ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS X ON THE
MARIAVITES OR MYSTIC PRIESTS OF POLAND TO OUR VENERABLE BRETHREN,THE
ARCHBISHOPS OF WARSAW, AND BISHOPS OF PLOTSK AND LUBLIN AMONG THE POLES
Venerable Brethren, Health and the Apostolic Benediction.
About three years
ago this Apostolic See was duly informed that some priests, especially among
the junior clergy of your dioceses, had founded, without permission from their
lawful Superiors, a kind of pseudo-monastic society, known as the Mariavites or
Mystic Priests, the members of which, little by little, turned aside from the
right road and from the obedience they owe the Bishops "whom the Holy
Ghost has placed to rule the Church of God," and became vain in their
thoughts.
2. To a certain woman, whom they proclaimed to be most holy,
marvelously endowed with heavenly gifts, divinely enlightened about many
things, and providentially given for the salvation of a world about to perish,
they did not hesitate to entrust themselves without reserve, and to obey her
every wish.
3. Relying on an alleged mandate from God, they set themselves to
promote without discrimination and of their own initiative among the people
frequent exercises of piety (highly commendable when rightly carried out,)
especially the adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament and the practice of
frequent communion; but at the same time they made the gravest charges against
all priests and bishops who ventured to express any doubt about the sanctity
and divine election of the woman, or showed any hostility to the society of the
Mariavites. Such a pass did matters reach that there was reason to fear that
many of the faithful in their delusion were about to abandon their lawful
pastors.
4. Hence, on the advice of Our Venerable Brethren the Cardinals of the
General Inquisition, We had a decree issued, as you are aware, under date of
September 4, 1904, suppressing the above-named society of priests, and
commanding them to break off absolutely all relations with the woman. But the
priests in question, notwithstanding that they signed a document expressing
their subjection to the authority of their bishops and that perhaps they did,
as they say they did, partly break off their relations with the woman, still
failed to abandon their undertaking and to renounce sincerely the condemned
association. Not only did they condemn your exhortations and inhibitions, not
only did many of them sign as audacious declaration in which they rejected
communion with their bishops, not only in more places than one did they incite
the deluded people to drive away their lawful pastors, but, like the enemies of
the Church, asserted that she has fallen from truth and justice, and hence has
been abandoned by the Holy Spirit, and that to themselves alone, the Mariavite
priests, was it divinely given to instruct the faithful in true piety.
5. Nor is this all. A few weeks ago two of these priests came to Rome:
Romanus Prochniewsky and Joannes Kowalski, the latter of whom is recognized, in
virtue of some kind of delegation from the woman referred to, as their Superior
by all the members of the Society. Both of them, in a petition alleged by them
to have been written by the express order of Our Lord Jesus Christ, ask the
Supreme Pastor of the Church, or the Congregation of the Holy Office in his
name, to issue a document conceived in these terms: "That Maria Francesca
(the woman mentioned above) has been made most holy by God, that she is the
mother of mercy for all men called and elected to salvation by God in these
days; and that all Mariavite priests are commanded by God to promote throughout
the world devotion to the Most Holy Sacrament and to the Blessed Virgin Mary of
Perpetual Succor, free from all restriction of ecclesiastical or human law or
custom, and from all ecclesiastical and human power whatsoever..."
6. From these words We were disposed to believe that the priests in
question were blinded not so much by conscious pride as by ignorance and
delusion, like those false prophets of whom Ezechiel writes: "They see
vain things and they foretell lies, saying: The Lord saith: whereas the Lord
hath not sent them: and they have persisted to confirm what they have said.
Have you not seen a vain vision and spoken a lying divination: and you say: The
Lord saith: whereas I have not spoken" (Ezechiel xiii. 6, 7). We therefore
received them with piety, exhorted them to put away the deceits of vain
revelation, to subject themselves and their works to the salutary authority of
their Superiors, and to hasten the return of the faithful of Christ to the safe
path of obedience and reverence towards their pastors; and finally to leave to
the vigilance of the Holy See and the other competent authorities the task of
confirming such pious customs as might seem best adapted for the fuller
increase of Christian life in many parishes in your dioceses, and at the same
time to admonish any priests who were found guilty of speaking abusively or
contemptuously of devout practices and exercises approved by the Church. And We
were consoled to see the two priests, moved by Our fatherly kindness, throw
themselves at Our feet and express their firm resolution to carry out Our
wishes with the devotedness of sons. They then caused to be transmitted to Us a
written statement which increased Our hope that these deluded sons would
sincerely abandon past illusions and return to the right road:
7. "We (these are their words), always ready to fulfill the will
of God, which has now been made so clear to us by His Vicar, do most sincerely
and joyfully revoke our letter, which we sent on February 1 of the present year
to the Archbishop of Warsaw, and in which we declared that we separated from
him. Moreover, we do most sincerely and with the greatest joy profess that we
wish to be always united with our Bishops, and especially with the Archbishop
of Warsaw, as far as your Holiness will order this of us. Furthermore, as we
are now acting in the name of all the Mariavites, we do make this profession of
our entire obedience and subjection in the name not only of all the Mariavites,
but of all the Adorers of the Most Holy Sacrament. We make this profession in a
special way in the name of the Mariavites of Plotsk who, for the same cause as
the Mariavites of Warsaw, handed their Bishop a declaration of separation from
him. Wherefore, all of us without exception prostrate at the feet of your
Holiness, professing again and again our love and obedience to the Holy See,
and in a most special way to your Holiness, most humbly ask pardon for any pain
we may have caused your fatherly heart. Finally, we declare that we will at
once set to work with all our energy to restore peace between the people and
their Bishops immediately. Nay, we can affirm that this peace will be really
restored very soon."
8. It was, therefore, very pleasant for Us to be able to believe that
these sons of Ours, thus pardoned, would at once on their return to Poland give
effect to their promises, and on this account We hastened to advise you,
Venerable Brethren, to receive them and their companions, now that they
professed entire obedience to your authority, with equal mercy and to restore
them legally, if their acts corresponded with their promises, to their
faculties for exercising their priestly functions.
But the event has
deceived Our hopes; for We have learnt by recent documents that they have again
opened their minds to lying revelations, and that since their return to Poland,
they not only have not yet shown you, Venerable Brethren, the respect and obedience
they promised, but that they have written to their companions a letter quite
opposed to truth and genuine obedience.
9. But their profession of fidelity to the Vicar of Christ is vain in
those who, in fact, do not cease to violate the authority of their Bishops. For
"by far the most august part of the Church consists of the Bishops, (as
Our Predecessor Leo XIII of holy memory wrote in his letter of December 17,
1888, to the Archbishop), inasmuch as this part by divine right teaches and
rules men; hence, whoever resists them or pertinaciously refuses obedience to
them puts himself apart from the Church... On the other hand, to pass judgment
upon or to rebuke the acts of Bishops does not at all belong to private
individuals - that comes within the province only of those higher than they in
authority and especially of the Sovereign Pontiff, for to him Christ entrusted
the charge of feeding not only His lambs, but His sheep throughout the world.
At most, it is allowed in matters of grave complaint to refer the whole case to
the Roman Pontiff, and this with prudence and moderation as zeal for the common
good requires, not clamorously or abusively, for in this way dissensions and
hostilities are bred, or certainly increased."
10. Idle and deceitful too is the exhortation of the priest Johannes
Kowalski to his companions in error on behalf of peace, while he persists in
his foolish talk and incitements to rebellion against legitimate pastors and in
brazen violation of episcopal commands.
11. Wherefore, that the faithful of Christ and all the so-called
Mariavite priests who are in good faith may no longer be led astray by the
delusions of the woman above-mentioned and of the priest Johannes Kowalski, We
again confirm the decree whereby the society of Mariavites, unlawfully and
invalidly founded, is entirely suppressed, and We declare it suppressed and
condemned, and We proclaim that the prohibition is still in force which forbids
all priests, with the exception of the one whom the Bishop of Plotsk shall in his
prudence depute to be her confessor, to have anything whatever to do on any
pretext with the woman.
12. You, Venerable Brethren, We earnestly exhort to embrace with
paternal charity erring priests immediately they sincerely repent, and not to
refuse to call them again, under your direction, to their priestly duties, when
they have been duly proved worthy. But should they, which may God forbid,
reject your exhortations and persevere in their contumacy, it will be Our care
to see that they are severely dealt with. Study to lead back to the right path
the faithful of Christ who are now laboring under a delusion that may be
pardoned; and foster in your dioceses those practices of piety, recently or
long since approved in numerous documents issued by the Apostolic See, and do
this with all the more alacrity now when by the blessing of God priests among
you are enabled to exercise their ministry and the faithful to emulate the
example of piety of their fathers.
13. Meanwhile as a pledge of heavenly favors and in evidence of Our
paternal good will we bestow most lovingly in the Lord the Apostolic
Benediction on you, Venerable Brethren, and on all the clergy and people
entrusted to your care and vigilance.
Given at Rome, at St.
Peter's, the fifth day of April, MDCCCCVI, in the third year of Our
Pontificate.
PIUS X
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