DIVINI REDEMPTORIS. - Encyclical of Pius XI, of 19 March 1937 (AAS, 29 [1937], pp. 65-106), against atheistic communism, whose principles are manifested in Bolshevism.
After recalling the constant attitude of the Church in the face of communism, as it emerges from the various preceding encyclicals both of himself and of his predecessors, Pius XI develops the argument under these aspects: 1) The «so-called new gospel», under the pretext of the redemption of the masses, presents instead a materialist doctrine subversive of justice, of the human person and dignity, of the family, of society and of religion. 2) The art of proselytism: the ground prepared by amoral and secularist liberalism and by the silence of the great press has easily yielded to a propaganda carried out by every means: open or underhanded; declared or cloaked in the most innocuous appearances, fed by an abundant press. 3) The opposing doctrine of the Church in the family, social and religious field, founded on human dignity and brotherhood, and on divine sonship. 4) The remedies. The first and principal is the spiritual renewal of individuals and of nations in the light of the Gospel, above all in the light of the precept of love. To this must be added the study of social questions and the diffusion of Catholic doctrine concerning them. 5) The cooperators: first and principal the clergy, flanked by the members of Catholic Action and by all those who have still preserved the sound concept of true human coexistence. 6) The cooperation of the State, which must attend to the well-being of citizens with a moral policy, a wise and prudent administration, and the recognition of the full freedom of the Church in the diffusion of its salutary doctrines.
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