2 - Chief Duties of Christian Citizens - Section 2 - Pope Leo XIII

Society should aim for more than just external advantage and wealth. It should prioritize God and moral law in order to fulfill its purpose and help individuals achieve their own perfection. Neglecting the goods of the soul, such as true religion and the law of Christ, leads to the loss of Christian faith and the deterioration of society. Without religion, force becomes the only means to maintain order, but it is weak and can cause disturbance. To avoid these dangers, we must restore Christian principles in private and public life. It is our duty to teach and guide others towards truth and righteousness in these challenging times. Tobias 1-2. Section 2. That which is true of men, taken one by one, is true also of society, both in the family and in the state. For nature has not formed society in order that man might look to it as an end, but in order that in it and through it he might find fitting help to his own perfection. If, then, any state aims only at external advantage and wealth, if it is wont in its government to put God and the moral law aside, it wrongfully turns away from its end and from the teaching of nature, and cannot be called a community or a society, but is rather a deceitful resemblance and a parody, those goods of the soul of which we have spoken, which are found only in the practice of the true religion and in the constant keeping of the law of Christ, we see every day falling into neglect through the forgetfulness or pride of men, so that the loss of what affects the soul is in proportion to the increase of what relates to the body. The diminution and loss of Christian faith is shown most of all in the wrongs which are too often done to the Catholic religion publicly and before the eyes of men, wrongs which in age that practiced religion would not suffer for a moment. For these reasons the salvation of multitudes of men is greatly imperiled, and even states themselves and empires cannot long remain in safety, for when Christian faith and life fail, the solid foundation of human society must fail together with them. Force only is then left for the maintenance of public peace and order, but force without the aid of religion is weak, and being apt to beget a slavish submission rather than obedience, it bears with it the seeds of great disturbance. The present age has seen the mighty fallen, and it is not at all clear whether light convulsions are not to be dreaded now. Time tells us how these disorders may be healed, namely by restoring the Christian rule of action in private and in public life, the only way to ward off the evils which are pressing upon us, and the fittest way to drive away the dangers with which we are threatened. To this duty, venerable brethren, we must gird ourselves with all energy and perseverance, and for this reason, although we have on other occasions laid down the same doctrine, we deem it proper in this letter to teach Catholics their duties with all the clearness that we may, duties which, if duly fulfilled, would lead wonderfully to the good of the commonwealth. We have fallen upon times of mighty and daily struggle as to matters of the greatest moment, a struggle in which it is most difficult for the multitude to escape being led astray, to avoid error, and to maintain their courage. It is our duty, venerable brethren, to warn, to teach, and to exhort each one according to our opportunity, so that of each it may be said that he forsook not the way of truth. Tobias 1-2