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In Defense of Catholic Action

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In Defense of Catholic Action i IN DEFENSE OF CATHOLIC ACTION Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira ii iii IN DEFENSE OF CATHOLIC ACTION Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, Property—TFP Spring Grove, Penn. 17362 iv Cover illustration: First English Edition (October 2006) Translated by The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property® - TFP® Copyright © 2006 The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property® - TFP® 1358 Jefferson Road, Spring Grove, Penn. 17362 Tel.: (866) 661-0272 www.tfp.org All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property® - TFP®. The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property® and TFP® are registered names of The Foundation for a Christian Civilization, Inc., a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. v LETTER FROM THE HOLY SEE...................................................................XIII PASSING THE TEST OF TIME........................................................................ XV PREFACE..........................................................................................................XXV INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................XXVII HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS OF THE AMBIENCE IN WHICH CATHOLIC ACTION EMERGED ........................................ XXVII a) Disorganization of the Liberal States ................................................................................................................................xxvii b) Universal Panic ...................................................................................................................................................................xxvii c) Dictatorships...................................................................................................................................................................... xxviii d) The Supreme Catastrophe................................................................................................................................................. xxviii PIUS XI FOUNDS CATHOLIC ACTION ...................................................................................................................... XXVIII Hopes and Triumphs ..............................................................................................................................................xxix Exaggerations ........................................................................................................................................................xxix Errors: ...................................................................................................................................................................xxix a) Regarding Spiritual Life ......................................................................................................................................................xxix b) Regarding Apostolate ...........................................................................................................................................................xxx c) Regarding Discipline ............................................................................................................................................................xxx THE REASON FOR THIS BOOK .................................................................................................................................... XXX THE SPIRIT IN WHICH WE WRITE IT ......................................................................................................................... XXXI SUAVE TRUTHS, AUSTERE TRUTHS ......................................................................................................................... XXXII DANGEROUS ONE-SIDEDNESS ................................................................................................................................. XXXIII CHARACTER OF THIS WORK ................................................................................................................................... XXXIII PART I ..................................................................................................................... 1 JURIDICAL CHARACTER OF CATHOLIC ACTION ..................................... 1 CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................ 3 DOCTRINE ON CATHOLIC ACTION AND THE MANDATE OF THE HIERARCHY.......................................................................................................... 3 THE ORIGIN OF CATHOLIC ACTION'S PRESENT ORGANIZATIONS.................................................................................... 3 JURIDICAL CHARACTER OF CATHOLIC ACTION: THE MANDATE OF CATHOLIC ACTION.................................................. 3 NOTIONS ABOUT THE MANDATE..................................................................................................................................... 3 ECCLESIASTICAL AND CIVIL MEANING OF "MANDATE" .................................................................................................. 4 HIERARCHICAL CHARACTER OF CATHOLIC ACTION DEDUCED FROM THE MANDATE .................................................... 4 CONCRETE CONSEQUENCES:........................................................................................................................................... 5 a) Regarding Other Lay Organizations ........................................................................................................................................ 5 b) Regarding the Hierarchy........................................................................................................................................................... 6 c) Regarding the Organization and Methods of Apostolate of Catholic Action .......................................................................7 IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS........................................................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................ 8 REFUTATION OF THE ERRONEOUS DOCTRINES ....................................... 8 DEVELOPMENT OF SOME NOTIONS GIVEN IN THE PRECEDING CHAPTER ........................................................................ 8 PHILOSOPHICAL INCONSISTENCY OF THE DOCTRINES DESCRIBED IN THE PRECEDING CHAPTER....................................8 OF THE VARIOUS KINDS OF COLLABORATION ................................................................................................................ 9 vi ALL HAVE THE SAME ESSENCE ...................................................................................................................................... 9 AND PRODUCE ANALOGOUS CONSEQUENCES ................................................................................................................ 9 DISTINCTION BETWEEN MANDATE AND COLLABORATION ........................................................................................... 10 MANDATE AND DELEGATION ....................................................................................................................................... 11 SUMMARY OF THE NOTIONS GIVEN IN THIS CHAPTER THUS FAR ................................................................................. 11 MANDATE AND COLLABORATION IN REGARD TO THE LAY APOSTOLATE..................................................................... 12 THE MANDATE IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO GIVE CATHOLIC ACTION A JURIDICAL ESSENCE DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF OTHER LAY ORGANIZATIONS ....................................................................................................................................... 13 THE MANDATE IS MERELY A WAY OF GRANTING POWERS. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF THE POWERS GRANTED................................................................................................................................................. 13 THERE ARE OTHER WORKS ENDOWED WITH A MANDATE WHICH HAVE NEVER BEEN ATTRIBUTED A JURIDICAL ESSENCE DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF OTHER WORKS OF LAY APOSTOLATE................................................................. 14 SOME FAITHFUL ARE ALSO ENDOWED WITH MANDATES, BUT THAT DOES NOT CHANGE THEIR STATUS OF SUBJECTS IN HOLY MOTHER CHURCH .......................................................................................................................................... 16 PAPAL DOCUMENTS......................................................................................................................................................16 SUMMONSES AND MANDATES PREVIOUS TO THE CREATION OF THE PRESENT STRUCTURE OF CATHOLIC ACTION ...... 17 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................................ 18 CHAPTER 3 .......................................................................................................... 21 THE TRUE NATURE OF THE MANDATE OF CATHOLIC ACTION ......... 21 THERE IS AN ESSENTIAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE
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