RÉPONSE

S. Congregazione di Propaga?ida Segreteria

Roma, Settembre 1884.

Oggetto : Communicnzione di risoluzioni.

Illmo e Emo Signore,

La S. Y. con lettera del 5 Ottobre 1883 rimetteva alla S. Congne délia Suprema Inquisizione glistatuti délia Società dei Cavalieri del lavoro, e di quella dei Telegrqfisti amnchè presi ad esame dal S. Consesso, potesse dal medesimo giudicarsi sulla natura délie Società suddette, e di altre consimili, che Ella diceva ampiamente propagate non solo nel Canada ma anche negli Stati TJniti dell'America Settentrionale. Ora gli Emi Inquisitori G-enerali nella Congne del 26 p p. Agosto, dopo accurato e maturo esame, emisero un Decreto del seguente tenore : " Spectatis principiis, organismo, ac statutis Socie-

" tatis Equitum laborum prout exponuntur, Socie- " tatem ipsam recensendam esse inter prohibitas a S. " Sede, juxta instructionem hujus Supremœ Congivis " diei 10 maii 1884 et ad mentem. Mens est ut " commendetur Episcopis ut tam quoad delatas, " quam quoad similes Societates procédant, atque " remédia adhibeant secundum mandata, et consilia, " quse in eadem Instructione continentur.

Intanto prego il Signore che lungamente La conservi e La prosperi.

Di Y. S.

Affmo corne Fratello,

Giovanni Gard. Simeoni,

Prefetto f D. Arciv. Tyren.

Segr.

Mgr. Alessandro Taschereau, Arcivo : di Québec.

(Traduction.)

S. Con. de la Prop.

Secrétariat.

Rome, sept. 1884.

Objet : Communication de résolutions.

Illme et Eme Seigneur,

Votre Seigneurie, par une lettre du 5 octobre 1883, remettait à la S. Congrégation de l'Inquisition les règlements de la société des " Chevaliers du travail " et de celle des " Télégraphistes" afin que cette S. Congrégation, après les avoir examinés, pût prononcer un jugement sur la nature des sociétés susdites, et d'autres semblables, qui d'après Votre Seigneurie, sont amplement répandues non seule-

ment dans le Canada, mais encore dans les Etats- Unis de l'Amérique du Nord. Or, les Ernes Cardinaux Inquisiteurs, dans la Congrégation du 27 août dernier, après un mûr et sérieux examen, ont émis un décret dont voici la teneur ; " Spectatis " principiis ,organismo, ac statustis Societatis Equitum " laborum prout exponuntur, Societatem ipsam " recensendam esse inter prohibitas a S. Sede, juxta " instructionem hujus Supremse Congnis diei 10 " maii 1884 et ad mentem Mens est ut commendetur " Episcopis uttam quoad delatas, quam quoad similes '• Societates procédant, atque remédia adhibeant " secundum mandata, et consilia, quœ in eadem " Instructione continentur.

Je prie le Seigneur de vous conserver longtemps. De Y. S.

Le très affectueux confrère,

(Signé,) Jean Card. Simeoni,

Préfet.

(Soussigné,) f D. Arch. de Tyr,

Secrétaire.

Mgr. Alexandre Taschereau,

Archevêque de Québec.

Agréez, chers Coopérateurs, l'assurance de mon entier dévouement.

An Instruction issued to ail the Bishops ofthe Calholic

World by the Sacred Congrégation of the Hohj Roman

and Universal Inquisition.

" To avert the very serions evils inflicted on the Church and ail grades in the civil order by the Masonic sect and the societies which hâve sprung from it, our Most Holy Lord Pope Léo XIII, in his wisdom, recently addressed to ail the Bishops ofthe Catholic world the Encyclical letter Humauum srenus. In that letter he lavs bare the teachinjrs of snch societies, their aims and their designs ; he recals the pains the Roman Pontiffs hâve taken to deliver mankind from so woeful a pest ; he himself brands thèse sects with his condemnation and censure, and also sets forth with what weapons they should be withstood, and what are the remédies with which to cure the wounds they hâve inflicted. As his Holiness deemed that abundant fruits were to be hoped for from his efforts, and that in a matter of such importance the labour of ail the pastors of the Church should be used in one united effort, he commissioned this suprême congrégation of the Holy Roman and Universal Inquisition to set before the bishops the most efficacious and most seasonable measures. In accordance with thèse commands of the Suprême Pontiff, as is befitting, the Eminent Fathers who, including myself, fulfil the office of Inquisitors G-eneral, hâve seen fit to issue the following instructions to ail the Bishops and other Ordinaries of diocèses : —

" 1. The most merciful PontifF, above ail desirous of providing for the salvation of soûls, after the example of our Saviour Jésus Christ, who came to call not the just but sinners to repentance, appeals most lovingly to ail who hâve enrolled themselves in the Masonic and other condemned societies to cleanse the stains from their soûls, and to return,

to the bosom of the Divine Mercy. To this end he has displayed the same indulgence heretofore exercised by his predecessor, Léo XII. For a whole twelve month, from the day of the due publication of the above Encyclical Letter, he has suspended in each diocèses the obligation ot denouncing the followers and the hidden leaders of thèse sects ; and also the réservation of censures, granting to ail confessors approved by their Ordinary the faculty of absolvino' from thèse censures, and of reconcilin^ to the Church ail who hâve truly rejected and abandoned the sects. It will, therefore, be the task of the sacred pastors to make known to their flocks this act of benignity on the part of the Suprême PontifF. They would also be acting in worthy accordance with their pastoral zeal if, in the course of the présent year — which Ihe PontifTwishes to dévote specially to mercy — they induced their flocks by means of missions to meditate on the Eternal Truths and to renew a right spirit within them.

" 2. It is the intention of His Holiness that the greatest possible activity should be shown in the publication of the Encyclical. in order that ail the faithful may be made aware of how deadly a poison is circulatino^ in their midst, and of the fate that is in store for them and their ofFsprins: if the needful remédies are not timely taken. The most scrupulous and energetic care must therefore be taken to see that the remédies sug^ested by the PontifF, and those suggested by the individual prudence of each one, are carried into efFect. And first, above ail, the working power and zeal of the parish priests must be roused ; and next, a gênerai appeal must be made to those whom G-od, the giver of ail good things, has granted the power of speech and of writing, and to those also entrusted with the task of preaching the Word of G-od, or of absolving

Ohistians from their sins, or with the éducation of youth, in order that thèse also may dévote their efforts to unmasking the impious decrees and unspeakable devices of the Masons and other kindred societies, to leading back into the way of salvation those who — either from rashness or heedlessness, or deliberately and determinedly — hâve joined themselves to them, and to give timely warning to those who hâve hitherto escape their snares.

" 3. In order that there may be no error when it becomes necessary to décide whieh of thèse pernicious sects fall under the ecclesiastical censures and which are simply interdicted, it is absolutely certain that Freemasonry and the other societies named in cap 2, No IV, of the Pontifical Constistution, Apostolicœ Sedis, are branded with excommunication latœ sententiœ, and those also which threaten the Church or the lawful authorities, whether they act openly or secretly, whether they exact or not from their disciples an oath of secresy.

" Besides thèse, there are other forbidden societies which must be shunned under pain of mortal sin ; among thèse must chiefly be reckoned those which exact from their members an oath of inviolable secresy and of unlimited obédience to unknown leaders. It must also be borne in mind that there are certain societies which, although it is impossible to define with certainty as of the class we hâve mentioned, are yet, nevertheless, suspicious and frau^ht with danger as much on account of the doctrines they profess as by their action, and the leaders around whom they gather, and by whom they are ruled. The ministers of religion, who should hâve the faith of Christ in its integrity and the purity of morals most at heart, must know how to turn aside and remove their flock from them ; and this ail the more that the appearance ofstraightforwardiiess affected by them may make it difiicult

for the simple and young to perceive the danger that lurks in them.

" The Bishops will be doing a work of the greatest utility to their flock and most pleasing to his Holiness if, to the ordinary and habituai method of pu! lie exhortation — which is wholly to be retained — they will add that which is used in the defence of Catholic truths ; it is admirably adopted to dispelling the errors whose wide and soul-tainting spread is deplored in the Encyclical Humanvm Germa. Now this method will be most bénéficiai to the Christian people when, by refuting thèse errors, it clearly and methodically shows forth the paramount power and utillity of Christian doctrine, and to excite in the soûls of the listeners a love for the Catholic Church which préserves this doctrine in its integrity and purity.

" 6. As it is the young, the poor artisans and workingmen, who are generally more easily enticed and caught by the highly crafty devices and strategems of the sects, especial care must also be devoted to thèse. As regards youth, the chief endeavor should be to train it from its earliest years — in the bosom of home, in the churches, and the schools — in Christian faith and practice ; when ripening into manhood it should be taught to beware of the wiles of the sects of darkness, and of being compelled — if it should fall into their snares — to serve thenceforth such wicked masters to the <rreat injury of its eternal savation and of its manly dignity. It will be exceedinly advisable in the interests of young men to promote among them associations under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin, or any other saint in heaven. In thèse associations, as they would in collèges, especially \ï priest or laymen gifted with expérience and tact are at their head, young men will imbibe a liking for the practice of virtue, undismayed by the scoffs of irreligious men, and

will also habituate themselves to the dislike of whaîsoever is removed irom Catholic truth and holiness.

" It will also be of great utility if the fathers, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the mothers of families, unité themselves with the same object by a fraternal compact, so that their united forces may allow them more fittingly to dévote themselves to this task, and to provide with a greater efficacy for the eternal welfare and right up-bringing of their off spring. Several associations of this kind — some of men, others of women — hâve been formed in varions places under the patronage of some saint of heaven, and are producing good fruit in religion and piety.

" 8. With regard to artisans and labouring men, among whom those who aim at overturning the very foundations of religion and society prêter to recruit, the ministers of religion should submit to their attention those ancient trades' guilds, or schools and associations of working men. enrolled under the protection of some heavenly patron, which were in past times the bright ornaments of cities, and hâve contributed to the progress of ail arts, both greater and lesser. Thèse confraternities should be restored, and others also among business, literary, and influential men ; the associâtes should be carefully taught and train ed in their religious duties and also give each other reciprocal help in times of necessity, brought about by sickness, old âge, or poverty. The présidents of such associations must take great care that members shall be noted for their uprigtness of life, their technieal skill, their amenableness and industry in working time, so that they may the more easily procure the necessaries of life. The ministers of religion should willingly consent to watch over institutions of this sort, to propose or approve of their rules, to interest on

their behalf the benevolence of the rich, to take them under their protection, and heip them with their own efforts.

" 9. Their spécial goodwill should be bestowed on that admirable ' Society of Prayers and Works,' which has sprung up in some places, and has begun to flourish in several other localities. The most extrême efforts should be made to enrol in it ail those who are inspired with proper religious sentiments. As its object is to i'avour and develop works of religion and piety by a gênerai effort of soûls throughout the length and breadth of the Universal Chuch, to apply itself strenuously to appeasing the Divine anger, its great utility in thèse unhappy times wiil easily be understood. Among formulary prayers, the Bishops will, above ail recommend the Rosary of the mother of Grod, which our Holy Father a little while since recommended and proposed so warmly and in such laudatory terms as being the most important. Among pious works, let them give the préférence to third Order of St. Francis ; let them get as many as possible enrolled in it, and in those of St. Vincent de Paul or the Children of Mary ; so that the stricking results they achieve, which gain such praise from the Catholic world and prove so bénéficiai to soûls, may daily spread more and more.

" 10. And, lastly, it would be an excellent step, whenever places and popular feeling permitted, to start Catholic Académies, to hold those useful meetings or ' congresses,' as they are called, to which are delegated the most esteemed men of each district ; pastors should gladly honour them wTith their présence, so that under their auspices might be developed the Catholic movement and the measures most useful to the interests of religion and those of the gênerai public. It would not be amiss if those who by their continuous writings or by

spécial studies are in a position to défend the rights of Grod and of the Church, and to eut at the root of the fresh errors and calumnies that every day gives birth to, that those, we say, should associate themselves also, and continue the strife, under the leadership of the Bishops. If ail the forces which under G-od's iavour, are still alive and working in the Church, work to the same end, abundant fruits cannot fail to be gathered in the work of rescuing the human society of the présent day from the fatal contagion of thèse iniquitous sects, and restoring to it Christian freedom.

"11. The objects thus far set forth will not be fully realised only without the union of forces, unless the Archbishops, with their suffragans, take the resolutions and the measures which are necessary in order to comply with wishes of the Suprême Pastor. It is his désire, and that of this Sacred Congrégation, that each of them shall fortwith, and in every future report he may make on the state of his diocèse, be careful to indicate what steps he has taken either individually or in concert with his episcopal colleagues, and what results his zeal hâve effected. G-iven at Rome, from the Chancellory of the Holy Office."

"Raphaël Cardinal Monaco."

Sième SÉRIE— No. 21.

CIRCULAIRE AU CLERGÉ

Evêché d'Ottawa, le 21 Janvier 1885

I. — Questions à traiter dans les conférences ecclésiastiques.