Page:The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII.djvu/191



CHIEF DUTIES OF CHRISTIANS AS CITIZENS. 185

Law is of its very essence ajnandate^f right reason, pro- claimed by a properly constituted authorit}^, for the com- mon good. But true and legitimate authority is void of sanction, unless it proceed from God the supreme Ruler and Lord of all. The Almighty alone can commit power to a nian over his fellow-men; nor may that be accounted as right reason which is in disaccord with truth and with di\ane reason; nor that held to be true good which is re- pugnant to the supreme and unchangeable good, or that wTests aside and draws away the wills of men from the charity of God.

Hallowed therefore in the minds of Christians is the very idea of pubUc authority, in which they recognize some Ukeness and S5mibol as it were of the divine Maj- esty, even when it is exercised by one unworthy. A just and due reverence to the laws abides in them, not from force and threats, but from a consciousness of duty; for God hath not given us the spirit of fear}

But if the laws of the State are manifestly at variance with the divine law, containing enactments hurtful to, the Church, or conveying injunctions adverse to the duties imposed by religion, or if they violate in the person of the supreme Pontiff the authority of Jesus Christ, then truly, to resist becomes a positive duty, to obey, a crime; a crime, moreover, combined with misdemeanor against the State itself, inasmuch as every offence levelled against rehgion is also a sin against the State. Here anew it becomes evident how unjust is the reproach of sedition: for the obedience due to rulers and legislators is not refused; but there is a deviation from their will in those precepts only which they have no power to enjoin. Com- mands that are issued adversely to the honor due to God, and hence are beyond the scope of justice, must be looked upon as anything rather than laws. You are fully aware. Venerable Brothers, that this is the very contention of

Â» 2 Timothy L 7.