PART II.

THE CHURCH.
THE CIIUECH.
The Dogmatic Constitution of the Catholic Faith, as promulgated by the Vatican Council, April 24, 1870, bears relation to secret societies. It reads thus :
"PIUS
Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God, with the Ap- proval of the Sacred Council, for perpetual Re- memhrance: Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and Eedeemei* of mankind, before returning to His heavenly Father, promised that He would be with the Church Militant on earth all days, even to tne consummation of the world. Therefore He has never ceased to be present with His beloved spouse, to assist her when teaching, to bless her when at work, and to aid her when in danger. And this. His salutary providence, whicli has been constantly dis- played by other innumerable benefits, has been most manifestly proved by the abundant good results which Christendom has derived from CEcumenical Councils, and particularly from that of Trent, although it was held in evil times. For, as a consequence, the sacred doctrines of the faith have been defined more closely, and set forth more fully, errors have been condemned and restrained, ecclesiastical discipline has been restored and more firmly secured, the love of learning and piety has been promoted among the clergy, colleges have been stablished to educate youth for the sacred warfare, and
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the morals of the Christian world have been renewed by the more accurate training of the faithful, and by the more frequent use of the sacraments. Moreover, there has resulted a closer communion of the members with the visible head, an increase of vigor in the whole mysti- cal body of Christ, the multiplication of religious con- gregations and of other institutions of Christian piety, and such ardor in extending the kingdom of Christ throughout the world, as constantly endures, even to the sacrifice of life itself.
But while we recall with due thankfulness these and other signal benefits which the divine mercy has be- stowed on the Church, especially by the last (Ecumen- ical Council, we can not restrain our bitter sorrow for the grave evils, which are principally due to the fact that the authority of the sacred synod has been con- temned, or its wise decrees neglected by many.
No one is ignorant that the heresies proscribed ^y the Fathers of Trent, by which the divine magisterium of the Church was rejected, and all matters regarding religion were surrendered to the judgment of each indi- vidual, gradually became dissolved into many sects, wliich disagreed and contended with one another, until at length not a few lost all faitli in Christ. Even the Holy Scriptures, which had previously been declared the sole source and judge of Christian doctrine, began to be held no longer as divine, but to be ranked among the fictions of mythology.
Then there arose, and too widely overspread the world, that doctrine or rationalism, or naturalism, which opposes itself in every way to the Christian religion a^ a supernatural institution, and v;orks with the utmost
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s:e(il in order that, after Christ, our sole Lord and Saviour, has been excluded from the minds of men, and from the life and moral acts of nations, the reign of what they call pure reason or nature may he established. And after forsahing and rejecting the Christian relig- ion, and denying the true God and His Christ, the minds of many have sunk into the abyss of Pantheism, Materi- alism, and Atheism, until, denying rational nature itself, and every sound rule of right, they labor to destroy the deepest foundation of human society. Unhappily, it has yet farther come to pass that, while this impiety prevailed on every side, many even of the children of the Catholic Church have strayed from the path of true piety, and by the gradual diminution of the truths they held, the Catholic sense became weakened in them. For, led away by various and strange doctrines, utterly confusing nature and grace, human science and divine faith, they are found to deprave the true sense of the doctrines which our Holy Mother Church holds and teaches,' and endanger the integrity and the soundness of the faith. Considering these things, how can the Church fail to be deeply stirred ? For, even as God v^^ills all men to be saved, and to arrive at the knowledge, of the truth, even as Christ came to save what had perished and to gather together the children of God who had been dis- persed, so the Church, constituted by God the mother and teacher of nations, knows its own office as debtor to all, and is ever ready and watchful to raise the fallen, to support those who are falling, to embrace those who return, to confirm the good and to carry them on to better things.
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Hence, it can never forbear from witnessing to and proclaiming the truth of God, which heals all things, knowing the words addressed to it : "My Spirit that is in thee, and my words that I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, from henceforth and forever/' — (Isaias, lix. 21.)
We, therefore, following the footsteps of our prede- cessors, have never ceased, as becomes our supreme Apos- tolic office, from teaching and defending Catholic truth, and condemning doctrines of error. And nov^, with the Bishops of the whole world assembled round us, and judging with us, congregated by our authority, and in the Holy Spirit, in this CKcumenical Council, we, supported by the Word of God, written and handed down as we receive it from the Catholic Church, pre- sensed with sacredness and set forth according to truth, have determined to profess and declare the salutary teaching of Christ from this Chair of Peter, and in sight of all, proscribing and condemning, by -the power given to us of God, all errors contrary thereto."
Encyclical Letter of His Holiness, Leo XIII, called "Humanum Genus," and issued on April 20, 1884 :
TO OUR VERE^ABLE BRETHREISr, ALL PATRIARCHS, PRIMATES, ARCHBISHOPS,
AND BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC WORLD,
IN FAA^OR AND COMMUNION WITH THE
APOSTOLIC SEA.
VENERABLE BRETHREN,
HEALTH AND APOSTOLIC BENEDICTION.
The race of man, after its miserable fall from God, the Creator and the Giver of heavenly gifts, "through the envy of the devil," separated into two diverse and opposite parts, of which the one steadfastly contends for truth and virtue, the other for those things which are contrary to virtue and to truth. The one is the king- dom of God on earth, namely, the true Church of Jesus Christ; and those who desire from their heart to be united with it, so as to gain salvation, must of necessity serve God and His Only-begotten Son with their whole mind and with an entire will. The other is the kingdom of Satan, in. whose possession and control are all whoso- ever follow the fatal example of their leader and of our first parents, those who refuse to obey the divine and eternal law, and who have many aims of their own in contempt of God, and many aims also against God.
This twofold kingdom St, Augustine keenly discerned and described after the manner of two cities, contrary in their laws because striving for contrary objects ; and with a subtle brevity he expressed the efficient cause of
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each in these words : "Two loves formed two cities : the love of self, reaching even to contempt of God, an earthly city; and the love of God, reaching to contempt of self, a heavenly one/' At every period of time each has been in conflict with the other, with a variety and multiplicity of weapons, and of warfare, although not alw^ays with equal ardor and assault. At this period, however, the partisans of evil seem to be combining together, and to be struggling with united vehemence, led on or assisted by that strongly organized and wide- spread association called the Free Masons, x^o longer making any secret of their purposes, they are now boldly rising up against God Himself. They are planning the destruction of Holy Church publicly and openly; and this with the set purpose of utterly despoiling the nations of Christendom, if it were possible, of the bless- ings obtained for us through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Lamenting these evils, we are constrained by the charity which urges our heart to cry out often to God : "For lo. Thy enemies have made a noise ; and they that hate Thee have lifted up the head. They have taken a malicious counsel against Thy people, and they have consulted against Thy Saints. They have said, ^Come, and let us destroy them, so that they be not a nation.' "
At so urgent a crisis, when so fierce and so pressing an onslaught is made upon the Christian name, it is Our office to point out the danger, to mark who are the adversaries, and to the best of Our power to make head against their plans and devices, that those may not perish whose salvation is committed to Us, and that the kingdom of Jesus Christ intrusted to Our charge may
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not only stand and remain whole, but may be enlarged by an ever-increasing growth throughout the world.
The Eoman Pontiffs Our Predecessors, in their inces- sant watchfulness over the safety of the Christian people, were prompt in detecting the presence and the purpose of this capital enemy immediately it sprang into the light instead of hiding as a dark conspiracy; and moreover they took occasion w^ith true foresight to give, as it were, the alarm, and to admonish both princes and nations to stand on their guard, and not allow them- selves to be caught by the devices and snares laid out to deceive them.
The first warning of the danger was given by Clement