On December 11,
1925 Pope Pius XI promulgated his encyclical letter Quas Primas,
on the Kingship of Christ. The encyclical dealt with what the Pope
described
correctly as 'the chief cause of the difficulties under which mankind
was
laboring."
Pope Pius XI explained
that the manifold evils in the world are due to the fact that the
majority
of men have thrust Jesus Christ and His holy law out of their lives;
that
Our Lord and His holy law have no place either in private life or
in politics; and, as long as individuals and states refuse to submit to
the rule of our Savior, there will be no hope of lasting peace among
nations.
men must look for the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ -----Pax
Christi
in Regno Christi.
CHRIST'S
KINGSHIP IGNORED IN THE CHURCH?
In the February,
1976 issue of Approaches, Hamish Fraser stated with, alas, complete
accuracy, that Quas Primas is virtually ignored by the so-called
Catholic nations and by the Catholic clergy. It was, he lamented, the
greatest
non-event in the entire history of the Church.
What is it that caused
the Catholic clergy and bishops of the world in particular, to be so
embarrassed
by this encyclical that it was virtually ignored at the time of the
promulgation,
and has been all but forgotten in the post-Vatican II epoch? What is
about
this encyclical which caused its teaching to be passed over in silence,
if not actually contradicted, by the Second Vatican Council? It is an
incontrovertible
fact that this Council conspicuously and, one must conclude,
deliberately,
failed to reaffirm the teaching of Quas Primas.
Note: Published on the web with
permission of
the author, Michael Davies.