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Selections: Apostolic Letter--[bull] Of Our Most Holy Lord. ...

Selections: Apostolic Letter--[bull] Of Our Most Holy Lord. ... image
Parent Issue
Day
8
Month
January
Year
1844
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

[TRANSLATIOrí.]Placed at the supreme head of the Apostolate, and, although witb no merits of our own conlributing thereío, acíing asvicegerent of Jesus Christ, the son of God, wlio, in consequence of his very great love for us, having been made man, deigned to die also for the redemplion of the world, we think it falls witbiii the sphere of our pustoral care, that wc strive by every means in our power to turn away the faithful from the inhuman troffic in blackB, or in any class of men whatsoever. It is true, when the lighïofthe gospel began first to be diffu&ed, those wretched beinga, who at thnt time were falling-in so great numbers into the cruelist eervitude by reasonpecially of wars then prevailing, feit their conditioa to be most nlleviated with Ciiristian masters. For, inspjred by thfi Holy Spirit he Apostles taught 6laves ihemeelves on the one hand to obey their masters in the flesb, as thcy wouid Christ, and to do the will of God from the heart; whilo on the other hnnd they directed their masters to treat tlieir slaves kindly, and to r?ndcr unto them wliatsoever is just and fair, and also to forero nny threats, well knowing thal the Lord of these, as well as of themselves, is in the heavens, and that there s with him no respect of persons (I.) Since, hcwever, true lovetowards oll was most strongly recommended every where by the law of the gospel, and since Christ our Lord had declared that he would consider os done,, or refased unto himself. whatever of kindness and compassion should have been extended or refused to the lowly and the needy, (2) it easiiy resulted therefrom that Ghsistians not only regarded their slaves, espccialJy if Christians, in the liffht of brothers, (0) but were also more ready to bestow freedom on thone who might deservc it, which Grogory of Nyssa shows was a cuetom to bo done oí the celebraüon in particular of the Puschal Riles. (4) Nor were there wanting those who, animatcd by n tstill moro ardent love for their species, consigned iheinselves to bondage in order toree „thers fherefrom, many of whom that Apoetolic Aian, anti also Predecessor of Ourp, of mos( holy memory, Clement I., testifies thal he was acqiminted with. (5) In process of time, therefore, now that the darkness of heathen snperstition has been mere fully dissipated, and wlien the manners of less civilized communities also Iiave been sofiened down by the genfle influence of Paith working through Love, things have come at levgth to suck a pass, ihatfor ages back no persons have been held in sïavcry among very many nations of Christtans. There were, it is true, from time time, we say it to our very great sorrow, some of the very number of the Faithful, who, shoinefülly blinded hy the desire of filthy lucre, didnot hesitateío?víuc6' to Slavery, in widely separated and remoto Larsds, Indians, Blacks. or other toretched individuáis, or clse by evtahlishing and gradvaüy e7i!arging a traffic in those, who have been made caplives by olhers, to covntenance the sliameful conduel of ij(;se last. Many Roman Pontifis?, it is Irue, of glonous memoiy, Predecessors of Oure, didnot fail, in accordance with their high office, to censure severeJy the practices of those men, as injurious to their spiritual safety, ond disgraceful to the Chris'iah name; and from which also, they clearly paw that this result would follow, (hat unbelieving nations should be more confirmed to their iia'red towards our true Religión. The Apostolicketter of Paul III, given May 2,9, 1537, under the Fisherman's Seal (St. Peter's) to the Cardinal Arch-Bishop of Toledo, has this eame object in view; as wel] as others in succession still further than this eame one, given by Urban VIII, on the 22d of April, 1639, to the "Collector Jurium," of the Aposlolic Churches in Portugal; in which Letters those individuals are eeverely censnred by name, who dared or presumed to redvce to slaven, to sell, to bny, to ezchangt, or to]give away the Indians of the East, or West, io sepárale themfrom their wives and cUldren, f o despoil them oj their proper ly, o lead and send them away to othcr places: or in any usajt to deprive ïhem of their Jreedom, to retam them in servitude, and also to affoidto those pursuing the aforesaid line of condüct] advice, aid, favor and assislance, imder any prelext or color whatsoever, or t preach or teach thal this was tato ful, or to aid in n-mtother way whatsoeter the jjractices abone alluded to. (6) T)iO3e decrees of the Pontiff's just mentioned, Benedict XIV. subsequently esiublished and renewed by a new Apostolic Letter to the clergy of Brazil, and ofcertain other región?, given on the 2Oth day of December, 1741. in which he strove to aronse the anxiou8 feelings of the Priests themselves towarda this end. (7.) Beforo this alao, nnother Predecessor of ours still earüer than these, Pius IL on the Empire of the Porluguese being exieiided út his time to Guinea, a country of the blaclcs) gave on the 7th Oct. 1462, a letter addressed to the Bishop of Rubi who was about to set out for those parts, in which he not only beslowed upon that Prelate full power for cxercising his sacredfunct'ions therein with greater advantage, but, availing himself of the 6ame opportunity, animadverted severely upon thoso Christiane, who were accustotaed to drag the JVeopliyles into slavery. (8) And oven in our own times, Piu8 VII influenced by tho 9ame spint of religión, and love, as his Predecessors, zealousiy interposed his official infiuence with those in power, that the li-affic in blacks might at lenglh entircly cease among Cfaistians. - These deerces and anxious cares on the part ofour predeceesors have, with the blessing of God, proved of no litlle avail in protecting the the Indiana, and others above move mentioncd, from the cruelty of invaders, and from the Christian traders. Not to snch an extent, however, that this Holy See can congratúlate it3e)f on the full success of itazealous efforls for the accomplishment ef this end; see'mg that tha trade in blacks, though eomewhat lossenedj is still carried on by numerous Chris' ans.WE, THEREFORE, desiring to remove so great a disgraca as this from all the borders of Christendom, and the whole subject be'ing maturely weighed, (some of Our Venerable Brethren the Cardinals of tho Hoiy Roman Cliurch bemg olso admitted to our counsel,) do hereby, treading jn the footsteps of Our Predecessors, by virtue of our Apostolic Authority, adinonish and earnestly adjure b the Lord all faithful Christians of rvery conaition, that no one of them darb for the time to come, to harass vnjustly Indians, Bïacks, or any other persons of this class, or to despoil them oj their property, or to reduce them to slavery, or to lend aid, or favor to others ichiledoing such tliings touards them . or to exercise that inhuman trajfie, by means of tvhlch the Blacfc, as if they vere ivere nol hvman be7is;s, bul themerest auimals in ivhatever way reduced to Slavery are icithout any distinction, in violation oj the ïaics oj jvslice and hvmanity, bonght, soïd, and sometimes condemned to the endvrance of the most painfnl labors, and by tohicJi, moreover, throvgh the hope ofgain, that originally ojfered itself to the owners of slaves by means of thus same trajfic, dissensions atso and perpetual hostüifies are as it were continvally nurtured in the countries of ihose unfortunate men.WE, THEiS1, by virtue of our Apostolic Authorify, censure all the aforesaid practice?, as uíterly uuworthy of the Chrisli&n name, and by that same authority, we slriclly proliibit and interdict any Ecclesiaslic or Liyman from presuming1 1o uphold under any pretext or color whatsoever, that same trajfic in Blacks, as ij it teere lawful in ils nature, or othcrwise to preach (yrcedicare) or in any way whatsoever publicly or privately to teach (docere) in npposition to those things which we linve made ihe subject of admonilion in this our Apostolic Letter. In order moreover that thia same Letter [Buil] of Ours may the more casily become khówri unto all, and that no one moy al lege an ignorance of it, we decree and command it to be promulgated nccording to custorn by one of our messengers at the gatesof the Church of the First of the Aposfolic, [St. Petere] and of the Chancellar?, as also at those of the Palace on the Monte Citatorio, and in the Compo Di Fiore; and copies of the same to be be oft affixed in those same places. Given at Rome, at the Church of S. Maria Mag-giore, under the Fisherman's Seal, on the Sd day of December, 1839, in the öth ycar of our Pontificate.ALOISE LAMBRÜCHINI, Cardinal. Notes; (1.) Epist. to Ephesinns VI 5, seqq. Epist. to Colossians III 22 seqq. IV. 1. (2) Man. XXV. 35, seqq. (3) Lneianiius Div. Insrit. Lib V. e. 16 Tom. (v. fl.) IV. ot the Bib. Vet. Pat. ediV.d by Galland. and pubÜsïied at Venice. pago 31S. (4) De Res Rom. Ornt. III, vol. III, pae 420, Works edit. Paris J 638. (5) Epistle to Corintli, 1 ch 55, vol I Bib! GnIL page 35 (6) In the Coüection of Roman Balls printed by Maynard, vol VI part 2. Gonst 604, pae 183 (7) In Collection of Bulls oF Benedict XIV, vol 1, Const. 1. page 38. (8) Ilaynald'aEccles. Annnls. 14G2. n. 42.

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Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News