Category: Magisterium of Leo XIII
After the election of Pope Leo XIV, Thomas Mirus decided to explore the key teachings of the new pope's namesake, Leo XIII.
Most Recent Posts
Pope Leo XIII against Freemasonry
Pope Leo XIII's 1884 encyclical Humanum Genus is the Church's most comprehensive explanation of why, ever since 1738, she has forbidden Catholics to become Freemasons. Reading the encyclical today, one has the thought that its continued relevance has less to do with the present-day activities of Masonic organizations, and more to do with the fact that Masonic ideas have already come to pervade Western society.
Leo XIII on what marriage owes to the Church
Thomas Mirus summarizes Pope Leo XIII's 1880 encyclical Arcanum, on Christian marriage. This was “the first formal and synoptic teaching on marriage since the Council of Trent” – a gap of four centuries. Arcanum is focused on what the Church has done to uplift and protect marriage throughout history. Leo argues at length that the state has no right to usurp the Church’s governance of marriage.
Leo XIII’s condemnation of liberalism
Leo XIII's Libertas is an essential encyclical to understand where the West has gone wrong. It contains the Church's doctrine on true liberty, as well as her condemnations of liberalism and unconditional freedom of worship and speech.
Leo XIII on the restoration of Christian philosophy
This is the first in a series of articles surveying the great encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII. In his third encylical, Aeterni Patris, Leo launched the Thomistic revival with a call for the restoration of Christian philosophy, which was then in a state of disrepair.
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