Apostolic Letter of Pope Pius IX, [pp. 536-545]

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Letter Apostolic of Pope Pius In.
LETTER APOSTOLIC OF OUR HOLY FATHER THE POPE
PIUS IX.
TO ALL PROTESTANTS AND OTHER NON-CATHOLICS.
To ALL PROTESTANTS AND OTHER NONCATHOLICS, Pius IX., Pope:
You already know that We, having been
elevated, notwithstanding our unworthiness,
to this Chair of Peter, and therefore invested with the supreme government and guardianship of the whole Catholic Church by
Christ our Lord, have judged it reasonable
to summon to Us Our Venerable Brethren
the Bishops of the whole earth, and to unite
them together, to celebrate, next year, an
(Ecumenical Council; so that in concert
with these our Venerable brethren who are
called to share in our cares, we may take
those steps which seem most opportune and
necessary, to disperse the darkness of the
numerous pestilential errors which everywhere rage to the increasing overthrow and
the intoxication of many souls; and also to
confirm and increase daily more and more
among the Christian people entrusted to
our watchfulness the dominion of true
Faith, Justice, and the Peace of God. Confidently relying on the close ties and most
loving union which in so marked a way
unite to Ourselves and to this Holy See
these our Venerable Brethren, who, through
all the time of our Supreme Pontificate, have
never failed to give to Ourselves and this
Holy See the clearest tokens of their love
and veneration; We have the firm hope
the t this CEcumenical Council, summoned
by Us at this time, will produce, by the inspirations of Divine Grace, as other Gene.
ral Councils in past ages have done, abundant fruits of benediction, to the greater
glory of God, and the eternal salvation of
men.
Sustained by this hope, and roused and
urged by the love of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who gave his life for the whole human race,
We cannot restrain Ourselves, on the occasion of the future Council, from addressing
our Apostolic and paternal words to all
those who, whilst they acknowledge the
same Jesus Christ as the Redeemer, and
glory in the name of Christian, yet do not
profess the true faith of Christ or hold to
and follow the Communion of the Catholic
Church. And we do this to warn, and conjure, and beseech them with all the warmth
of our zeal and in all charity, that they may
consider and seriously examine whether
they follow the Ipath marked out for them
by Jesus Christ our Lord, and which leads
to Eternal Salvation. No one can deny or
doubt that Jesus Christ himself, in order to
apply the fruits of his redemption to all generations of men, built his only church in
this world on Peter; that is to say, the
Church, One, Iholy, Catholic, and Apostolic; and that he gave him all the power
necessary to preserve the deposit of Faith
whole and inviolable, and to teach the same
Faith to all kindreds, and peoples, and nations; so that all men who through baptism
become members of his mystical body, and
of that new life of grace, without which no
one can ever attain to life eternal, may always be preserved and perfected in them;
and this church, which is his mystical Body,
may always in its own nature remain firm
and immovable to the consummation of
ages, that it may flourish, and supply to all
its children all the means of Salvation.
Novw, whoever will carefully examine and
reflect upon the condition of the various re.
ligious societies divided among themselves,
and separated from the Catholic Church,
which from the days of our Lord Jesus
Christ and his Apostles has ever exercised,
by its lawful pastors, and still does exercise,
the divine power committed to it by this
same Lord; will easily satisfy himself that
none of these societies, singly nor all together, are in any way or form that one Cathliolic Church which our Lord founded and
built, and which he chose should be; and
that he cannot, by any means, say that these
societies are members or parts of that
Church, since they are visibly separated
from catholic unity.
For such like societies, being destitute of
that living authority established by God,
which especially teaches men what is of
Faith, what the rule of morals, and guides
them in everything that relates to eternal
life, are always varying in their doctrines,
and this changing and instability is increasing. Every one therefore must perfectly
understand, and clearly and evidently see,
that such societies are distinctly opposite to
the church instituted by our Lord Jesus