«IMMORTALE DEI». – It is one of the great encyclicals of LEO XIII (19 Nov. 1885), in which, taking up the principles of GREGORY XVI (encycl. Mirari vos) and PIUS IX (Syllabus, encycl. Quanta cura), it establishes the doctrine on the reciprocal rights and duties of Church and State and on the freedoms claimed by modern peoples, and above all it fixes for the first time the limits within which Catholics may lend themselves to the demands of peoples and the pretensions of the State.
Already to the ideas expounded at the Congress of Malines (1863) by liberal Catholics, Pius IX, through a letter of Card. Antonelli, had given a reserved and private reply; this clarification, however, did not in any way slow the expansion and threat of liberalism. A new condemnation was demanded by the circumstances themselves. The encycl. Quanta cura of 8 Dec. 1864 admirably fulfilled this task: liberal ideas were reproved with such clarity that even their own supporters had to abandon the struggle on the basis of the misunderstanding. The error was placed in its proper light, with the explicit condemnation of naturalism; yet liberal tendencies did not entirely die out, and continued here and there in speeches, newspapers, and reviews. Without having the appearance of a doctrinal system, in almost all European nations these ideas provoked dissensions among Catholics. Leo XIII, with the encycl. Nobilissima Gallorum gens (1884), deplored these harmful divisions connected with bitter polemics and invited the faithful to unite for the defense of the greater interests of religion. With the same spirit he wrote to the Spanish bishops (Cum multa sint, 1884) so that the religious question might not be confused with the dynastic competitions between Carlists and partisans of the constitution. This appeal was not received favorably. Moreover, in France L’Univers did not cease to criticize the practical tendencies of the new Pontiff; in Spain El Siglo disparaged the manner of acting of the nuncio and of the Holy See. Even in Rome itself the ideas of conciliation were attacked. The articles that appeared in Spain and in Rome were openly disapproved by the Holy See. Card. Pitra, however, when asked about the scope of this censure, replied with a defense of the censured authors. To put an end to all these disputes and divisions, Leo XIII intervened with a doctrinal document: the encycl. I. D., which sets forth the fundamental principles regulating the relations between the modern Catholic State and the Church. One of the unifying elements of the State is authority, which, although it can only come from God (Rom. 13:2), nevertheless manifests itself in various forms of government, which, if they follow the law of divine justice, cannot be reproved by the Church. To this divine origin corresponds for peoples the obligation of submission to legitimate authority, without recourse to revolt (Rom. 13:2). This obligation is founded on the natural law that impels man toward society and toward the due reverence for divine Majesty. It is an obligation of religion that must be felt not only by the individual but also by the entire society, which in no way can act as if God did not exist, but must in every way favor the true religion. Between the two societies, therefore, sovereign each in its own sphere, there must reign not struggle but harmony; moreover, the ultimate and remote end of both perfect societies coincides: to attain the true good of humanity. This concord, the supreme law of the Middle Ages, was shattered by the atheistic State, by unlimited freedom of thought, speech, and the press, and by the absolute equality of all cults, with deleterious consequences for the formation of youth and of peoples. From this, however, it does not follow that the Church is an enemy of progress or repudiates the modern State, since it has always been a forerunner of every cultural and social development that has the general welfare as its end; it only rejects doctrines that, under the pretext of freedom, open to peoples the way to every license and servitude. In particular, freedom of worship can be tolerated only in view of a greater good that may come to the Church from II. Ecclesiastical authority has never condemned free discussion on purely political problems. The conduct, however, of Catholics in such matters must always conform to the directives of the Holy See and of the bishops.
GIUSEPPE DAMIZIA