CIVIL
796
CIVIL
and all are we destined by our birth and adoption
to enjoy, when this frail and fleeting life is ended,
a supreme and final good in heaven, and to the at-
tainment of this every endeavour should be directed.
Since, then, upon this depends the full and perfect
happiness of mankind, the securing of this end should
be of all imaginable ii. 'erests the most urgent.
Hence civil society, estab'ished for the common
welfare, should not only sa f eguard the well-being
of the community, but have also at heart the in-
terests of its individual members, in such mode as
not in any way to hinder, but in every manner to
render as easy as may be, the possession of that
highest and unchangeable good for which all should
seek."
The Church a Divine Society. — Although the State must not be indifferent to religion, yet direct authority in matters pertaining thereto, since the coming of Jesus Christ, no longer belongs to the State but to the Church, a Divinely constituted and perfect society which He founded, and to which He gave full spiritual power to rule its subjects in mat- ters of religion, and guide them to God. As Leo XIII says, in his Encyclical of 10 January, 1890: "No one can without risk to faith, foster any doubt as to the Church alone having been invested with such power of governing souls as to exclude altogether the civil authority." And in the Encyclical "Immortale Dei" he says: "For the only-begotten Son of God established on earth a society which is called the Church, and to it He handed over the exalted and Divine office which He had received from His Father, to be continued through the ages to come. 'As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.' Consequently, as Jesus Christ came into the world that men 'might have life and have it more abundantly', so also has the Church for its aim and end the eternal salvation of souls, and hence it is so constituted as to open wide its arms to all mankind, unhampered by any limit of either time or place. 'Preach ye the Gospel to every creature.' Over this mighty multitude God has Himself set rulers with power to govern; and He has willed that one should be the head of all, and the chief and unerring teacher of truth, to whom He has given 'the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Feed my lambs, feed my sheep. I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not.' This society is made up of men, just as civil society is, and yet is supernatural and spiritual, on account of the end for which it was founded, and of the means by which it aims at attaining that end. Hence it is distinguished and differs from civil society and, what is of highest moment, it is a society chartered as of right Divine, perfect in its nature and in its title, to possess in itself, through the will and loving kindness of its Founder, all needful provision for its maintenance and action. And just as the end at which the Church aims is by far the noblest of ends, so is its authority the most exalted of all au- thority, nor can it be looked upon as inferior to the civil power or in any manner dependent upon it. In very truth Jesus Christ gave to His Apostles unre- strained authority in regard to things sacred, to- gether with the genuine and most true power of making laws, as also with the two-fold right of judg- ing and of punishing, which flow from that power. 'All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth: going therefore teach all nations . . . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.' And in another place, 'If he will not hear t hern , tell the Church.' And again, 'In readiness to revenge all disobedience.' And once more, 'That .1 may not deal more severely according to the power « hich the Lord hath given me, unto edification and not unto destruction.' Hence it is the Church, and not the State, that is to be man's guide to
heaven. It is to the Church that God has assigned
the charge of seeing to, and legislating for, all that
concerns religion; of teaching all nations; of spreading
the Christian faith as widely as possible; in short, of
administering freely and without hindrance, in ac-
cordance with her own judgment, all matters that
fall within its competence."
Relation Between the Two Powers. — In the same Encyclical the pope shows that this power has always been claimed and exercised by the Church, and then goes on to trace the relation which exists between the two powers. "The Almighty, there- fore, has appointed the charge of the human race between two powers, the ecclesiastical and the civil, the one being set over Divine, and the other over human things. Each in its kind is supreme, each has fixed limits within which it is contained, limits which are defined by the nature and special object of the province of each, so that there is, we may say, an orbit traced out within which the action of each is brought into play by its own native right. But inasmuch as each of these two powers has authority over the same subjects, and as it might come to pass that one and the same thing — related differently, but still remaining one and the same thing — might belong to the jurisdiction and determination of both, therefore God, who foresees all things, and who is the author of these two powers, has marked out the course of each in right correlation to the other. 'For the powers that are, are ordained of God.' Were this not so, deplorable contentions and con- flicts would often arise, and not infrequently men, like travellers at the meeting of two roads, would hesitate in anxiety and doubt, not knowing what course to follow. Two powers would be command- ing contrary things, and it would be a dereliction of duty to disobey either of the two. But it would be most repugnant to deem thus of the wisdom and goodness of God. Even in physical things, albeit of a lower order, the Almighty has so combined the forces and springs of nature with tempered action and wondrous harmony that no one of them clashes with any other, and all of them most fitly and aptly work together for the great purpose of the universe. There must, accordingly, exist between these two powers a certain orderly connexion, which may be compared to the union of the soul and body in man. The nature and scope of that connexion can be determined only, as We have laid down, by having regard to the nature of each power, and by taking account of the relative excellence and nobleness of their purpose. One of the two has for its proximate and chief object the well-being of this mortal life; the other the everlasting joys of heaven. Whatever, therefore, in things human is of a sacred character, whatever belongs either of its own nature or by rea- son of the end to which it is referred, to the salvation of souls or to the worship of God, is subject to the power and judgment of the Church. Whatever is to be ranged under the civil and political order is rightly subject to the civil authority. Jesus Christ has Himself given command that what is Cesar's is to be rendered to Cesar, and that what belongs to God is to be rendered to God. There are nevert lie- less occasions when another method of concord is available for the sake of peace and liberty: We mean when rulers of the State and the Roman Pontiff come to an understanding touching some special matter. (See CONCORDAT.) At such times the Church gives signal proof of her motherly love by showing the greatest possible kindliness and indul- gence."
The Church's Temporal Jurisdiction. — The pope then briefly describes the advantages which would follow froiii the establishment of tins Christian scheme of society if both powers were content to keep within their legitimate sphere. Human naturei
