Oct 30, 2020
Vatican II’s Declaration on Non secular Freedom, Humanis
Dignitatae, begins by noting that its dialogue of non secular
liberty “has to do with immunity from coercion in civil society”
and so “leaves untouched conventional Catholic doctrine on the ethical
responsibility of males and societies towards the true faith and towards the
one Church of Christ.” This episode is about discovering what that
conventional doctrine was and is.
Our most important supply will probably be Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Immortale
Dei, which is obtainable in audiobook kind on
CatholicCulture.org. Thomas Pink guides us by means of a detailed studying
of this doc (with supplementary materials from
Libertas and Longuinqua). Right here, and within the
magisterium of different Nineteenth-century Popes, we discover numerous
teachings on Church and State which have gone largely unmentioned
for the reason that Council, and that are sadly forgotten and even rejected
by nearly all of self-described conservative Catholics.
The core level is that the State, just like the Church, receives its
authority from God. Subsequently the State has an obligation of obedience to
God, obedience which can’t be arbitrarily restricted to what will be
recognized by purpose, excluding revelation. So, Leo says, the State has
duties to profess, defend and foster faith, and never simply any
faith, however the true Religion:
“The Church, certainly, deems it illegal to put the assorted
types of divine worship on the identical footing because the true faith,
however doesn’t, on that account, condemn these rulers who, for the
sake of securing some nice good or of hindering some nice evil,
permit patiently customized or utilization to be a form of sanction for every
form of faith having its place within the State.”
Different factors mentioned are these: Leo’s analogy evaluating the
relationship between Church and State to the concord between soul
and physique. The evil penalties of the State’s indifference towards
God and true faith. The authority of the Church to coerce the
baptized in fulfilling their spiritual duties, and to have the
State act as its agent (all of the whereas remembering that the State
has no authority of its personal to control the supernatural good of
faith). Leo’s condemnation of freedom of speech and opinion as
generally understood.
It’s clear {that a} docile and orthodox studying of Vatican II
can’t lead us to dismiss prior teachings on Church and State. But
this works each methods: Church instructing is is a unity, so when
discussing these older teachings, we should additionally ask what’s the
nature Vatican II’s instructing on spiritual liberty and the way all of
these teachings will be understood in gentle of each other. The important thing
lies within the restricted scope of Dignitatis Humanae, which
from the outset intends solely to handle spiritual coercion by the
State, and leaves the duties of the State in the direction of faith
untouched in each senses of the phrase.
Although the Church’s instructing on spiritual liberty is way
farther from the beliefs of the American Founding than many careless
readers of Dignitatis Humanae have assumed, American
Catholics can and should love their nation. Subsequently we shut with
Pope Leo’s pleasant and inspiring phrases to the Church in
America.
Contents
[3:09] The historic and theological context of Immortale
Dei
[7:52] True and false liberty
[10:38] The 2 powers of Church and State; their directive and
coercive features
[18:40] The State’s responsibility to profess, defend and foster the one
true faith
[24:06] Causes for toleration of different religions; coercion of
the baptized
[34:15] Leo’s analogy of Church and State with soul and physique
[43:36] Separate sovereignties of Church and State work together;
State can act because the “secular arm”
[49:41] Obligations twd. faith of the State correctly
talking, not simply rulers as people
[55:23] Penalties of the State neglecting God and
faith
[1:03:00] Dignitatis Humanae: drafting, supposed scope,
legacy, compatibility with custom
[1:20:50] Papal condemnations of freedom of speech and
opinion
[1:31:30] The Church’s transfer away from coercing baptized
heretics
[1:36:33] The significance of docility in accepting troublesome
teachings
[1:41:49] Want for a synthesis of the entire magisterium on
Church, State and non secular liberty
Hyperlinks
Audiobook of Immortale Dei
https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/pope-leo-xiii-immortale-dei-on-christian-constitution-states/
Textual content of Immortale Dei (On the Christian Structure of
States)
https://www.catholicculture.org/tradition/library/view.cfm?recnum=4916
Libertas (On the Nature of Human Liberty) https://www.catholicculture.org/tradition/library/view.cfm?id=4885
Longuinqua (On Catholicism in the US)
http://catholic.web/op/articles/286/cat/1198/longuinqua.html
Thomas Pink on Twitter https://twitter.com/thomaspink1
Thomas Pink, “Conscience and Coercion”
https://www.firstthings.com/article/2012/08/conscience-and-coercion
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