High School Course on Catholic Action

* Note 1: In this study, the term Catholic Action will be taken in its strict sense—that is, referring to the social action of Catholics, of a religious or spiritual nature, under the guidance of the clergy—whereas the action of Catholics in the temporal domain will be referred to as Catholic political action, which is generally associated with Catholic lay organizations in the socio-political and economic domains.

The foundation for this distinction in Catholic Action can be seen in various pontifical writings on Catholic Action, especially in its later reorganization and application under the pontificate of Pius XI. It is also in conformity with the spirit and example of the two heroic Bishops of Catholic Tradition, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer, both of whom used this method in explaining Catholic Action during their lifetimes.

* Note 2: In itself, Catholic Action refers to all activities, both in the spiritual or temporal domains, that are ordered to the sanctification of souls and the extension of the reign of Christ the King over individuals, families, and society. As St. Pius X says in his encyclical Il Fermo Proposito of June 11, 1905, to the Italian bishops:

With regard to the spiritual domain, and in the strict sense of the word, Catholic Action refers to those social activities of a religious nature which assist the Church in the conversion and sanctification of souls—that is, all those works which pertain to the Church’s threefold office of teaching, ruling, and sanctifying. Thus, Catholic Action is nothing other than "‘the participation and the collaboration of the laity with the Apostolic Hierarchy.’"

Examples of Catholic Action are: Ignatian Retreats; the Third Order; the Legion of Mary; the Holy Name Society; the Sacred Heart Enthronement in the home; Catholic Scout movements; teaching in Catholic schools; public conferences or talks on matters of Catholic doctrine; lay associations established for the publication of books, cassettes, etc., on official Church doctrine, Catholic literature and spirituality; etc.

The social action of Catholics in the temporal domain—called Catholic political action in this study—refers to the temporal actions of the Catholic laity in the work to implement Christian social principles in the State and in social legislation. Economic and trade associations or other socio-political associations are examples of temporal social action.

Since the Church does not exercise a direct role in the organization and direction of the temporal order of society, seeing that her mission is primarily in the spiritual and supernatural domain, she naturally turns to the faithful, for being members of both Church and State, it is their role to work to extend the social Kingship of Christ in the temporal order by the work of Catholic political action.

It should be pointed out, however, that Christ’s external reign over society naturally presupposes His internal, or spiritual, reign over the minds and hearts of citizens, just as man’s external actions naturally manifest his internal state of soul. As Our Lord said, The kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). Consequently, Catholic Action in the spiritual domain should precede and accompany Catholic political action, for the spiritual dispositions of the citizens is the necessary foundation upon which to establish Christ’s social reign.

Without the spiritual dispositions of Catholic virtue (especially justice and charity) and doctrine—at least in a greater number of citizens—the temporal action of Catholics will not attain its intended goal. For if citizens are not properly instructed and disposed to practice Christian virtue and embrace Christian social order, especially since they have been infected by the false liberal-democratic principles of the French Revolution (that is, liberty, fraternity, and equality), they will surely revolt against its establishment and cause greater social unrest.

In all activities of Catholic Action in the strict sense of the word, that is, those of a spiritual nature and intended for the sanctification of souls, the Church hierarchy—the pope, bishops, and priests—exercise a direct authority in guiding the laity.

As St. Pius X says in Il Fermo Proposito:

This stands to reason because, as Pope Pius XI says in Non Abbiamo Bisogno, his encyclical on Catholic Action, Catholic Action "does not wish to be nor can be anything other than ‘the participation and the collaboration of the laity with the Apostolic Hierarchy.’" And in his letter Laetus Sane Nuntius of November 6, 1929, to Cardinal Segura, the same pontiff says: "Catholic Action … is nothing else but the apostolate of the faithful who, under the guidance of the Bishops, put themselves at the service of the Church and in some sense complete its pastoral ministry."

Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer, in his pastoral letter On the Problems of the Modern Apostolate of January 6, 1953, also explains:

With regard to Catholic political action, such as matters of economics and politics, the activity rests principally with the laity. Nevertheless, the clergy still exercises an indirect authority over the laity by teaching and explaining Catholic social doctrine and by correcting errors or methods of action which go contrary to the doctrine or spirit of Christ and the Church or which are harmful to souls as a result of ignorance, imprudence, or reckless zeal.

As St. Pius X says in Il Fermo Proposito:

To err by defect with regard to this distinction is called laicism or anti-clericalism—that is, when the laity refuses the indirect authority of the clergy over their actions as Catholics in the temporal order; to err by excess is called clericalism—that is, when members of the clergy try to exercise direct authority and involvement in the temporal actions of the laity.

Pope Boniface VIII, in his bull Unam Sanctam of November 18, 1302, speaks of the Church’s authority over the Two Swords of the spiritual and temporal powers; and although he was speaking in an era when Catholic kings were still ruling over the various Christian nations, the principles he lays down still apply to Catholic political action in modern society, because the temporal sword, being exercised by the layman on behalf of the Church for Christ’s social reign, is by that very fact subject to the spiritual sword:

The Catholic laity exercise the temporal sword only on behalf of the Church because all action, including all temporal actions, must be ordered to the Ultimate End, that is, the Glory of God by the Reign of Christ. Therefore, the use of the temporal sword must be with the supernatural motive of converting one’s country to the Catholic faith and establishing the reign of Christ the King.

Hence, it is clear that it belongs to the Church, not to the layman, to teach the principles of temporal Catholic action to the faithful. In this way, the faithful will always be guided by the true spirit of the Church, following official magisterial teachings rather than the writings of individual clerics or laymen, who may promote ideas that are not always in conformity with Church teaching.

In his encyclical E Supremi Apostolatus of October 4, 1903, St. Pius X says to the bishops:

In Il Fermo Proposito St. Pius X explains in more detail the principles governing the apostolate of Catholic Action. These principles can be summarized in four points:

1) Catholic Action applies to all activities which directly or indirectly pertain to the Church’s mission;

2) The work of rebuilding and protecting Christian society pertains first of all to the Church, in that it naturally flows from her divine mission to restore all things in Christ;

3) The Church needs the assistance of the Catholic laity to accomplish this work: "[To effect] the desired restoration, the Church [needs] those chosen bands of Catholics whose aim is to unite all their forces in order to combat anti-Christian civilization by every just and lawful means, and to repair in every way the grievous disorders which flow from it; to reinstate Jesus Christ in the family, the school, and society."

4) St. Pius X gives the name of "Catholic Action," or "Action of Catholics," to the entirety of all these works that are ordered to the establishment of Christian social order: "All these works, of which Catholic laymen are the principal supporters and promoters, and whose form varies according to the special needs of each nation, and the particular circumstances of each country, constitute what is generally known by a distinctive, and surely a very noble name: Catholic Action or Action of Catholics. This has always come to the aid of the Church, and the Church has always welcomed and blessed it, although it has acted in various ways in accordance with the age."

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Political action can be understood in two ways. In its restricted and most commonly used sense, political action refers to those temporal activities which are concerned with the government of a nation and the exercise of the legislative, judicial, and executive powers by the governing body in order to ensure the common good.

In its broad sense, political action refers to all socio-political activities in the temporal domain that are ordered to the common good of a nation—that is, activities with regard to government, economics, military and public defense, social and business institutions, and the like. Thus, Fr. Denis Fahey says that politics is "the science that has for object the organization of the State in view of the complete common good of the citizens in the natural order, and the means that conduce to it."

Catholic political action refers to the temporal actions of the Catholic laity in the work of establishing the reign of Christian social principles in the State and social legislation, thus extending the social reign of Christ. Consequently, true Catholic political action exists only when the faithful performing these actions are in complete conformity with the doctrine and supernatural spirit of Christ and the Church.

The works of Catholic political action, given their temporal nature, "ought to move with a befitting and reasonable freedom, since they [the laity] are held responsible for their acts, particularly in temporal and economic matters, and in those of public, administrative, or political life, all of which are foreign to a purely spiritual ministry."

However, this "freedom" of action in the temporal domain does not mean that Catholics may do or promote whatever they want, because their "right to choose" refers only to what is essentially conformed to the doctrine and spirit of the Church.

It is true that relatively few men have the natural abilities of good leadership; but those who have received these God-given talents should, if possible, use them as God intended, that is, for the common good of society and the establishing of the social reign of Christ the King. Therefore, those Catholics who have leadership abilities should not abandon the governing of their nation to non-Catholics and non-Christians.

If all Catholics exclude themselves from political life and abstain from positions of government, political activity will be exposed to all the temptations and errors of the naturalist and anti-Christian forces that are working to establish a social order based on naturalism: society will become pagan quite rapidly, morality will decline, public vice and violence will become more common, and Christians will be considered as strangers, then as intruders, and finally as adversaries, in a society which, perhaps, was once quite Christian.

St. Pius X also says in Il Fermo Proposito:

The same principle applies with regard to social institutions and business enterprises. Catholics with natural abilities in these domains should use their talents in order to help in the establishment of public institutions and businesses (including, if possible, the radio and other media) which promote and defend Christian justice and charity, especially with regard to the well-being and protection of the Christian family.

In his address Se a Temperare of September 4, 1940, to diocesan directors of Italian Catholic Action, Pius XII points out that Catholic Action is not a political movement, but rather always remains the true foundation of Catholic political action:

It is true that Catholics can have a greater influence in society if they have social, political, or economic resources, and that they should use these means in a legitimate way to influence the practice of Christian justice and charity in the social order. However, this politico-economic influence should not be seen simply on the natural plane, as something that is collectively premeditated, systematically organized, or ingeniously manipulated by resourceful Catholics. For all social activity must be based on the spiritual life, and influenced by the Holy Ghost and divine grace.

Concerning this, Archbishop Lefebvre points out in his book, Pastoral Letters 1947-1968:

Furthermore, with regard to the laity’s work in the restoration of Catholic social order, primary importance must be placed on their fidelity to the duties of their state of life, both in the spiritual and temporal domains. In other words, to become involved in various temporal activities of social justice and charity while neglecting their own duties of state, especially with regard to their own families, would be a sin against Catholic Action.

However, in the case of apparent conflict of duties, such that the performance of one would require the omission of another, one must have recourse to the "hierarchy of duties," that is, to follow the order of priority and necessity with regard to one’s duties of state, and then to accomplish them accordingly. Of course, since the most important duty is the salvation of one’s own soul, all other duties are subordinate to this one: For what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul? (Matt. 16:26).

1) Some Christian writers believe that the evils of modern society are essentially rooted in the errors of the modern economic systems of communism and socialism on one hand, and capitalism and international finance on the other. Additionally, they believe that a true Christian reform in the socio-economic domain should be done by means of an economic movement in opposition to the modern economic systems (especially Capitalism), in order to make society return to the social conditions of the Middle Ages.

This opinion, however, is false. First of all, it logically falls into the same error of materialism and naturalism promoted by Communism, Socialism and modern Capitalism, since it also bases the reform of modern society on the reform of the economic system. Archbishop Lefebvre points out that one of the main errors of liberalism is precisely this naturalist agenda "we see being put into effect everywhere in the post-conciliar Church, in the shape of a salvation reduced to economic and social well-being."

Secondly, even though it is true that the economic conditions of the Middle Ages did favor a wide distribution of private property and wealth in society, nevertheless those conditions were not the result of any type of natural economic movement which directed the distribution of property (e.g., as in Socialism or Marxism). Rather, they were the result of a supernatural cause, i.e., the practice of the Catholic Religion at that time, that is, the widespread practice of the Catholic Faith and the Christian virtues—notably social justice and charity along with detachment from material possessions—under the influence of sanctifying grace.

Consequently, the more widespread the practice of the Catholic Faith and supernatural virtues among citizens, the wider and more equitable will be the distribution of wealth and property in that society. This principle is especially important in our work to reform present-day society, for the same Christian transformation can take place in modern economic systems, by the supernatural efficacy of the Catholic Faith and sanctifying grace. This should be one of the main goals of true Catholic political action.

2) According to Church teaching, the basis of all social reform is the moral law and the restoration of religious principles to their place of honor in society. For the reformation of civilization is a work "which is above all religious in character; for there is no true civilization without a moral civilization, and no true moral civilization without the true religion."

It is true that according to Church teaching a return to a more equitable distribution of property and wealth is needed in modern society, especially in view of the sufferings and injustices caused by modern-day economic abuses. In his address to the Union of Men of Catholic Action on September 7, 1947, Pius XII declares:

Leo XIII, in his encyclical Rerum Novarum of May 15, 1891, speaking of the importance of private property, points out that the civil law should protect this right and should favor the wide distribution of property ownership among the citizens: "… private ownership must be held sacred and inviolable. The law, therefore, should favor ownership, and its policy should be to induce as many as possible of the people to become owners."

3) Lastly, even though we should admire the social conditions produced by the Catholic Faith during the Middle Ages, nevertheless it is neither feasible nor possible to attempt to make modern society return to "medievalism." The worldwide progress of modern industry, the development of modern cities and states, and the conditions of today’s working class would make this impossible.

Rather, according to the very definition of Catholic political action, we must work to Christianize present society through law and order, i.e., by the implementation and adaptation of Catholic social principles into public legislation, through the normal chain of command of legitimate civil authority. As St. Pius X explains:

In his book Against the Heresies, Archbishop Lefebvre, echoing Church teaching, declares that the supernatural reign of Christ over the minds and hearts of men is the only true way to bring about greater justice and a more equitable distribution of goods in modern society:

Consequently, in their work to help implement Catholic principles of social justice and charity in the economic domain, and to reestablish Christian workers’ associations and professions, the laity must be careful not to place so much importance on their temporal activities in the socio-economic domain that they neglect their duty to work for the spiritual and religious reformation of society, without which no true economic reform can be effected. The reason is because even the nature society of man can only be healed and restored to order by the divine grace of Christ.

4) In working to address the suffering of the poor and needy, it is important not to provoke bitterness or antagonism between the poor and the rich or between the working classes. Rather, the people should be exhorted to the Christian practice of the spirit of poverty and detachment from the world so that they may be supernaturally inclined to suffer injustice for the sake of Christ while patiently working for economic and social reform.

In his meditation on the "Two Standards," St. Ignatius of Loyola explains the steps Christ directed us to follow in order to truly help all men in modern society:

Consequently, if members of Catholic political action excite anger and discontent in people with regard to the unfair material conditions in modern society, they will foment a spirit of anger and rebellion against civil authority and the rich. This would be contrary to the principle of spiritual Catholic Action, which must be the foundation and higher principle of all Catholic political action.

What, then, should we do to help reform and convert the rich and powerful businessmen and corporations of modern society? There is only one true answer, i.e., their conversion to Jesus Christ and the Catholic Faith, with the promise of eternal salvation and happiness with God in heaven forever. For only the promise of some far greater happiness will inspire the rich and powerful of this world to be detached from their material prosperity and be generous to the poor and fairer in their business dealings.

5) Furthermore, although unrestricted or laissez-faire capitalism is evil, it is not true to say that the capitalist or free enterprise system is evil in itself. The Church has never taught this, but rather has spoken against the abuses that have resulted from the dangers inherent in this modern economic system. She has not instructed the faithful to strive to overthrow the capitalist system and to replace it with a different system, but rather to work for the implementation of Catholic social principles so as to render the present economic system in conformity with Catholic social justice.

Thus, St. Pius X, in reiterating the doctrine of Leo XIII on social and economic reform in Fin Dalla Prima, insists on Leo XIII’s rules of economic reform with regard to the duties of workingmen and capitalists, and even points out that they should work together to help solve the present social question. Thus, in Rule XI we read:

Pius XI explains in his encyclical Quadragesimo Anno of May 15, 1931:

Archbishop Lefebvre in his pastoral letter The Condemnation of Communism of January 25, 1951, says:

In his pastoral letter On the Problems of the Modern Apostolate (Jan. 6, 1953), Bishop de Castro Mayer says:

The real causes of modern economic globalism are linked to the attack on Christendom and Catholic social order since the sixteenth century, and the movement toward materialism that resulted from it. This attack began in a systematic way with the Protestant Revolution, and gained great momentum with the American and French Revolutions.

But the foundations of unrestricted capitalism and economic globalism were principally laid by the impetus of materialism, atheism, and the Calvinist work ethic in the domains of science and economics since the scientific and industrial revolutions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in England and Scotland. Consequently, the first solution to combat these evils must be a religious and supernatural one, i.e., to bring the principles of the true Faith back into the social order in order to heal the social evils caused by false religious ideas.

It should be pointed out that the present-day promotion of a worldwide movement against scientific technology and global capitalism is actually one of the tactics of Marxism, which is presently manipulating world political unrest in order to supplant American globalism with its own communist globalism. Consequently, Marxists are using various subversive and revolutionary movements (e.g., anti-capitalists, anti-globalists, neo-nazis, neo-fascists, white supremacists, etc.) against American globalism as a front for their own globalist agenda. Additionally, by urging America to withdraw its military presence from Europe and the rest of the world, their intention is to reduce America’s military presence while extending their own.

Even though communists may appear to be fighting global capitalism, they actually helped to create it; for example, some of the powerful "capitalistic" banks of the Western World helped finance the 1917 Revolution in Russia. This was simply part of the "first stage" in their long-range plan to establish communist globalism.

This was the same method used in preparation for the Bolshevik Revolution. According to the Marxist theorist Georgy Valentinovich Plekhanov (d. 1918), who was extensively read by Lenin himself, the Revolution needed a preliminary stage. This first stage was widespread industrialization and unrestricted capitalism, which would conveniently create the necessary imbalance in the economic domain, and would create a situation of extensive poverty and strife among the working classes. Once the abuses of unrestricted capitalism became widespread and intolerable, the leaders of the Revolution would be able to succeed with their revolutionary agenda of "reforming" the social order by gaining the support of the working class in the battle against the bourgeoisie.

In view of this, we should recall the chilling words of the Marxist Dimitri Manuilski of the Lenin School of Political Warfare in 1933:

1) The true apostolate of Catholic political action does not use methods of social agitation, confrontation, or subversion in the work to re-Christianize modern society, for these methods according to their very spirit and nature lead to disruption and disorder in the socio-political order, not to the rebuilding of society. Furthermore, history shows that the revolutionary movements of Freemasons and communists have always found great success in causing social and political unrest in a nation through political agitation and confrontation, thus being more effective in their subsequent manipulation of the course of events in that nation.

As Leo XIII insists in his encyclical Graves de Communi:

Benedict XV declares in his letter Intelleximus of June 14, 1920, to the bishops of Venice:

2) Abbé E. Barbier, author of a book entitled Masonic Infiltrations of the Church, also warns Catholics of the error of forming societies more or less secret in order to combat the enemies of Christ during times of social unrest or disorder:

In addition to the words of Abbé Barbier, Ousset points out that the spirit of such secret or semi-secret organizations is contrary to the ordinary requirements of natural and Christian morality:

In Sacred Scripture, when Our Lord speaks of His disciples entering into battle, He constantly emphasizes that this battle is to conquer self and self-love, to die to self by carrying our cross, and to show forgiveness and mercy to others. He did not speak of conquering others and the world by agitation or by subversive activities in the socio-political order. That is the spirit of Barabbas. It is rather by conquering oneself that the true Christian will succeed in conquering others for Christ.

Furthermore, since Christ is the Prince of Peace, Princeps Pacis, it will be impossible for His disciples to extend His Kingdom if they are filled with agitation and bitterness and involved in activities of social antagonism. If people desire to bring the peace of Christ to others, they themselves must be imbued with it first.

1) The ultimate purpose of Catholic Action, both in the spiritual and temporal domains, is to transform existing societies into Catholic societies. Thus, rather than leave society, Catholics should make every effort to practice the Christian virtues of social justice and social charity in the locale where they presently live, working together with fellow Catholics under the direction of their priests to provide the conditions necessary for the practice of the Catholic Faith and the proper Christian education of their children.

At the same time, however, if social conditions in their area are so corrupt that it is not possible to practice the Christian faith because of grave dangers to faith and morals, families may need to relocate. However, they should not relocate to areas where they would be a great distance from their church and parish school, for this will normally cause them to be deprived of the regular attendance at Mass and reception of the sacraments, and their children will be deprived of attending the parish school or extra liturgical ceremonies and devotions with the rest of the parish.

Consequently, they should relocate to those cities or towns where Catholic churches or chapels are already established, and work to reestablish true Catholic communities there. Most of these locations have rural areas surrounding them where people can move and buy, or perhaps build, their homes, and even have gardens or little farms if they want. And if many wealthy faithful could also be inspired to relocate to these areas, they could provide a great assistance to the parish, and to poor families (especially with regard to school tuition), by their kind generosity with the material prosperity that God has given to them.

True disciples of Christ are expected to bear witness to Christ before men so as to extend the reign of Christ the King into the world. But they cannot do this if they isolate themselves and remove their influence from present society where everyone else lives. As Our Lord said: You are the light of the world.. let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:14,16).

2) Pope Leo XIII in Immortale Dei explains how the early Christians, living in the pagan Roman world, laid the foundations for the emergence of Christian society after the fall of the Roman Empire:

Archbishop Lefebvre reminds us:

A. The ultimate goal of Catholic Action, both spiritual and temporal, is to reestablish Christian social order, which consists not only in the conversion of the citizens, but also in the establishment of Christian social principles in the State and in the government, so that all State laws and public institutions may recognize Our Lord Jesus Christ as the true Son of God and King of Society and thus uphold and protect the rights of the Catholic Church.

This true notion of union of Church and State would produce a wonderful harmony between man’s supernatural and temporal ends, and would greatly assist the work of the Church in leading souls to know and love Our Lord. It would establish a society in which both the State and citizens would give glory to God in every aspect of life, with the love of Christ and the practice of true Christian virtue permeating all of society.

Since the reform of social order must be based on the principles of Christian civilization, it follows that one of the primary works of Catholic Action will be to make known the Church’s official teaching with regard to Christian social order. With so many errors being promoted against the true nature of society and economics, it is necessary to be directed by the teaching of the Church and to follow her counsel in applying Christian principles to the conditions of our present day.

In his encyclical against communism, Pius XI says that the laymen of Catholic Action

To facilitate our work in making known the true Christian solutions to modern social problems, it will be important to establish printing presses to publish on a large scale, and in a manner comprehensible to our readers, pamphlets, brochures, and even books, on Catholic social doctrine. Priests and learned laymen should work together to accomplish this important task so that both clergy and laity may understand well the social principles of establishing a truly Christian society. One of the main problems in today’s social crisis is the ignorance of these principles on the part of most good people. The enemy, therefore, is able to make advances as a result of this ignorance.

Catholic laymen should be zealous in promoting Catholic social principles among their fellow workers. This can be easily accomplished by striking up conversations at the work place (during breaks, for example) about today’s social disorders, demonstrating how they are the inevitable consequences of the false principles of liberalism and Protestantism, and then explaining the Catholic solutions to these problems. These kinds of discussions will enable the laity to become familiar with non-Catholic and non-Christian objections to Catholic social doctrine, and will give them the opportunity to respond intelligently to them.

As Pius XI says, again in his encyclical against communism, the fundamental remedy for communism and the other problems of the world "lies in a sincere renewal of private and public life according to the principles of the Gospel by all those who belong to the Fold of Christ, that they may be in truth the salt of the earth to preserve human society from total corruption." He specifically emphasizes our duty to practice detachment from earthly goods and the precept of charity: Blessed are the poor in spirit (Matt. 5:3).

This lesson is especially necessary today when everyone is so steeped in materialism and the pleasures of the world. The rich should use their wealth to come to the aid of the poor, always fixing their eyes on heaven, and realizing that they are but stewards of the goods God has given them. The poor in their turn must preserve the spirit of poverty in their hearts. In trying to better their condition, they must always place much greater value on spiritual goods than on earthly possessions and pleasures.

The faithful must fulfill their duties with regard to strict social justice and social charity. Social justice demands that each individual in society give to others their due in the interest of the common good; social charity lays obligations of brotherly love on all in society with a view to promoting the common good by mutual service and cooperation. Social justice and social charity are "common good" virtues upon which the perfection of every society rests.

Pius XII in his address to the Union of Men of Catholic Action of September 7, 1947, explains their five main tasks:

1) Personal Sanctity: We must begin by working toward personal sanctity, which consists in the life of prayer and contemplation. The source of all holiness is the Sacrifice of the Mass and the Sacraments, and the liturgy of the Church. The foundation of Catholic Action, therefore, in the spiritual domain is to live the Sacrifice of the Mass in our daily lives, which means to accept our daily sufferings with patience, in union with Christ on the cross, and then to unite ourselves to the Church’s liturgy according to the counsels of the popes.

We should assist at Holy Mass and receive the Sacraments frequently, and try to participate in the congregational chanting of High Mass. Perhaps we could try to assist at the public recitation (or chanting) of the Divine Office (e.g., Prime or Compline) as often as we can. We should pray our daily rosary; be faithful to regular spiritual reading, especially the devout reading of Sacred Scripture and the lives of the Saints; make a five-day Ignatian Retreat (perhaps every two or three years); become Tertiaries of Third Orders; and so forth. All these things will obtain for us the grace to acquire a good spiritual life, with a sincere detachment from material things.

St. Paul declares: But the things that were gain to me, these for the sake of Christ I have counted loss. Nay more, I count everything loss because of the excelling knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I count them as dung, that I may gain Christ and be found in him (Phil. 3:7-9).

2) Sanctification of the Family: We must sanctify the family, especially by working for good Catholic marriages, which are necessary to effect holiness in the family. The father should be a responsible provider for the family; the mother should be home with her children and should not work outside the home as a general rule. Parents (the father especially) must establish family prayer in the home (e.g., daily rosary) and live in the spirit of poverty and detachment.

Parents should not allow in their homes such evils as modern rap or rock music, dangerous or sinful television or movies, immodest and unchristian attire, and the like. Girls should be taught to be feminine and reserved, wearing only modest clothes—for example, dresses and skirts below the knees. Boys should be taught to be virile, responsible, and respectful (and protective) of girls-especially by the example of the father. Fathers must work with their boys and spend time with them in order to give them the training and example they need to mature into responsible Catholic men.

3) Traditional Catholic Schools: We should work to establish traditional Catholic Schools in each parish, where feasible, in order to give our children a proper education. The Catholic school has existed from early Christian days, and it has enjoyed unbroken continuity. Wherever the Church went, the school went with it, or followed immediately in its wake. Catholic Schools have always been especially important throughout the history of the Church for the fostering of religious vocations. Furthermore, with numerous priests, brothers, and sisters to assist her in her task, the Church has always been able to provide not only inexpensive, but oftentimes free education for the people.

Catholic children should not be attending any school, whether state, public, or private, that would endanger their faith and morals. Thus, parents should enroll their children only in good (i.e., traditional) Catholic schools, and they should encourage other Catholic families to do the same. Parents who are deprived of a local Catholic school, and who must avoid public schools which are harmful to Christian faith and morals do a heroic work in educating their children in the home, or in union with other Catholic families, to the best of their abilities. Once the parish school is established, they are encouraged to take advantage of the education offered by the Church and enroll their children in the parish school if possible.

We should mention that Catholic families also need a Catholic social life. Family gatherings and outings should be encouraged in the parish, and all families should try to participate. This, along with the school, will give the children the opportunity to have a normal, healthy social life with other Catholic children their age.

4) Home Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: The Enthronement is a crusade to establish the Social Reign of the Sacred Heart in society through the family. It is based on Our Lord’s words to St. Margaret Mary: "I will reign through My Heart." It is an organized campaign to restore Christ to the family and the family to Christ. It is the answer to the question: "What can we do to save the family?"

The Enthronement will restore the family to Christ by inspiring the family to place Our Lord and His interests first. In return, the Sacred Heart will bless and sanctify those families that enthrone Him as King. He asked St. Margaret Mary that He be allowed to reign over the homes of the rich and the poor, that He be solemnly received as King and Friend, and that His Sacred Heart be honored and loved. Our Lord says: "I will establish peace in their homes; I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life; I will comfort them in all their afflictions, and I will bless all their undertakings."

St. Pius X called the work of the Enthronement a "‘work of social salvation’"; and Benedict XV in a letter to Father Mateo, its founder, wrote: "‘Nothing … is more suitable to the needs of the present day than your enterprise.’"

Along with the Enthronement, we should also try to make the nine First Fridays, in order to make reparation for all the sins committed against the Sacred Heart, especially against the Blessed Sacrament.

5) Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary: St. Louis de Montfort says:

To manifest our true devotion to Mary, we should try to fulfill the requests she made at Fatima: (1) by being faithful to praying the rosary every day; (2) by making the five First Saturdays in reparation for sins committed against her Immaculate Heart; (3) by the frequent assistance at holy Mass and the reception of Holy Communion; and (4) to pray, make sacrifices, and do much penance for sinners, that they may find mercy and forgiveness from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

6) Fraternal Charity and Zeal: We should have apostolic charity and zeal for the conversion of souls to the Catholic Faith. When associating with Protestants and other non-Catholics, we should first of all be a good example. How many souls have been turned against the Faith because of the bad example of Catholics? We must not be ashamed of our Faith, or embarrassed to say that we are Catholics. We must defend the Faith when it is attacked, and explain it to others who are sincerely seeking the truth. Consequently, we must know our Faith well. It goes without saying that we should presume good will and good intentions on the part of others who question us, especially in view of the enormous confusion existing today in the world and in the Church.

Our apostolate of bearing witness to the truth and exposing the errors of false religions must be motivated by the love of souls. People will be inclined to believe the truth if we show them genuine divine charity, compassion, and forgiveness, for then they will see Christ’s love for them in us. Intellectual arguments of reason will be fruitless if they proceed from a spirit of pride or self-importance. We must let the spirit of Christ animate us in our apostolate to convert souls, that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (I Tim. 2:4).

7) Catholic Work Ethic: We should strive to restore the Catholic environment at the work place. In general, both employers and employees must follow the principles of social justice and charity.

Catholic employers should pay a just wage and be fair to their employees. If possible, business hours should be reasonable and during the day so that fathers can be at home with their children in the evening. Businesses should not be open on Sundays, but if they must be open (which should only be by exception), employees should be enabled to fulfill their obligations for Sundays and holydays. A general dress code could be established for employees, not only for the sake of professionalism, but also to insure Christian standards in attire for men and women. Of course, nothing dangerous or offensive to the Christian way of life should be allowed at the work place.

Catholic employees must give an honest day’s work, not wasting time on the job, nor wasting materials. Honesty, justice, and loyalty must prevail. Employees should not join in on strikes unless truly necessary, and provided that the common good not be harmed. On this point, we should recall the words of Pius XI: Strikes and lock-outs are forbidden; if the contending parties cannot settle their dispute, public authority intervenes.

8) Catholic Economic Associations: Catholic workers should work to establish Catholic trade guilds and associations. For these will help bring about the unity of workmen and a good working relationship with their employers, based on the principles of Christian social justice and charity. These associations will help to protect the rights of the workers against the abuses of unrestricted capitalistic practices, and will help employers and employees understand that they are both members of Christ’s mystical body, and that the goods of this world are not to be coveted but used for the common good, especially for the good of families and of the poor and needy.

Additionally, the harmonious collaboration between owners of various businesses will help to encourage the creation of more jobs for the Catholic workforce.

9) Catholic Patriotism: In the domain of politics, we must show ourselves to be good and patriotic citizens, understanding that a good Catholic will also love and defend his country, in all things that are in conformity with the laws of God and of the Church. With regard to errors or evils in the government, Catholics should always avoid those activities that foment a spirit of subversion or rebellion against the government or political rulers, being mindful that the spirit of national revolution is the spirit of communism.

Those Catholics with a political inclination are encouraged to become well acquainted with the Catholic doctrine on Christian social order—that is, on government, politics, authority, economy, and the like, in order to become candidates for public office. This way, they will always make their political action conform to Church teaching and guidelines.

In the socio-political domain, learned and qualified Catholics can render an invaluable service to the rest of the Catholic community by providing, perhaps through pamphlets or tracts, information on the various laws and bills being proposed for legislation on the local or national level, on the candidates running for various offices and their position on certain issues, and so on.

The basic Christian principles governing patriotism and our civic duties can be laid down as follows:

1. Citizens of a Country are required to show reverence, obedience and loyalty toward their legitimate rulers.

2. They have a duty to elect good representatives. In itself it is a grave sin against legal justice to elect bad representatives for government, since the voters themselves must be held responsible in part for the harm caused to the State by such representatives. But there may be excusing causes which permit the choice of such persons. For example, it would be permitted to elect a bad representative in preference to one who is worse, which may frequently occur in so-called second ballots. The reason which permits a person to cast his vote for this evil candidate is that such a vote is no more than material co-operation in another’s sin. However, it would not be permitted to cast a vote for a candidate who is pro-abortion, for this would be too closely connected to formal co-operation in his sin of promoting abortion.

3. They have a duty to pay just taxes. If the taxes are used for evil purposes, it is not the sin of the taxpayer, and he still must pay his taxes. Our Lord said, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s."

4. In the case of a just war, they have a duty to render military service. This would also apply in the case of mandatory prescription when this is used for the sake of maintaining a sufficient military.

5. They must obey their rulers in all lawful matters in which their rulers have a right to command.

6. It is forbidden to rebel against a lawful ruler, even if he is a tyrant. Thus, seditions and revolutions against the government are forbidden, for normally in such cases the result is a form of anarchy, and the common good in society is harmed even more than it was during the rule of the evil government. It is permitted, however, to show passive resistance to an evil ruler in certain circumstances, e.g., when his commands are unjust, although we must remember the words of Christ in the Beatitudes: "Blessed are those who suffer persecution for justice sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 5:10).

1) If a government of a country is not based on Christian principles, but rather on Naturalistic and Freemasonic principles which are warring against Christ and His Church, would it be forbidden to be citizens of such a country, or to fight in that country’s military forces, or to show any patriotism to such a regime, such as by honoring the national flag?"

The answer is that it is always necessary, according to the virtues of justice and piety, to show patriotism to one’s country, even if it has a bad government. The reason is because the authority which a State exercises in governing the people comes from God, not from man. Just as God has given to parents the natural right to rule over their children, so He has given the State this right over its citizens. If a father is evil, a son must still recognize him as his father, and must obey him in all commands that are not sinful. He must still love and honor him, and continue to show him due respect. If a government is evil, citizens must follow the same principle: they must still recognize the authority of the State, and love their "fatherland," obeying the State in all things but sin. They must still love and honor their country, showing due respect to civil authority in all things that are in conformity with the laws of God and of the Church.

There are many examples of true patriotism among the Christians of the first centuries who lived in the pagan Roman Empire. Many were soldiers in the Roman military. Whenever there was a conflict between the State and the Faith, they had to resist the State, for they had to obey God before man. For this reason, many became martyrs, as we see in the examples of St. Maurice and his companions; of St. Sebastian, who was an officer of the imperial cohort under Diocletian; of St. Mennas, etc.

There are many reasons for us to show love for our country, even though it may not be Catholic. First of all, it has given us a land in which to live: it is our fatherland. We have the right to possess our own homes and to have private property. We can freely practice the Catholic Faith, and even teach it to others. We can build Churches; we are able to travel freely within the country; etc.