"It is manifestly impossible," said the pope, "to re-establish all
the institutions found useful in former times; instruments must be
suited to the work intended. There must be unity, co-operation in
working, suitable methods adapted to the times. In all Catholic
social work there must be submission to ecclesiastical authority.
Let everyone, therefore, strive to ameliorate . . . the economic
condition of the people, supporting and promoting institutions which
conduce to this end . . . and let all our beloved sons who are
devoting themselves to Catholic action listen again to the words
which spring so spontaneously from our heart. Amid the bitter sorrows
which daily surround us, we will say, with the apostle St. Paul, if
there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort comes to us from
your charity . . . fulfil ye our joy, that you being of one mind . . .
agreeing in sentiment, with humility and due submission, not seeking
your own convenience but the common good, and imprinting on your
hearts the mind which was in Christ Jesus our Saviour. Let Him be the
beginning of all your undertakings. 'All whatsoever you do in word or
in work, all things do ye in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,' let
Him be the end of your every work; 'for of Him, and by Him, and in
Him, are all things; to Him be glory for ever. Amen.'"
During the whole life of Pius X the Bible had been his favourite
study. Every encyclical he issued bears witness to his intimate
knowledge and love of both the Old Testament and the New. The words
in which he insistently recommended the careful and loving study of
Holy Writ to priests and people would greatly astonish those of our
separated brethren who persist in believing that the Catholic Church
forbids the reading of the Bible by her children. When receiving
representatives of the Society of St. Jerome for the diffusion of the
Holy Scriptures, he spoke with the greatest praise of the splendid
work of this most deserving institution, which in the space of
fifteen months had been able to give out more than 200,000 copies of
the gospels: to those Catholic theologians who were engaged in
historical studies and biblical research he always gave the warmest
encouragement. "The Catholic faith has nothing to fear from
knowledge, but much from ignorance," was a truth that he more than
once averred.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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