''Officio sanctissimo'', subtitled "On The Church in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
", was a
papal encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...
published by
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
in 1887. It recalled the continuous history of Catholicism in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
;
[Paragraphs 2 and 3]
Officio Sanctissimo
/ref> and praised the people's resistance to the ''Kulturkampf
(, 'culture struggle') was the conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX and the government of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck. The main issues were clerical control of education and ecclesiastic ...
''.["as Our predecessor, Pius IX., in his most loving letters addressed to the Bishops of Bavaria, (Litt. Nihil Nobis gratius, 20 Feb. 1851) praised in the highest manner the great earnestness they displayed in preserving the sacred rights of the Church, so We also freely and openly give well-deserved praise to each one of those who have bravely undertaken and carried out the defense of their ancestral faith." paragraphs 4]
Officio Sanctissimo
/ref> It also condemned Freemasonry
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
, calling it a "sect of darkness."["It is likewise a matter of extreme importance, Venerable Brethren, that you should warn and guard your flocks against the dangers arising from the contagion of Freemasonry. We have in a special Encyclical Letter shown how full of evil and danger to the State is this sect of darkness, and We have pointed out means to contract and destroy its influence." Paragraph 12, ]
Officio sanctissimo
'
See also
* Papal Documents relating to Freemasonry There are many papal pronouncements against Freemasonry
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualificatio ...
* Anti-Masonry
Anti-Masonry (alternatively called anti-Freemasonry) is "avowed opposition to Freemasonry",''Oxford English Dictionary'' (1979 ed.), p. 369. which has led to multiple forms of religious discrimination, violent persecution, and suppression in so ...
* Christianity and Freemasonry
* Catholicism and Freemasonry
The Catholic Church first prohibited Catholics from membership in Masonic organizations and other secret societies in 1738. Since then, at least eleven Papacy, popes have made pronouncements about the incompatibility of Catholic doctrines and Fre ...
*
*
References
External links
Text of ''Officio sanctissimo''
Catholicism and Freemasonry
History of Catholicism in Germany
1887 documents
1887 in Christianity
December 1887 events
1887 in Bavaria
Christianity in Bavaria
Encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII
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