Leo XIII on the State’s duties toward the Church, w/ Thomas Pink

By Thomas V. Mirus ( bio - articles - email ) | Apr 15, 2026 | In The Catholic Culture Podcast

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This interview with Prof. Thomas Pink, originally published in 2020, is being republished as part of Thomas Mirus’s ongoing series covering the major encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII.

Vatican II’s Declaration on Religious Freedom, Dignitatis Humanae, begins by noting that its discussion of religious liberty “has to do with immunity from coercion in civil society” and so “leaves untouched traditional Catholic doctrine on the moral duty of men and societies toward the true religion and toward the one Church of Christ.” This episode is about discovering what that traditional doctrine was and is.

Our main source will be Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Immortale Dei, which is available in audiobook form on CatholicCulture.org. Thomas Pink guides us through a close reading of this document (with supplementary material from Libertas and Longuinqua). Here, and in the magisterium of other 19th-century Popes, we find a number of teachings on Church and State that have gone largely unmentioned since the Council, and which are sadly forgotten or even rejected by the majority of self-described conservative Catholics.

Links

Thomas Mirus’s article summarizing the encyclical https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/leo-xiii-on-states-duties-toward-church/

Audiobook of Immortale Dei https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/pope-leo-xiii-immortale-dei-on-christian-constitution-states/

Text of Immortale Dei (On the Christian Constitution of States) https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=4916

Thomas Pink, “Conscience and Coercion” https://www.firstthings.com/article/2012/08/conscience-and-coercion

Timestamps

[4:59] The historical and theological context of Immortale Dei

[9:42] An overview of points from Immortale Dei and Libertas

[12:28] The source and nature of authority; its directive and coercive functions

[20:30] The State’s duty to profess, protect and foster the one true religion

[25:56] Reasons for toleration of other religions; coercion of the baptized

[36:05] Leo’s analogy of Church and State with soul and body

[45:26] Separate sovereignties of Church and State interact; State can act as the “secular arm”

[51:31] Obligations twd. religion of the State properly speaking, not just rulers as individuals

[55:03] Consequences of the State neglecting God and religion

[1:02:40] Dignitatis Humanae: drafting, intended scope, legacy, compatibility with tradition

[1:10:30] Papal condemnations of freedom of speech and opinion

[1:31:10] The Church’s move away from coercing baptized heretics

[1:36:13] The importance of docility in accepting difficult teachings

[1:41:29] Need for a synthesis of the whole magisterium on Church, State and religious liberty

Theme music: “Franciscan Eyes”, written and performed by Thomas Mirus. Download the Catholic Culture Podcast soundtrack.