Continuing Encyclical Letter
on
CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE
by
POPE PIUS XI
December 31, 1930
                                                                                       

III. FALSE THEORIES

    When we consider the great excellence of Chaste Wedlock, Venerable Brethren, it appears all the more regrettable that particularly in our day we should witness this Divine Institution often scorned and on every side degraded.
    For now, alas, not secretly nor under cover, but openly, with all sense of shame put aside, now by word again by writings, by theatrical productions of every kind, by romantic fiction, by amorous and frivolous novels, by cinematographs portraying in vivid scene, in addresses broadcast by radio telephony, in short by all the inventions of modern science, the Sanctity of Marriage is trampled upon and derided; divorce, adultery, all the basest vices either are extolled or at least are depicted in such colors as to appear to be free of all reproach and infamy. Books are not lacking which dare to pronounce themselves as scientific but which in truth are merely coated with a veneer of science in order that they may the more easily insinuate their ideas.  The doctrines defended in these are offered for sale as the productions of modern genius, of that genius namely, which, anxious only for truth, is considered to have emancipated itself from all those old-fashioned and immature opinions of the ancients; and to the number of these antiquated opinions they regulate the Traditional Doctrine of Christian Marriage.
    These thoughts are instilled into men of every class, rich and poor, masters and workers, lettered and unlettered, married and single, the godly and godless, old and young, but for these last, as easiest prey, the worst snares are laid.
    Not all the sponsors of these new doctrines are carried to the extremes of unbridled lust; there are those who, striving as it were to ride a middle course, believe nevertheless that something should be conceded in our times as regards certain precepts of the Divine and natural Law.  But these likewise, more or less wittingly, are emissaries of the great enemy who is ever seeking to sow cockle among the wheat. (Matth. 13, 25.)  We, therefore, whom the Father has appointed over His field, We who are bound by Our most Holy Office to take care lest the good seed be choked by the weeds, believe it fitting to apply to Ourselves the most grave words of the Holy Ghost with which the Apostle Paul exhorted his beloved Timothy: "Be thou vigilant.... Fulfill thy ministry....  Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and Doctrine." (2 Tim. 4. 2-5.)
    And since, in order that the deciets of the enemy may be avoided, it is necessary first of all that they be laid bare; since much is to be gained by denouncing these fallacies for the sake of the unwary, even though We prefer not to name these iniquities "as becometh Saints," (Eph. 5, 3.)  yet for the welfare of souls We cannot remain altogether silent.

    To begin at the very source of these evils, their basic principles lies in this, that Matrimony is repeatedly declared to be not instituted by the Author of nature nor raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a True Sacrament, but invented by man.  Some confidently assert that they have found no evidence for the existence of Matrimony in nature or in her laws, but regard it merely as the means of producing life and of gratifying in one way or another a vehement impulse; on the other hand, others recognize that certain beginnings or, as it were, seeds of True Wedlock are found in the nature of man since, unless men were bound together by some form of permanent tie, the dignity of husband and wife or the natural end of propagating and rearing the offspring would not receive satisfactory provision.  At the same time they maintain that in all beyond this germinal idea Matrimony, through various concurrent causes, is invented solely by the mind of man, established solely by his will.
    How grievously all these err and how shamelessly they leave the ways of honesty is already evident from what we have set forth here regarding the origin and nature of Wedlock, its purposes and the good inherent in it.  The evil of this teaching is plainly seen from the consequences which its advocates deduce from it, namely, that the laws, institutions and customs by which Wedlock is governed, since they take their origin solely from the will of man, are subject entirely to him, hence can and must be founded, changed and abrogated according to human caprice and the shifting circumstances of human affairs; that the generative power which is grounded in nature itself is more Sacred and has wider range than Matrimony--hence it may be exercised both outside as well as within the confines of Wedlock, and though the purpose of Matrimony be set aside, as though to suggest that the license of a base fornicating woman should enjoy the same rights as the chaste motherhood of a lawfully wedded wife.
    Armed with these principles, some men go so far as to concoct new species of unions, suited, as they say, to the present temper of men and the times, which various new forms of Matrimony they presume to label "temporary," "experimental," and "compassionate."  These offer all indulgence of Matrimony and its rights without, however, the indissoluble bond, and without offspring, unless later the parties alter their cohabitation into a matrimony in the full sense of the law.
    Indeed there are some who desire and insist that these practices be legitimatized by the law or, at least, excused by their general acceptance among the people.  They do not seem even to suspect that these proposals partake of nothing of the modern "culture" in which they glory so much, but are simply hateful abominations which beyond all question reduce our truly cultured nations to the barbarous standards of savage peoples.

    And now,  Venerable Brethren, We shall explain in detail the evils opposed to each of the benefits of Matrimony. First consideration is due to the offspring, which many have the boldness to call the disagreeable burden of Matrimony and which they say is to be carefully avoided by married people not through virtuous continence (which Christian Law permits in Matrimony when both parties consent) but by frustrating the Marriage act.  Some justify this criminal abuse on the ground that they are weary of children and wish to gratify their desires without their consequent burden.  Others say that they cannot on the one hand remain continent nor on the other can they have children because of the difficulties whether on the part of the mother or on the part of family circumstances.
    But no reason, however grave may be put forward by which anything intrinsically against nature may beome conformable to nature and morally good.  Since, therefore, the conjugal act is destined primarily by nature for the begetting of children, those who in exercising it deliberately frustrate its natural power and purpose sin against nature and commit a deed which is shameful and intrinsically vicious.
    Small wonder, therefore, if Holy Writ bears witness that the Divine Majesty regards with greatest detestation this horrible crime and at times has punished it with death.  As St. Augustine notes, "Intercourse even with one's legitimate wife is unlawful and wicked where the conception of the offspring is prevented.  Onan, the son of Juda, did this and the Lord killed him for it." (St. August., De coniug. adult., lib. II. a. 12; Gen. 38, 8-10.)
    Since, therefore, openly departing from the uninterrupted Christian Tradition some recently have judged it possible solemnly to declare another doctrine regarding this question, the Catholic Church, to whom God has entrusted the defense of the integrity and purity of morals, standing erect in the midst of the moral ruin which surrounds her, in order that she may preserve the Chastity of the Nuptial Union from being defiled by this foul stain, raises her voice in token of her Divine Ambassadorship and through Our mouth proclaims anew: any use whatsoever of Matrimony exercised in such a way that the act is deliberately frustrated in its natural power to generate life is an offense against the Law of God and of nature, and those who indulge in such are branded with the guilt of a grave sin.
    We admonish, therefore, Priests who hear confessions and others who have the care of souls, in virtue of Our Supreme Authority and in Our solicitude for the salvation of souls, not to allow the faithful entrusted to them to err regarding this most grave Law of God; much more, that they keep themselves immune from such false opinions, in no way conniving in them.  If any Confessor or Pastor of souls, which may God forbid, lead the faithful entrusted to him into these errors or should at least confirm them by approval or by guilty silence, let him be mindful of the fact that he must render a strict account to God, the Supreme Judge, for the betrayal of his Sacred Trust, and let him take to himelf the Words of Christ: "They are blind and leaders of the blind: and if the blind lead the blind, both fall into the pit." (Matth. 15, 14.)
    As regards the evil use of Matrimony, to pass over the arguments which are shameful, not infrequently others that are false and exaggereated are put forward.  Holy Mother Church very well understands and clearly appreciates all that is said regarding the health of the mother and the danger to her life.  And who would not grieve to think of these things?  Who is not filled with the greatest admiration when he sees a mother risking her life with heroic fortitude, that she may preserve the life of the offspring which she has conceived?  God alone, all bountiful and all merciful as He is, can reward her for the fulfillment of the office allotted to her by nature, and will assuredly repay her in a measure full to overflowing. (Luke 6, 38.)
    Holy Church knows well that not infrequently one of the parties is sinned against rather than sinning, when for a grave cause he or she reluctantly allows the perversion of the right order.  In such a case, there is no sin, provided that, mindful of the Law of Charity, he or she does not neglect to seek to dissuade and to deter the partner from sin.  Nor are those considered as acting against nature who in the married state use their right in the proper manner, although on account of natural reasons either of time or of certain defects, new life cannot be brought forth.  For in Matrimony as well as in the use of Matrimonial rights there are also secondary ends, such as mutual aid, the cultivating of mutual love, and the quieting of concupiscence which husband and wife are not forbidden to consider so long as they are subordinated to the primary end and so long as the intrinsic nature of the act in preserved.
    We are deeply touched by the sufferings of those parents who, in extreme want, experience great difficulty in rearing their children.
    However, they should take care lest the calamitous state of their external affairs should be the occasion for a much more calamitous error.  No difficulty can arise that justifies the putting aside of the Law of God which forbids all acts intrinsically evil.  There is no possible circumstances in which husband and wife cannot, strengthened by the Grace of God, fulfill faithfully their duties and preserve in Wedlock their Chastity unspotted.  This Truth of Christian Faith is expressed by the Teaching of the Council of Trent.  "Let no one be so rash as to assert that which the Fathers of the Council have placed under anathema, namely that there are Precepts of God impossible for the just to observe.  God does not ask the impossible, but by His commands, instructs you to do what you are able, to pray for what you are not able that He may help you." (Counc. Trid., Sess. VI, cap 11.)
    This same Doctrine was again Solemnly repeated and confirmed by the Church in the condemnation of the Jansenist heresy which dared to utter this blasphemy against the goodness of God: "Some Precepts of God are, when one considers the powers which man possess, impossible of fulfillment even to the just who wish to keep the law and strive to do so; Grace is lacking whereby these Laws could be fulfilled." (Const. Apost., Cum occasione, 31 May 1653, prop. 1.)
    But another very grave crime is to noted, Venerable Brethren, which regards the taking of the life of the offspring hidden in the mother's womb.  Some wish it to be allowed and left to the will of the father or the mother; others say it is unlawful unless there are weighty reasons which they call by the name of medical, social,or eugenic "indication."  Because this matter falls under the penal laws of the State by which the destruction of the offspring begotten but unborn is forbidden, these people demand that the "indication," which in one form or another they defend, be recognized as such by the public law and in no way penalized.  There are those, moreover, who ask that the public authorities provide aid for these death-dealing operations, a thing, which, sad to say, everyone knows is of very frequent occurrence in some places.
    As to the "medical and therapeutic indication" to which, using their own words, we have made reference, Venerable Brethren, however much we may pity the mother whose health and even life is gravely imperiled in the performance of the duty allotted to her by nature, nevertheless what could ever be a sufficient reason for excusing in any way the direct murder of the innocent?  This is precisely what we are dealing with here.  Whether inflicted upon the mother or upon the child, it is against the Precept of God and the Law of nature: "Thou shalt not kill." (Exod. 20, 13; Decr. S. Offic. 4 May 1897, 24 July 1895; 31 May 1884.)  The life of each is equally Sacred, and no one has the power, not even the public authority, to destroy it.  It is of no use to appeal to the right of taking away life for here it is a question of the innocent, whereas that right has regard only to the guilty; nor is there here question of defense of bloodshed against an unjust aggressor; (for who would call an innocent child an unjust aggressor?) again there is no question here of what is called the "law of extreme necessity" which could even extend to the direct killing of the innocent.  Upright and skillful doctors strive most praiseworthily to guard and preserve the lives of both mother and child; on the contrary, those show themselves most unworthy of the noble medical profession who encompass the death of one or the other, through a pretense at practicing medicine or through motives of misguided pity.
    All of which agrees with the stern words of the Bishop of Hippo in denouncing those wicked parents who seek to remain childless, and failing in this, are not ashamed to put their offspring to death: "Sometimes this lustful cruelty or cruel lust goes so far as to seek to procure a baneful sterility, and if this fails the fetus conceived in the womb is in one way or another smothered or evacuated, in the desire to destroy the offspring before it has life, or if it already lives in the womb, to kill it before it is born.  If both man and woman are party to such practices they are not spouses at all; and if from the first they  have carried on thus they have come together not for honest Wedlock, but for impure gratification; if both are not party to these deeds, I make bold to say that either the one makes herself a mistress of the husband, or the other simply the paramour of his wife." (St. August., De nutp. et concupisc., cap. XV.)
    What is asserted in favor of the social and eugenic "indication" may and must be accepted, provided lawful and upright methods are employed within the proper limits; but to wish to put forward reasons based upon them for the killing of the innocent is unthinkable and contrary to the Divine Precept Promulgated in the words of the Apostle: Evil is not to be done that good may come of it. (Rom. 3, 8.)
    Those who hold the reins of Government should not forget that it is the duty of public authority by appropriate laws and sanctions to defend the lives of the innocent, and this all the more so since those whose lives are endangered and assailed cannot defend themselves.  Among whom we must mention in the first place infants hidden in the mother's womb.  And if the public magistrates not only do not defend them, but by their laws and ordinances betray them to death at the hands of doctors or of others, let them remember that God is the Judge and Avenger of innocent blood which cries from earth to Heaven. (Gen. 4, 10.)

    Finally, that pernicious practice must be condemned which closely touches upon the natural right of man to enter Matrimony but affects also in a real way the welfare of the offspring.  For there are some who over solititous for the cause of eugenics, not only give salutary counsel for more certainly procuring the strength and health of the future child--which, in deed, is not contrary to right reason--but put eugenics before aims of a higher order, and by public authority wish to prevent from marrying all those whom, even though naturally fit for marriage, they consider, according to the norms and conjectures of their investigations, would through hereditary transmission, bring forth defective offspring.   And more, they wish to legislate to derpive these of that natural faculty by medical action despite their unwillingness; and this they do not propose as an infliction of grave punishment under the authority of the State for a crime committed, nor to prevent future crimes by guilty persons, but against every right and good they wish the civil authority to arrogate to itself a power over a faculty which it never had and can never legitimately possess.
    Those who act in this way are at fault in losing sight of the fact that the family is more Sacred than the State and that men are begotten not for the earth and for time, but for Heaven and Eternity.  Although often these individuals are to be disssuaded from entering into Matrimony, certainly it is wrong to brand men with the stigma of crime because they contract marriage, on the ground that, despite the fact that they are in every respect capable of Matrimony, they will give birth only to defective children, even though they use all care and diligence.
    Public Magistrates have no direct power over the bodies of their subjects: therefore, where no criime has taken place and there is no cause present for grave punishment, they can never directly harm, or tamper with the integrity of the body, either for the reasons of eugenics or for any other reason.  St. Thomas teaches this when, inquiring whether human judges for the sake of preventing future evils can inflict punishment, he admits that the power indeed exists as regards certain other forms of evil, but justly and properly denies it as regards the maiming of the body.  "No one who is guiltless may be punished by a human tribunal either by flogging to death, or mutilation, or by beating." (Summ., theol., 2a, 2ae, q. 108 a 4 ad 2um.)
    Furthermore, Christian Doctrine establishes, and the light of human reason makes it most clear, that private individuals have no power over the members of their bodies than that which pertains to their natural ends: and they are not free to destroy or mutilate their members, or in any other way to render themselves unfit for their natural functions, except when no other provision can be made for the good of the whole body.
    We may now consider another class of errors concerning conjugal faith.  Every sin committed as regards the offspring becomes in some way a sin against conjugal faith, since both these blessings are essentially connected.  However, We must mention briefly the sources of error and vice corresponding to those virtues which are demanded by conjugal faith, namely the Chaste Honor existing between man and wife, the due subjection of wife to husband, and the True love which binds both parties together.

    It follows therefore that they are destroying mutual fidelity, who think that the ideas and morality of our present time concerning a certain harmful and false friendship witha third party can be countenanced, and who teach that a greater freedom of feeling and action in such external relations should be allowed to man and wife, particularly as many (so they consider) are possessed of an inborn sexual tendency which cannot be satisfied within the narrow limits of monogamous marriage.  That rigid attitude which condemns all sensual affections and actions with a third party they imagine to be a narrowing of mind and heart, something obsolete, or an abject form of jealousy, and as a result they look upon whatever penal laws are passed by the State for the preserving of conjugal faith as void or to be abolished.  Such unworthy and idle opinions are condemned by that noble instinct which is found in every chaste husband and wife, and even by the light of the testimony of nature alone,--a testimony that is sanctioned and confirmed by the Command of God: "Thou shalt not commit adultery," (Exod. 20, 14.) and the Words of Christ: "Whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her hath already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matth. 5, 28.)  The force of this Divine Precept can never be weakened by any merely human custom, bad example or pretext of human progress, for just as it is the one and the same "Jesus Christ, yesterday and today and the same forever," (Hebr. 13, 8.) so it is the one and the same Doctrine of Christ that abides and of which not one jot or tittle shall pass away till all is fulfilled. (Matth. 5, 18.)
    The same false teachers who try to dim the luster of conjugal faith and purity do not scruple to do away with the honorable and trusting obedience which the woman owes to the man.  Many of them even go further and assert that such a subjectionof one party to the other is unworthy of human dignity, that the rights of husband and wife are equal; wherefore, they boldly proclaim, the emanicipation of women has been or ought to be effected.  This emancipation in their ideas must be threefold, in the ruling of the domestic society, in the administration of family affairs and in the rearing of the children.  It must be social, economic, physiological:--physiological, that is to say, the woman is to be freed at her own good pleasure from the burdensome duties properly belonging to a wife as companion and mother; (We have already said that this is not an emancipation but a crime) social, inasmuch as the wife being freed from the cares of children and family, should, to the neglect of these, be able to follow her own bent and devote herself to business and even public affairs; finally economic, whereby the woman even without the knowledge and against the wish of her husband may be at liberty to conduct and administer her own affairs, giving her attention chiefly to these rather than to children, husband and family.
    This, however, is not the true emancipation of woman, nor that rational and exalted liberty which belongs to the noble office of a Christian woman and wife; it is rather the debasing of the womanly character and the dignity of motherhood, and indeed of the whole family, as a result of which the husband suffers the loss of his wife, the children of their mother, and the home and the whole family  of an ever watchful guardian.  More than this, this false liberty and unnatural equality with the husband is to the detriment of the woman herself, for if the woman descends from her Truly Regal Throne to which she has been raised within the walls of the home by means of the Gospel, she will soon be reduced to the old state of slavery (if not in appearance, certainly in reality) and become as amongst the pagans the mere instrument of man.
    This equality of rights which is so much exaggerated and distorted, must indeed be recognized in those rights which belong to the dignity of the human soul and which are proper to the Marriage Contract and inseparably bound up with Wedlock.  In such things undoubtedly both parties enjoy the same rights and are bound by the same obligations; in the other things there must be a certain inequality and due accommodation, which is demanded by the good of the family and the right ordering and unity and stability of home life.
    As, however, the social and economic conditions of the married woman must in some way be altered on cccount of the changes in social intercourse, it is part of the office of the public authority to adapt the civil rights of the wife to modern needs and requirements, keeping in view what the natural disposition and temperament of the female sex, good morality, and the welfare of the family demands, and provided always that the essential order of the domestic society remain intact, founded as it is on something higher than human authority and wisdom, namely on the Authority and Wisdom of God, and so not changeable by public laws or at the pleasure of private individuals.
    These enemies of Marriage go further, however, when they substitute for that true and solid love, which is the basis of conjugal happiness, a certain vague compatibility of temperament.  This they call sympathy and assert that, since it is the only bond by which husband and wife are linked together, when it ceases the Marriage is completely dissolved.  What else is this than to build a house upon sand?--a house that in the words of Christ would forthwith be shaken and collapse, as soon as it was exposed to the waves of adversity "and the winds blew and they beat upon that house.  And it fell: and great was the fall thereof." (Matth. 7, 17.)  On the other hand, the house built upon a rock, that is to say on mutual conjugal Chastity and strengthened by a deliberate and constant union of spirit, will not only never fall away but will never be shaken by adversity.
    We have so far, Venerable Brethren, shown the excellency of the first two blessings of Christian Wedlock which the modern subverters of society are attacking.  And now considering that the third blessing, which is that of the Sacrament, far surpasses the other two, we should not be surprised to find that this, because of its outstanding excellence, is much more sharply attached by the same people.  They put forward in the first place that Matrimony belongs entirely to the profane and purely civil sphere, that it is not to be committed to the Religious Society, the Church of Christ, but to civil society alone.  They then add that the Marriage Contract is to be freed from any indissoluble bond, and that separation and divorce are not only to be tolerated but sanctioned by the law; from which it follows finally that, robbed of all its Holiness, Matrimony should be enumerated amongst the secular and civil institutions.  The first point is contained in their contention that the civil act itself should stand for the Marriage contract, (civil matrimony, as it is called) while the Religious act is to be considered a mere addition, or at most a concession to a too superstitious people.  Moreover they want it to be no cause for reproach that marriages be contracted by Catholics with non-Catholics without any reference to Religion or recourse to the Ecclesiastical Authorities.  The second point, which is but a consequence of the first is to be found in their excuse for complete divorce and in their praise and encouragement of those civil laws which favor the loosening of the bond itself.  As the salient features of the Religious character of all Marriage and particularly of the Sacramental Marriage of Christians have been treated at length and supported by weighty arguments in the Encyclical Letters of Leo XIII, letters which We have frequently recalled to mind and expressly made Our own, We refer you to them, repeating here only a few points.

    Even by the light of reason alone and particularly if the ancient records of history are investigated, if the unwavering popular conscience is interrogated and the manners and institutions of all races examined, it is sufficiently obvious that there is a certain Sacredness and Religious character attaching even to the purely natural union of man and woman, "not something added by chance but innate, not imposed by men but involved in the nature of things," since it has "God for its Author and has been even from the beginning a foreshadowing of the Incarnation of the Word of God." (Leo XIII, Encycl. Arcanum, 10 Febr. 1880.)  This Sacredness of Marriage which is intimately connected with Religion and all that is Holy, arises from the Divine Origin we have just mentioned, from its purpose which is the begetting and educating of children for God, and the binding of man and wife to God through Christian love and mutual support; and finally it arises from the very nature of Wedlock, whose institution is to be sought for in the farseeing Providence of God, whereby it is the means of transmitting life, thus making the parents the ministers, as it were, of the Divine Omnipotence.  To this must be added that new element of dignity which comes from the Sacrament, by which the Christian Marriage is so ennobled and raised to such a level, that it appeared to the Apostle as a great Sacrament, honorable in every way. (Eph. 5, 32; Hebr. 13, 4.)
    This Religious Character of Marriage, its sublime signification of Grace and the union between Christ and the Church, evidently requires that those about to Marry should show a Holy Reverence towards it, and zealously endeavor to make their Marriage approach as nearly as possible to the archetype of Christ and the Church.

    They, therefore, who rashly and heedlessly contract mixed marriages, from which the Maternal Love and Providence of the Church dissuades her children for very sound reasons, fail conspicuously in this respect, sometimes with danger to their eternal salvation.  This attitude of the Church to mixed Marriages appears in many of her Documents, all of which are summed up in the Code of Canon Law: "Everywhere and with the greatest strictness the Church forbids Marriages between Baptized persons, one of whom is a Catholic and the other a member of a schismatical or heretical sect; and if there is, add to this, the danger of the falling away of the Catholic party and the perversion of the children, such a marriage is forbidden also by the Divine Law." (Col. iur. can., c. 1060.)  If the Church occasionally on account of circumstances does not refuse to grant a dispensation from these strict laws, (provided that the Divine Law remains intact and the dangers above mentioned are provided against by suitable safeguards) it is unlikely that the Catholic party will not suffer some detriment from such a marriage.
    Whence it comes about not unfrequently, as experience shows, that deplorable defections from Religion occur among the offspring, or a least a headlong descent into the Religious indifference which is closely allied to impiety.  There is this also to be considered that in these mixed Marriages it becomes much more difficult to imitate by a lively conformity of spirit the mystery of which We have spoken, namely that close union between Christ and His Church.
    Assuredly, also, will there be wanting that close union of spirit, which as it is the Sign and Mark of the Church of Christ, so also should be the Sign of Christian Wedlock, its glory and adornment. For, where there exists diversity of mind, truth and felling, the bond of union of mind and heart is wont to be broken, or at least weakened.  From this comes the danger lest the love of man and wife grow cold and the union of  hearts, be destroyed.  Many centuries ago indeed, the old Roman Law had proclaimed: "Marriages are the union of male and female, a sharing of life and the communication of Divine and human rights." (Modestinus, in Dig. [Lib. XXIII, II: De ritu nuptiarum], lib. I., Regularum.)  But especially, as We have pointed out, Venerable Brethren, the daily increasing facility of divorce is an obstacle to the restoration of Marriage to that state of perfection which the Divine Redeemer willed it should possess.

    The advocates of the neo-paganism of today have learned nothing from the sad state of affairs, but instead, day by day, more and more vehemently, they continue by Legislation to attack the indissolubility of the Marriage Bond, proclaiming that the lawfulness of divorce must be recognized, and that the antiquated laws should give place to a new and more humane Legislation.  Many and varied are the grounds put forward for divorce, some arising from the wickedness and the guilt of the persons concerned, others arising from the circumstances of the case; the former they describe as subjective, the latter as objective; in a word, whatever might make married life hard or unpleasant.  They strive to prove their contentions regarding these grounds for the divorce legislation they would bring about, by various arguments. Thus, in the first place, they maintain that it is for the good of either party that the one who is innocent should have the right to separate from the guilty, or that the guilty should be withdrawn from a union which is unpleasing to him and against his will.  In the second place, they argue, the good of the child demands this, for either it will be deprived of a proper education or the natural fruits of it, and will too easily be affected by the discords and shortcomings of the parents, and drawn from the path of virtue.  And thirdly the common good of society requires that these marriages should be completely dissolved, which are now incapable of producing their natural results, and that legal reparations should be allowed when crimes are to be feared as the result of the common habitation and intercourse of the parties.  This last, they say must be admitted to avoid the crimes being committed purposely with a view to obtaining the desired sentence of divorce for which the judge can legally loose the marriage bond, as also to prevent people from coming before the courts when it is obvious from the state of the case that they are lying and perjuring themselves,--all of which brings the court and the lawful authority into contempt.  Hence the civil laws, in their opinion, have to be reformed to meet these new requirements, to suit the changes of the times and the changes in men's opinions, civil institutions and customs.  Each of these reasons is considered by them as conclusive, so that all taken together offer a clear proof of the necessity of granting divorce in certain cases.
    Others, taking a step further, simply state that marriage, being a private contract, is, like other private contracts, to be left to the consent and good pleasure of both parties, and so can be dissolved for any reason whatsoever.

    Opposed to all these reckless opinions, Venerable Brethren, stands the unalterable Law of God, fully confirmed by Christ, a Law that can never be deprived of its force by the decrees of men, the ideas of a people or the will of any legislator: "What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder." (Matth. 19, 6.)  And if any man, acting contrary to this Law, shall have put asunder, his action is null and void, and the consequence remains, as Christ Himself has explicitly confirmed: "Everyone that putteth away his wife and marrieth another, committeth adultry: and he that marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth aduletery." (Luke 16, 18.)  Moreover, these words refer to every kind of marriage, even that which is natural and legitimate only; for, as has already been observed, that indissolubility by which the loosening of the bond is once and for all removed from the whim of the parties and from every secular power, is a property of every True Marriage.
    Let that Solemn Pronouncement of the Council of Trent, be recalled to mind in which, under the stigma of anathema, it condemned these errors: "If anyone should say that on account of heresy or the hardships of co-habitation or a deliberate abuse of one party by the other the marriage tie may be loosened, let him be anathema;" (Conc. Trid., Sess. XXIV, cap. 5.)  and again: "If anyone should say that the Church errs in having taught or in teaching that, according to the teaching of the Gospel and the Apostles, the bond of marriage cannot be loosed because of the sin of adultery of either party; or that neither party, even though he be innocent, having given no cause for the sin of adultery, can contract another marriage during the lifetime of the other; and that he commits adultery who marries another after putting away his adulterous wife, and likewise that she commits adultery who puts away her husband and marries another: let him be anathema." (Conc. Trid., Sess. XXIV, cap. 7.)
    If therefore the Church has not erred and does not err in teaching this, and consequently it is certain that the Bond of Marriage cannot be loosed even on account of the sin of adultery, it is evident that all the other weaker excuses that can be, and are usually brought forward, are of no value whatsoever.  And the objections brought against the firmness of the Marriage Bond are easily answered.  For, in certain circumstances, imperfect separation of the parties is allowed, the Bond not being severed.  This separation, which the Church herself permits, and expressly mentions in her Canon Law in those Canons which deal with the separation of the parties as to marital relationship and cohabitation, removes all the alleged inconveniences and dangers. (Cod. iur. can., c. 1128 sqq.)  It will be for the Sacred Law and, to some extent, also the civil law, in so far as civil matters are effected, to lay down the grounds, the conditions, the method and precautions to be taken in a case of this kind in order to safeguard the education of the children and the well-being of the family, and to remove all those evils which threaten the married persons, the children and the State.  Now all those arguments that are brought forward to prove the indissolubility of the Marriage Tie, arguments which have already been touched upon, can equally be applied to excluding not only the necessity of divorce, but even the power to grant it; while for all the advantages that can be put forward for the former, there can be adduced as many disadvantages and evils which are a formidable menace to the whole of human society.

    To revert again to the expressions of Our Predecessor, it is hardly necessary to point out what an amount of good is involved in the absolute indissolubility of Wedlock and what a train of evils follows upon divorce.  Whenever the Marriage Bond remains intact, then we find Marriages contracted with a sense of safety and security, while, when separations are considered and the dangers of divorce are present, the Marriage Contract itself becomes insecure, or at least gives ground for anxiety and surprises.  On the one hand we see a wonderful strengthening of good will and cooperation in the daily life of husband and wife, while, on the other, both of these are miserably weakened by the presence of a facility for divorce.  Here we have at a very opportune moment a source of help by which both parties are enabled to preserve their purity and loyalty; there we find harmful inducements to unfaithfulness.  On this side we find the birth of children and their tuition and upbringing effectively promoted, many avenues of discord closed amongst families and relations, and the beginnings of rivalry and jealousy easily suppressed; on that, very great obstacles to the birth and rearing of children and their education, and many occasions of quarrels, and seeds of jealousy sown everywhere.  Finally, but especially, the dignity and position of women in civil and domestic society is reinstated by the former; while by the latter it is shamefully lowered and the danger is incurred "of their being considered outcasts, slaves of the lust of men." (Loe XIII, Encycl. Arcanum divinae sapientiae, 10 Febr. 1880.)
    To conclude with the important words of Leo XIII, since the destruction of family life "and the loss of national wealth is brought about more by the corruption of morals than by anything else, it is easily seen that divorce, whichis born of the perverted morals of a people, and leads, as experiment shows, to vicious habits in public and private life, is particularly opposed to the well-being of the family and of the State.  The serious nature of these evils will be the more clearly recognized, when we remember that, once divorce has been allowed, there will be no sufficient means of keeping it in check within any definite bounds.  Great is the force of example, greater still that of lust; and with such incitements it cannot but happen that divorce and its consequent setting loose of the passions should spread daily and attack the souls of many like a contagious disease or a river bursting its banks and flooding the land." (Encycl. Arcanun, 10 Febr. 1880.)
    That, as we read in the same Letter, "unless things change, the human family and State have every reason to fear lest they should suffer absolute ruin." (Encycl. Arcanum, 10 Febr. 1880.)  All this was written fifty years ago, yet it is confirmed by the daily increasing corruption of morals and the unheard of degradation of the family in those lands where Communism reigns unchecked.
    Thus far, Venerable Brethren, We have admired with due reverence what the all wise Creator and Redeemer of the human race has Ordained with regard to human Marriage; at the same time we have expressed Our grief that such a pious Ordinance of the Divine Goodness should today, and on every side, be frustrated and trampled upon by the passions, errors and vices of men.