December).
Pope Leo XIII. on the French Associations Bill.

See (in this volume))
FRANCE; A. D. 1901 (JANUARY).

PAPACY: A. D. 1900-1901.
Proclamation of the Universal Jubilee of the
Holy Year Nineteen Hundred.
Its extension for six months.

The following is the text of the Papal proclamation of the
Universal Jubilee, in its English translation, as published in
the "American Catholic Quarterly Review":

"To all the Faithful of Christ who shall read these Letters,
Health and Apostolic Benediction. The century, which, by the
grace of God, we have ourselves seen almost from its
commencement, draws rapidly to its close. Willingly have we
followed the institutions of our predecessors in so ordering
things that they may redound in the good of all Christian
peoples, and which may be perhaps for them the last proof of
our care to the government of the Sovereign Pontificate. We
speak of the Great Jubilee introduced in ancient times among
Christian customs and observed by our predecessors, who
bestowed upon the years of general jubilee the title of the
Holy Year, because it was usual for such a year to be blessed
by a greater number of holy ceremonies, as these furnish the
most copious means of help for the correction of morals and
the leading of souls to sanctity.

"We have ourselves seen with our own eyes the fruitful result
of the last solemn celebration of the Holy Year. It was in the
Pontificate of Leo XII, and we were as yet in the years of our
youth. It was truly a grand sight to see then the manifestations
of religious fervor in Rome. We can remember as if the scene
were still before our eyes, the immense concourse of pilgrims,
the multitudes which flocked processionally to one or other of
the great basilicas, the sacred orators who preached in the
public streets, and the most frequented quarters of the city
resounding with the Divine praises. The Sovereign Pontiff
himself, with a numerous suite of Cardinals and in the sight
of all the people, gave a noble example of piety and charity.

"From such thoughts as these we turn with renewed sorrow to
the times in which we now live; for such practices of piety,
when without hindrance they were fulfilled under the eyes of
all the citizens, augmented admirably the fervor and piety of
the whole people; but now, on account of the changed condition
of Rome, it is impossible to renew them, for in order to do so
in any measure we must depend upon the arbitration of others.
But however that may be, God, who ever blesses salutary
counsels, will concede—such is our hope—success to this our
design, undertaken solely for Him and for His glory. At what
do we aim or what do we wish? Nothing else truly than to
render more easy the way of eternal salvation to the souls
confided to us, and for this end to administer to the infirm
of spirit those remedies which it has pleased our Lord Jesus
Christ to place in our hands. This administration seems to us
not alone a duty of our apostolic office, but a duty which is
peculiarly necessary to our times. The present age, however,
cannot be said to be sterile, either in regard to good works
or to Christian virtues. Thanks be to God, we have examples of
both in abundance, nor is there any virtue, however lofty and
arduous its attainment and practice, in which many are not
found to signalize themselves, because it is a power proper to
the Christian religion, Divinely founded, inexhaustible and
perpetual, to generate and nourish virtue. Yet, casting our
eyes around, we see, on the other hand, with what blindness,
with what persistent error, whole peoples are hurrying to
eternal ruin. And this thought strikes bitterly to our
heart—how many Christians, led away by the license of hearing
and of thought, absorbing with avidity the intoxicating errors
of false doctrine, go on day by day dissipating and destroying
the grand gift of the faith. Hence arise repugnance to
Christian living, that insatiable appetite for the things of
this world, and hence cares and thoughts alienated from God
and rooted in the world. It is almost impossible to express in
words the damage which has already accrued from this
iniquitous source to the very foundations of society. The
minds of men ordinarily rebellious, the blind tendency of
popular cupidity, hidden perils, tragical crimes, are nothing
more to those who seek their source and cause than the
unrestrained strife to possess and enjoy the goods of this
world.

"It is of supreme importance, therefore, to public no less
than private life, to admonish men as to the duties of their
state, to arouse souls steeped in forgetfulness of duty, to
recall to the thought of their own salvation those who run
imminent risk of perishing and of losing through their
negligence and pride those celestial and unchangeable rewards
for the possession of which we are born. This is the aim of
the Holy Year. The Church, mindful only of her intrinsic
benignity and mercy as a most tender Mother, studies at this
time, with love and by every means within her ample power, to
re-conduct souls to better counsels and to promote in each
works of expiation by means of penance and emendation of life.
To this end, multiplying prayers and augmenting the fervor of
the faithful, she seeks to appease the outraged majesty of God
and to draw down His copious and celestial gifts. She opens
wide the rich treasury of indulgences, of which she is the
appointed dispenser, and exhorts the whole of Christianity to
the firm hope of pardon. She is purely intent upon vanquishing
with unconquerable love and sweetness the most rebellious
wills. How, then, may we not hope to obtain, with God's help,
rich fruits and profuse, and such as are most adapted to the
present needs?

"Several extraordinary solemnities, the notices of which we
believe to be already sufficiently diffused, and which will
serve in some manner to consecrate the end of the nineteenth
century and the beginning of the twentieth, greatly increase
the advantage of the opportunity now given. We speak of the
honors to be rendered at this time in every part of the world
to Jesus Christ as our Redeemer. On this account we were
profuse in our approbation and praise of a project which had
its source in the piety of private individuals, and, in fact,
what could be more holy and salutary? All that which man
should hope for and desire is contained in the only-begotten
Son of God, our Salvation, Life, and Resurrection.
{348}
To desire to abandon Him is to desire eternal perdition. We
could never silence adoration, praise, thanksgiving due to our
Lord Jesus Christ, and without intermission they should be
repeated everywhere, for in every place no thanksgiving, no
honor, can be so great but that it may be increased. Our age
produces perhaps many men who are forgetful and ungrateful,
who ordinarily respond to the mercy of their Divine Saviour
with disdain and to His gifts with offenses and injuries.
Certainly the lives of many are so far removed from His laws
and His precepts as to argue in themselves ungrateful and
malicious souls. And what shall we say to see renewed again in
these times and not once alone, the blasphemy of the Arian
heresy regarding the Divinity of Jesus Christ. Courage, then,
and to work, all you who with this new and most beautiful
proposition seek to excite the piety of the people to new
fervor. Do what you can in such manner that you impede not the
course of the Jubilee and the appointed solemnities. Let it be
added that in the forthcoming manifestations of faith and
religion this special intention shall be kept in view—hatred
of all that which within our memory has been impiously said or
done, especially against the Divine Majesty of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and to satisfy publicly for the injuries publicly
inflicted upon Him. Now if we are really in earnest, we must
know that to repent of evil done, and, having implored peace
and pardon of God, to exercise ourselves with great diligence,
in the duties necessary to virtue, and to assume those we have
cast aside, is the means of satisfaction most desirable and
assured, and which bears upon it the impress of truth. Since
the Holy Year offers to all the opportunities which we have
touched on in the beginning, it is a necessary provision that
the Christian people enter upon it full of courage and of
hope.

"For which reason, raising our eyes to heaven and praying from
our heart that God, so rich in mercy, would vouchsafe to
concede benignly His blessing and favor to our desires and
works, and would illuminate with His Divine light the minds of
all men, and move their souls to conform with His holy will
and inestimable goodness, We, following in this the example of
the Roman Pontiffs, our predecessors, with the assent of the
Cardinals of the Holy Roman College, our Venerable Brethren,
in virtue of these letters, with the authority of Christ, of
the blessed Peter and Paul, and with our own authority, order
and promulgate from this hour the great and universal jubilee,
which will commence in this holy city of Rome at the first
Vespers of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ of the year
1899, and which will close at first Vespers of the Nativity of
our Lord of the year 1900. May all redound to the glory of
God, the salvation of souls, and the good of the Church.
During this year of jubilee we concede and impart mercifully
in our Lord full indulgence, remission and pardon of sin to
all faithful Christians of either sex, who, being truly
penitent shall confess and communicate, visiting devoutly the
Roman basilicas of SS. Peter and Paul, St. John Lateran, and
St. Mary Major, at least once a day for twenty days
continuously or at intervals; that is, the obligation is to be
fulfilled between the first Vespers of each day and the last
Vespers of the day following, whether the Faithful be citizens
of Rome or not, if they are residing permanently in Rome. If
they come to Rome as pilgrims, then they must visit the said
basilicas in the same manner for ten days, praying devoutly to
God for the exaltation of Holy Church, for the extirpation of
heresies, for peace and concord amongst Christian princes, and
for the salvation of the whole Christian people.

"And since it may happen to many that with all their good-will
they cannot or can only in part carry out the above, being
either, while in Rome or on their journey, impeded by illness
or other legitimate causes, we, taking into account their
good-will, can, when they are truly repentant and have duly
confessed and communicated, concede to them the participation
in the same indulgences and remission of sins as if they had
actually visited the basilicas on the days appointed. Rome,
therefore, invites you lovingly to her bosom, beloved
children, from all parts of the world, who have means of
visiting her. Know also that to a good Catholic in this sacred
time it is fitting that he come to Rome guided purely by
Christian faith, and that he should renounce especially the
satisfaction of sight-seeing merely idle or profane, turning
his soul rather to those things which predispose him to
religion and piety. And that which tends greatly so to
predispose him, if he look within, is the natural character of
the city, a certain character divinely impressed upon her, and
not to be changed by human means, nor by any act of violence.
For Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, chose only,
amongst all its cities, that of Rome to be the centre of an
action more than earthly, consecrating it to Himself. Here He
placed, and not without long and careful preparation, the
throne of His own empire; here He commanded that the see of
His Vicar should be raised to the perpetuity of time; here He
willed that the light of revealed truth should be jealously
and inviolably guarded, and that from here light should be
diffused throughout the whole earth in such a manner that
those who are alienated from the faith of Rome are alienated
from Christ. The religious monuments raised by our fathers,
the singular majesty of her temples, the tomb of the Apostles,
the Catacombs of the martyrs, all serve to increase the aspect of
holiness and to impress those who visit her in the spirit of
faith. Whosoever knows the voice of such monuments feels that
he is no pilgrim in a foreign city, but a citizen in his own,
and by God's grace he will realize this fact at his going,
more forcibly than at his coming.

"We wish, in order that these present letters may be brought
more easily under the notice of all, that printed copies,
signed by a public notary and furnished with the seal of some
ecclesiastical dignitary, shall be received with the same
faith as would be given to the original by those who have
heard or read it.

"To no one will it be lawful to alter any word of this our
disposition, promulgation, concession, and will, or to rashly
oppose it. If any should presume to make any such attempt, let
them know that they incur thereby the indignation of God
Almighty and of His Apostles Peter and Paul.

"Given at St. Peter's, Rome, on the 11th of May, in the year
of the Incarnation of our Lord 1899, and the 22d of our
Pontificate. C. Card. ALOISI-MASELLA, Pro-Datory. L. Card.
MACCHI.

{349}

"Witnessed on behalf of the Curia: G. DELL' AQUILA VISCONTI.
Registered in the Secretariate of Briefs, J. CUGNONI. In the
year of the Nativity of our Lord 1899, on the 11th day of May,
feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the 22d year
of the Pontificate of our Holy Father and Lord in Christ, Leo
XIII, by Divine Providence Pope, I have read and solemnly
promulgated the present apostolical letters in the presence
of the people, in the porch of the Holy Patriarchal Vatican
Basilica. GIUSEPPE DELL' AQUILA VISCONTI, Official of the
Curia."

On the termination of the "holy year," by a letter "given at
Rome in the year of Our Lord 1901," the Pope announced: "We
do, therefore, by the authority of Almighty God, of the
Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own, extend and
prorogue, for a period of six months, the Great Jubilee which
has just been celebrated in the Holy City. Wherefore, to all
the faithful of both sexes, in all parts of the earth,
including even those that have come to Rome during the past
year and there or elsewhere gained the Jubilee under any
conditions, we grant and accord mercifully in the Lord, for
once, the fullest indulgence, remission and pardon of their
sins, the annual Paschal confession and communion being,
however, not valid as conditions for gaining the Jubilee,
provided that within six months from the date of the
publication in each diocese of this letter they visit the
cathedral in the episcopal city or the principal church in
other parts of the different dioceses, together with three
other churches in the same place, as appointed by the Ordinary
either directly or through his officials, the parish priests
or Vicar Foran, at least once a day for fifteen continuous or
uninterrupted days, natural or ecclesiastical (the
ecclesiastical day being that which commences with the first
vespers of one day and ends with the dusk of the day
following), and pray devoutly to God for the exaltation of the
Church, the extirpation of heresy, the concord of Catholic
princes and the salvation of the Christian people. In places
where there are not four churches, power is granted in the
same way to the Ordinaries to fix a smaller number or
churches, or even one church where there is only one, in which
the faithful may make the full number of visits, separate and
distinct, on the same natural or ecclesiastical day, in such a
way that the sixty visits be distributed through fifteen
continuous or interrupted days."

Provisions relating to the circumstances of persons at sea or
traveling, or in religious community, or in prison, are
prescribed in the papal letter, and special privileges and
powers are granted to "Jubilee confessors,"

PAPACY: A. D. 1901.
Encyclical Letter of Pope Leo XIII. concerning Social and
Christian Democracy.

In a letter dated January 18, 1901, addressed "to the
Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Bishops, and other Local
Ordinaries in communion with the Apostolic See," the Pope has
discussed the subjects of Democracy and Socialism, with
reference to controverted views and opinions "defining what
Catholics ought to think," and giving them "some injunctions
so as to make their own action larger in scope and more
beneficial to the commonwealth." The letter opens with these
words: "Venerable Brethren—Grave economical disputes in more
than one country have long been raging; peace and concord are
affected; the violence of the disputants grows every day,
insomuch that the thoughts of the wiser part are laden with
doubt, and apprehension. These disputes arise in the first
instance from widespread philosophical and moral error. The
scientific resources belonging to the age, increased
facilities of communication and appliances of all kinds for
economizing labor and making it more productive have resulted
in a keener struggle for existence. Through the malefic
influence of agitators the gulf between rich and poor has been
widened, so that frequent disturbances arise and even great
calamities seem impending such as would bring ruin on a
country."

The Pope then refers to his early encyclicals ("Quod
Apostolici Muneris," issued in 1878, on the error in
socialistic opinions, and "Rerum Novarum," issued in 1891, on
"the rights and duties binding together the two classes of
capitalists and laborers"), and to the good influence which he
finds reason to believe they have had, and says further:
"Thus, therefore, under the guidance of the Church, some sort
of concerted action and institutional provision has been set
up among Catholics for the protection of the lower classes,
who are very often as much the victims of dangerous
machinations and snares as they are suffering from hardship
and poverty. The creed of the benefactor of the people had
originally no name of its own; that of Christian Socialism and
its derivatives, which some brought in, has not undeservedly
grown obsolete. Afterward many wanted, very rightly, to name
it Popular Christianity. In some places those who devote
themselves to such work are called Christian Socialists;
elsewhere it is called Christian Democracy, and its supporters
Christian Democrats, as opposed to the Social Democracy, which
Socialists uphold. Of these two appellations, certainly that
of Christian Socialists, if not also of Christian Democracy,
is offensive to many right-minded people, inasmuch as they
think there is a perilous ambiguity attaching to it. They are
afraid of the name for several reasons—popular government may
be covertly promoted or preferred to other forms of political
constitution; the influence of Christianity may seem to be
confined to the benefit of the common people, all other ranks
being as it were left out in the cold; beneath the specious
designation may lurk some design or other of subverting all
legitimate authority, being civil and religious.

"There is now commonly much dispute, and sometimes over-bitter
dispute, on this topic, and we deem it our duty to put an end
to the controversy by defining what Catholics ought to think;
moreover we intend to give them some injunctions so as to make
their own action larger in scope and more beneficial to the
commonwealth.

"What Social Democracy means, and what Christian ought to
mean, does not surely admit of doubt. The former, more or less
extreme, as the case may be, is by many carried to such
extravagance of wickedness as to reckon human satisfaction
supreme and acknowledge nothing higher, to pursue bodily goods
and those of the natural world, and to make the happiness of man
consist in attaining and enjoying them. Hence they would have
the supreme power in a state to be in the hands of the common
people, in such sort that all distinction or rank being
abolished and every citizen made equal to every other, all
might have equal access also to the good things of life; the
law of lordship is to be abolished, private fortunes
confiscated and even socialization of the appliances of labor
carried out.

{350}

But Christian Democracy, as Christian, ought to have as its
foundation the principles laid down by divine faith, having
regard, indeed, to the temporal advantage of the lower orders,
but designing therewith to fit their minds for the enjoyment
of things eternal. Accordingly, to Christian Democracy, let
there be nothing more sacred than law and right; let it bid
the right of having and holding be kept inviolate; let it
maintain the diversity of ranks which properly belong to a
well-ordered state; in fine, let it prefer for human
association that form and character which its divine author
has imposed upon it. Clearly, therefore, Social and Christian
Democracy can have nothing in common; the difference between
them is no less than that between the sectarianism of
socialism and the profession of the Christian law.

"Far be it from any one to pervert the name of Christian
Democracy to political ends. For although democracy by its
very name and by philosophical usage denotes popular rule, yet
in this application it must be employed altogether without
political significance, so as to denote nothing whatever
besides this beneficent Christian action upon the people. For
natural morality and the precepts of the Gospel, for the very
reason that they transcend the chances of human existence,
must necessarily be independent of any particular form of
civil government and adapt themselves to all, so long as there
is nothing to conflict with virtue and right. They are,
therefore, and remain in themselves, absolutely external to
all conflict of parties and vicissitudes of occurrence, so
that, under whatever kind of government, people may and ought
to abide by these precepts, which bid them love God above all
and their neighbors as themselves. This has ever been the
morality of the Church: by it Roman Pontiffs have constantly
dealt with states whatever might be their executive
government. And this being so, the mind and action of
Catholics, when devoted to promoting the good of the lower
orders, cannot by any possibility aim at embracing and
introducing any one form of government in preference to
another.

"Just in the same way must Christian Democracy repudiate the
other ground of offense, which arises from paying so much
regard to the interests of the lower classes as to seem to
pass over the higher, who are nevertheless of equal importance
to the preservation and development of the State. The
Christian law of charity, which we have just mentioned,
forbids this. It is large enough to embrace all ranks as the
aim and the task of those who would have the common people in
a Christian spirit on the one hand suitably relieved, and, on
the other, preserved against the contagion of socialism. …

"We have recalled these various topics on which we have before
this found occasion to dilate according to our ability, and we
trust that all dispute over the name of Christian Democracy
may now be laid aside, as well as any suspicion of dangerous
signification attaching to it. This trust we rightly cherish.
For making exception of the ideas of certain persons regarding
the force and virtue of this kind of Christian Democracy,
ideas which are not free from extravagance or error, surely
there will be no single person to find fault with an endeavor,
conformably to the law of nature and of God, to do merely
this, to make the lives of laborers and artisans more
tolerable, and gradually to give them the opportunity of
self-culture, so that at home and in the world they may freely
fulfil the obligations of virtue and religion, may feel
themselves to be men, and not mere animals, Christian men, not
pagans, and so strive with more felicity and earnestness to
attain that 'one thing needful,' that final good, for which we
came into the world. This is belonging to one and the same
family, the offspring of the same all-beneficent Father,
redeemed by one Saviour and called to the same eternal
inheritance. …

"God forbid that under the name of Christian democracy should
lie the surreptitious aim of throwing off all obedience and
turning away from those in lawful authority. The law of
nature, no less than that of Christ, enjoins respect for all
such as in their several degree hold office in the State, and
further enjoins obedience to their lawful commands. This is
the only attitude worthy of a man and a Christian, and ought
to be taken up heartily and as a matter of duty, 'for
conscience's sake,' as the Apostle himself has admonished,
when he ordained: 'Let every soul be subject to the highest
powers.' …

"We spoke just now advisedly of virtue and religion. For it is
the opinion of some, which is caught up by the masses, that
the social question, as they call it, is 'economical' merely.
The precise opposite is the truth—that it is first of all
moral and religious, and for that reason its solution is to be
expected mainly from the moral law and the pronouncements of
religion. … Without the instincts which Christian wisdom
implants and keeps alive, without providence, self-control,
thrift, endurance and other natural qualities, you may try
your hardest, but prosperity you cannot provide. That is the
reason why we have never encouraged Catholics to form
associations for the assistance of the poor, or introduce
other schemes of the kind, without at the same time warning
them that such things must not be attempted without the
sanction of religion, without its inclusion and aid. … It is a
laudable charity not merely to relieve the temporary needs of
the poor, but to have an organized system of relief; this will
be a more real and reliable assistance. It must be considered
still more laudable to desire to instill into the minds of the
mechanic and of the laborer notions of thrift and prudence, so
that they may at least in part make provision for their
declining years. It is an aim which not only relieves the cost
of the wealthy, but it is a moral step for the poor
themselves; it encourages them to approve their position,
while it keeps them away from temptations, checks
self-indulgence and leads them on to virtuous behavior. …

"Finally, we again enjoin with greater insistence that
whatever schemes people take up in the popular cause, whether
individually or in association, they should remember that they
must be entirely submissive to episcopal authority. Do not let
them be beguiled by an excessive ardor for charitable
enterprise, which, if it induces any relaxation of due
obedience, is itself false, unproductive of solid benefit and
displeasing to God. Those who please God are those who are
ready to give up their own ideas and listen to the bidding of
the rulers of the Church, absolutely as to His own."

_Catholic Union and Times,
February 21, 1901._

{351}

PARIS: A. D. 1897.
Burning of the Charity Bazaar.

An awful destruction of life was caused on the 4th of May by
fire breaking out in a charity bazaar, held in the Rue Jean
Goujon, at Paris. Temporary structures had been erected, of
wood and other combustible materials, to represent a street of
Old Paris shops, and the flames ran through them like
wildfire. The place was thronged with people, mostly of the
aristocratic class and more than 200 are said to have
perished.

PARIS: A. D. 1900 (April-November).
Exposition.

See (in this volume)
FRANCE: A. D. 1900 (APRIL-NOVEMBER).

PARIS: A. D. 1900 (September).
Gigantic banquet to the Mayors of France.

See (in this volume)
FRANCE: A. D. 1900 (SEPTEMBER).

PARIS, Treaty of (1898), between the United States and Spain.

See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1898 (JULY-DECEMBER).

PARKHURST, Reverend Dr. Charles:
His attack on the Tammany administration of New York City.

See (in this volume)
NEW YORK CITY: A. D. 1894-1895.

PARLIAMENT, The British:
Ceremonious opening by King Edward VII.

See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1901 (FEBRUARY).

PARLIAMENTARY REFORM, Austrian.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1895-1896.

----------PARTIES AND FACTIONS, POLITICAL
AND POLITICO-RELIGIOUS: Start--------

PARTIES:
Afrikander Bund, or Bondsmen.

See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (CAPE COLONY):
A. D. 1881-1888; 1898; 1898(MARCH-OCTOBER);
and 1900 (DECEMBER).

PARTIES:
Agrarian Protectionists, German.

See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1895-1898.

PARTIES:
Anti-Imperialists.

See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).

PARTIES:
Anti-Semites.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1895-1896, and after;
FRANCE: A. D. 1897-1899, and after;
GERMANY: A. D. 1898 (JUNE).

PARTIES:
Blancos, or Whites.

See (in this volume)
URUGUAY: A. D. 1896-1899.

PARTIES:
The Bond.

See above,
AFRIKANDER BUND.

PARTIES:
Centre (Catholic, of Germany).

See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D.1898 (JUNE).

PARTIES:
Christian Social party.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1897.

PARTIES:
Clerical party, Austria.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1897.

PARTIES:
Colorados, or Reds.

See (in this volume)
URUGUAY: A. D. 1896-1899.

PARTIES:
Deutsch Fortschrittliche.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1897.

PARTIES:
"Fanatics."

See (in this volume)
BRAZIL: A. D. 1897.

PARTIES:
"Free Silver" Democracy.

See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER)
and 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).

PARTIES:
Fuyu-to (Liberals).

See (in this volume)
JAPAN: A. D. 1890-1898.

PARTIES:
German Democrats.

See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1898 (JUNE).

PARTIES:
German Liberal party, Austria.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1897.

PARTIES:
German People's party.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1897.

PARTIES:
Gold Democrats.

See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER).

PARTIES:
Hintchak, The.

See (in this volume)
TURKEY: A. D. 1895.

PARTIES:
Historic Christian party.

See (in this volume)
NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1897.

PARTIES:
Kai-shin-to (Progressives).

See (in this volume)
JAPAN: A. D. 1890-1898.

PARTIES:
Kensei-to (Constitutional party).

See (in this volume)
JAPAN: A. D. 1898-1899.

PARTIES:
Labor party, French (Parti Ouvrier).

See (in this volume)
FRANCE: A. D. 1896 (APRIL-MAY).

PARTIES:
Liberal Democrats (German).

See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1898 (JUNE).

PARTIES:
Liberal Unionists (German).

See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1898 (JUNE).

PARTIES:
Lincoln party.

See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER), SILVER REPUBLICAN.

PARTIES:
Little England party.

See (in this volume)
LITTLE ENGLAND PARTY.

PARTIES:
Middle-of-the-Road Populists.

See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER);
and 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).

PARTIES:
National Democratic party.

See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER).

PARTIES:
National Liberals (German).

See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1898 (JUNE).

PARTIES:
National party, 1896 and 1900.

See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER);
and 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).

PARTIES:
National Silver party.

See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER).

PARTIES:
New Radical party.

See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1896 (MAY).

PARTIES:
Old Czechs.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1897.

PARTIES:
Pan-Germanic Union.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1901.

PARTIES:
Patriotic League.

See (in this volume)
FRANCE: A. D. 1898 (MAY-NOVEMBER).

PARTIES:
Polish Club.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1897.

PARTIES:
Progressives (Kaishin-to).

See (in this volume)
JAPAN: A. D. 1890-1898.

PARTIES:
Progressives (Cape).

See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (CAPE COLONY):
A. D. 1898; and 1898 (MARCH-OCTOBER).

PARTIES:
Protestant Anti-Revolutionists.

See (in this volume)
NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1897.

PARTIES:
Rikken Seiyu-kai
Association of Friends of the Constitution.

See (in this volume)
JAPAN: A. D. 1900 (AUGUST-OCTOBER).

PARTIES:
Siah Chai, The.

See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1895 (AUGUST).

PARTIES:
Silver Republicans.

See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER);
and 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).

PARTIES:
Socialist parties.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1897;
FRANCE: A. D. 1896 (APRIL-MAY);
GERMANY: A. D. 1894-1895, and 1898 (JUNE);
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER),
and 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).

PARTIES:
"Sound Money" Democrats.

See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER).

PARTIES:
United Christian party.

See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER).

PARTIES:
United Irish League.

See (in this volume)
IRELAND: A. D. 1900-1901.

PARTIES:
"Vegetarians."

See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1895 (AUGUST).

PARTIES:
Verfassungstreue Grossgrundbesitz.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1897.

PARTIES:
Volkspartei.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1897.

PARTIES:
Young Czechs.

See (in this volume)
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1897.

PATRIARCHATE: Re-established at Alexandria.

See (in this volume)
PAPACY: A. D. 1896 (MARCH).

PATRIOTIC LEAGUE.

See (in this volume)
FRANCE: A. D. 1898 (MAY-NOVEMBER).

{352}

PAUNCEFOTE, Sir Julian:
British commissioner to the Peace Conference at The Hague.

See (in this volume)
PEACE CONFERENCE.

----------PARTIES: End--------

----------PEACE CONFERENCE.: Start--------

PEACE CONFERENCE:

On the 24th of August, 1898, without previous heralding or
intimation, Count Mouravieff, the Russian Minister for Foreign
Affairs, placed copies of the following momentous proposal
from the Tsar in the hands of all the foreign representatives
attending his weekly reception at St. Petersburg:

"The maintenance of universal peace and a possible reduction
of the excessive armaments which weigh upon all nations
represent, in the present condition of affairs all over the
world, the ideal towards which the efforts of all Governments
should be directed. This view fully corresponds with the
humane and magnanimous intentions of His Majesty the Emperor,
my august Master. Being convinced that this high aim agrees
with the most essential interests and legitimate aspirations
of all the Powers, the Imperial Government considers the
present moment a very favourable one for seeking, through
international discussion, the most effective means of assuring
to all peoples the blessings of real and lasting peace, and
above all of limiting the progressive development of existing
armaments. During the last twenty years aspirations towards
general pacification have particularly asserted themselves in
the consciences of civilized nations. The preservation of
peace has been made the aim of international policy; for the
sake of peace the Great Powers have formed powerful alliances,
and for the purpose of establishing a better guarantee of peace
they have developed their military forces in an unprecedented
degree, and continue to develop them without hesitating at any
sacrifice. All these efforts, however, have not yet led to the
beneficent results of the desired pacification. The ever
increasing financial burdens strike at the root of public
prosperity. The physical and intellectual forces of the
people, labour and capital, are diverted for the greater part
from their natural application and wasted unproductively.
Hundreds of millions are spent in acquiring terrible engines
of destruction which are regarded to-day as the latest
inventions of science, but are destined to-morrow to be
rendered obsolete by some new discovery. National culture,
economical progress, and the production of wealth are either
paralysed or developed in a wrong direction. Therefore, the
more the armaments of each Power increase, the less they
answer to the objects aimed at by the Governments. Economic
disturbances are caused in great measure by this system of
excessive armaments, and the constant danger involved in this
accumulation of war material renders the armed peace of to-day
a crushing burden more and more difficult for the nations to
bear. It consequently seems evident that if this situation be
prolonged, it will inevitably lead to that very disaster which
it is desired to avoid, and the horrors of which make every
humane mind shudder by anticipation. It is the supreme duty,
therefore, at the present moment of all States to put some
limit to these unceasing armaments, and to find means of
averting the calamities which threaten the whole world. Deeply
impressed by this feeling, His Majesty the Emperor has been
pleased to command me to propose to all Governments who have
Representatives at the Imperial Court the meeting of a
Conference to discuss this grave problem. Such a Conference,
with God's help, would be a happy augury for the opening
century. It would concentrate in one powerful effort the
strivings of all States which sincerely wish to bring about
the triumph of the grand idea of universal peace over the
elements of trouble and discord. It would, at the same time,
cement their agreement by a united affirmation of the
principles of law and equity on which rest the security of
States and the welfare of peoples."

_Great Britain, Parliamentary Publications
(Papers by Command: Russia, Number 1, 1899)._

Having allowed his supremely noble proposition to stand before
the world for consideration during a period of four months,
and having received from almost every governing authority a
formal expression of willingness to join in the Conference
recommended, the sovereign of Russia pursued his grand design,
on the 11th of January, 1899, by the following communication
to the foreign representatives at his court:

"When, in the month of August last, my August master
instructed me to propose to the Governments which have
Representatives in St. Petersburg the meeting of a Conference
with the object of seeking the most efficacious means for
assuring to all peoples the blessings of real and lasting
peace, and, above all, in order to put a stop to the
progressive development of the present armaments, there
appeared to be no obstacle in the way of the realization, at
no distant date, of this humanitarian scheme. The cordial
reception accorded by nearly all the Powers to the step taken
by the Imperial Government could not fail to strengthen this
expectation. While highly appreciating the sympathetic terms
in which the adhesions of most of the Powers were expressed,
the Imperial Cabinet has been also able to collect, with
lively satisfaction, evidence of the warmest approval which
has reached it, and continues to be received, from all classes
of society in various parts of the globe. Notwithstanding the
strong current of opinion which set in favour of the ideas of
general pacification, the political horizon bas recently
undergone a sensible change. Several Powers have undertaken
fresh armaments, striving to increase further their military
forces, and in the presence of this uncertain situation, it
might be asked whether the Powers considered the present
moment opportune for the international discussion of the ideas
set forth in the Circular of the 12th (24th) August. In the
hope, however, that the elements of trouble agitating
political centres will soon give place to a calmer disposition
of a nature to favour the success of the proposed Conference,
the Imperial Government is of opinion that it would be
possible to proceed forthwith to a preliminary exchange of
ideas between the Powers, with the object:

(a.) Of seeking without delay means for putting a limit to the
progressive increase of military and naval armaments, a question
the solution of which becomes evidently more and more urgent
in view of the fresh extension given to these armaments; and

(b.) Of preparing the way for a discussion of the questions
relating to the possibility of preventing armed conflicts by
the pacific means at the disposal of international diplomacy.

{353}

In the event of the Powers considering the present moment
favourable for the meeting of a Conference on these bases, it
would certainly be useful for the Cabinets to come to an
understanding on the subject of the programme of their
labours. The subjects to be submitted for international
discussion at the Conference could, in general terms, be
summarized as follows:

"1. An understanding not to increase for a fixed period the
present effective of the armed military and naval forces, and
at the same time not to increase the Budgets pertaining
thereto; and a preliminary examination of the means by which a
reduction might even be effected in future in the forces and
Budgets above-mentioned.

"2. To prohibit the use in the armies and fleets of any new
kind of fire-arms whatever and of new explosives, or any
powders more powerful than those now in use either for rifles
or cannon.