Encyclicals

If considered from a religious ‘angle,’ celebration of Christmas is logical. Celebrating the commencement of a new year seems utterly illogical, but probably that fact is of no concern to people who do so (‘Why allow rationality to thwart fun?’).      Joy has, undoubtedly, a natural capacity for being attractive and ‘infectious,’ which ‘explains’ New Year’s Night’s euphoria in ignorance of what the new year will bring. Instead of attributing joy to hopefulness,1 why not wait to see whether the hope … Read More

As each Christmas approaches, encouragements to joyfulness increase. Because joy is enjoyable, the encouragements seem to encounter no adverse reactions, even if they are at odds with matters which weigh on people’s minds. Various factors can induce joy, and it is not mere cynicism to believe that most of the joyfulness each December has no consciously-religious ‘root’. Try an amateur test of that belief. ‘Engineer’ a brief chat with some strangers and ‘steer’ it in a way which leads to … Read More

This article is available for download. You can download it and print it for private use and for private sharing but it cannot be reproduced in any other publication. To download a print copy click here – Casti Connubii – Part 1 Pope Pius XI, published his encyclical letter “Casti Connubii”, on Christian marriage, on the last day of the year 1930. He urgently wanted this encyclical to be published in 1930 because this was the year that another great … Read More

One of Our Lord’s salutary stories was of a man who sowed wheat-seeds in his field. Subsequently an enemy secretly sowed weeds among them. When the wheat developed, so did the weeds. The man’s employees reported this to him and asked whether he wanted the weeds to be pulled up. He replied, ‘No, lest in doing that you pull up also the wheat. Let both grow until harvest-time, and then I will tell the reapers to gather the weeds and … Read More

This article is available for download. You can download it and print it for private use and for private sharing but it cannot be reproduced in any other publication. To download a print copy click here – Divini Illius Magistri – Article 11 In the previous article in this series Pope Pius XI addressed the question of the supposed neutral or lay school. He continues by looking again at the nature of a Catholic school. From this we can see … Read More

This article is available for download. You can download it and print it for private use and for private sharing but it cannot be reproduced in any other publication. To download a print copy click here – Divini Illius Magistri – Article 10 To fully understand ‘Divini Illius Magistri’, one must understand the primary purpose of our existence. Pope Pius XI’s first concern is the salvation of souls. Back in 1929, he was acutely aware that children were being corrupted … Read More

This article is available for download. You can download it and print it for private use and for private sharing but it cannot be reproduced in any other publication. To download a print copy click here – Divini Illius Magistri – Article 9 We have seen how Pope Pius XI stresses the importance of correct education. In this next part of ‘Divini Illius Magistri’ he outlines some of the dangers that false thinking is wont to introduce into systems of … Read More

This article is available for download. You can download it and print it for private use and for private sharing but it cannot be reproduced in any other publication. To download a print copy click here – Divini Illius Magistri – Article 8 Pope Pius XI after teaching on the nature and duties of the role of the Catholic Church, the civil State and the family in education, begins to show how they are related to one another in a … Read More

This article is available for download. You can download it and print it for private use and for private sharing but it cannot be reproduced in any other publication. To download a print copy click here – Divini Illius Magistri – Article 7 We are looking at the role of the secular State in the education of youth. In the previous article Pope Pius XI outlined the primary duty of the State as “In general then it is the right … Read More

This article is available for download. You can download it and print it for private use and for private sharing but it cannot be reproduced in any other publication. To download a print copy click here – Divini Illius Magistri – Article 6 Pope Pius XI begins his examination of the role of the secular State in education by pointing out that in many cases the State has violated the rights of the family. He also tells us that the … Read More

This article is available for download. You can download it and print it for private use and for private sharing but it cannot be reproduced in any other publication. To download a print copy click here – Divini Illius Magistri – Article 4 As I begin the fourth article in this series on Pope Pius XI’s encyclical letter ‘Divini Illius Magistri’ the Irish government has just published the wording of two referenda to be held on March 8th 2024. Once … Read More

This article is available for download. You can download it and print it for private use and for private sharing but it cannot be reproduced in any other publication. To download a print copy click here – Divini Illius Magistri – Article 3 Pope Pius XI has introduced us to the three societies to which man belongs – the family – the Church – and civil society. We have been exploring the nature and authority of the Catholic Church and … Read More

Part 2 A prayer well-known to traditionally-formed Catholics asks the Holy Ghost to “fill the hearts of thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of thy love,…and thou shalt renew the face of the Earth.” Because what happens in this world matters to God (if it did not, why would He have prescribed rules by which we should live?), the Catholic Church has always striven to carry out the task which He gave it: to teach all nations to … Read More

This article is available for download. You can download it and print it for private use and for private sharing but it cannot be reproduced in any other publication. To download a print copy click here – Divini Illius Magistri – Article 2 In the first article in this series Pope Pius XI teaches us that education must serve the final end of man which is to attain eternal salvation in Heaven. This must be the primary purpose of education, … Read More

This article is available for download. You can download it and print it for private use and for private sharing but it cannot be reproduced in any other publication. To download a print copy click here – Divini Illius Magistri – Article 1 On 31st December, 1929, Pope Pius XI issued his encyclical letter ‘Divini Illius Magistri’ – ‘On Christian Education’. It is a great encyclical and contains much valuable information. There is a tendency nowadays within Catholic circles to … Read More

This article is available for download. You can download it and print it for private use and for private sharing but it cannot be reproduced in any other publication. To download a print copy click here – Catholic Duties 9 In the last article on Sapientiae Christianae Pope Leo XIII spoke of those who hide their cowardice under the guise of a false prudence. He now points out another equally false position to adopt, that of false zeal. “On the … Read More

This article is available for download. You can download it and print it for private use and for private sharing but it cannot be reproduced in any other publication. To download a print copy click here – Catholic Duties 7 Pope Leo XIII, having outlined the authority of the Church and the authority and primacy of the Pope, now begins to look at the rights of both the civil authorities and of the Catholic Church. He does this with a … Read More

This article is available for download. You can download it and print it for private use and for private sharing but it cannot be reproduced in any other publication. To download a print copy click here – Catholic Duties 6 As we continue reading Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical letter Sapientiae Christianae, we are brought to what is perceived in our time to be a very controversial matter. The obedience that is due to the Pope. The pontificate of Pope Francis … Read More

This article is available for download. You can download it and print it for private use and for private sharing but it cannot be reproduced in any other publication. To download a print copy click here – Catholic Duties 4 Pope Leo XIII wrote his encyclical letter Sapientiae Christianae in 1890. This was during what has become known as the Second Industrial Revolution. The prosperity of mankind was increasing in certain parts of the world. The steam engine was being … Read More

This article is available for download. You can download it and print it for private use and for private sharing but it cannot be reproduced in any other publication. To download a print copy click here – Catholic Duties 3 Sincere Catholics should always strive to be good citizens. This is a natural part of our duty to love our neighbour. Difficulties arise however, when the governing body enacts laws which are either contrary to God’s law or which usurp … Read More