THE CORONATION OF THE KING The Feast of Christ the King and the Triumph of the Pacman Tonight, I did my best. -- Manny Pacquiao The Catholic churchs declaration of the feast Christ the King has historical and political purpose. In encyclical Quas Primas (1928) Pope Pius XI was a response to the Roman Question where the political authority of the pope was challenged by the Italian government--the political threat against Romes (Vaticans) independence. In 1929, the Lateran Treaty was signed acknowledging popes territorial authority of Vatican City as well as the popes extraterritorial sovereignty to papal estates outside Vatican such as the Basilica of John Lateran and the popes summer residence Castel Gandolfo. Rhoderick John Abellanosa reminded us today in 1969, Paul VI transferred the celebration to the last Sunday of the Churchs cycle and, consequently, less and less Catholics, even the pious ones, remember its political message. Pius XIs discourse then, said Rhod, was apparently monarchist and triumphalist - he spoke of the peoples duty to the Empire of Christ who is the true King of the Universe: While nations insult the beloved name of our Redeemer by suppressing all mention of it in their conferences and parliaments, we must all the more loudly proclaim his kingly dignity and power, all the more universally affirm his rights (Quas Primas 25). If we look at the larger historical-political picture of this celebration of the feast of Christ the King, we cannot divorce it from the ongoing revolt in Europe starting from American colonists declaration of independence from the British crown during the last quarter of the 18th century which was followed by French revolution challenging the tradition of a monarchy ruling by divine right. Along with it was the Industrial Revolution which attracted people into the growing urban centers. And the Catholic church had to adapt itself into these historical and political changes. For students of history, the Bastille became the significant historical landmark where the French peasants launched the first occupy movement in Europe. They burned to the ground Bastille in revolt against century-old oppression by the landed clerics and nobility. The French government was ruled by King Louis XVI who was remembered as the extremely unjust and cruel monarch. Most of the land were owned by the clerics and nobility and they also monopolized positions of power in the church and in government. More than 95 per cent of the French population were peasant who were frequently exploited by the privileged aristocracy. While the middle class was relatively better off financially, they were also vulnerable to the abuses of the privileged aristocracy. Voltaire, Diderot, and Rousseau were among the French intellectuals who addressed the social discontent and called for social changed. While the Voltaire movement did not directly asked for the abolition of the monarchy, they were calling for either benevolent despotism or a constitutional monarchy. The Diderot movement enthroned science as the foundational ground of all human knowledge and rejected the tradition Catholic thought. In 1789, there was a major change in government initiated in the National Constituent Assembly and, with the publication of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Church was deeply affected. At the suggestion of Bishop Tallerand, the lands owned by the church were taken into publics ownership to finance the revolutionary changes. Through the enactment of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy in 1790, among other things, the bishops and the clergy were elected by the people and the clerics were compelled to swear allegiance to the French constitution rather than to the pope. The church then was split over the issue as some reacted to it. In practice, the power of the papacy was abolished in France. The Gallicanism movement--which asserted the primacy of the French monarch, the authority of the general church councils over the pope, and the rejection of papal influence in the affairs of French nation--finally won a resounding victory in 1791 since its inception in 1682. One of the early acts of Napoleon Bonaparte was to restore the broken relationship of France and Vatican allowing the pope to appoint the bishops but the state could veto his appointment. In 1804, Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor while Pope Pius VII (1740-1823) witnessed the event as a pathetic spectator. In 1808, Bonaparte took the Vatican States and the pope was seized and exiled to Fontainebleau near Paris but was restored to Vatican in 1814. In 1846, Pope Pius IX (1892-1878) exploited the nationalist sentiment of the Risorgimento to bind the fragmented Italian states more closely together. The rallying banner was religious Bless Italy during the time when Sicily rose against the Bourbon monarchy and the north Italy rebelled against Austria. He lost and was forced to return to Rome. Without temporal power, Pius IX clung tenaciously to the Papal States until 1870. As the political power of the cross decreases, Pius IX strengthened what is left to him--the spiritual power. In 1855 Pius IX issued the notorious (my fellow Catholic friends would correct me and say famous) Ineffabilis Deus which did not only laid the solid foundation of the veneration of Mary with its doctrinal proclamation of the Immaculate Conception but also strengthened its spiritual authority of Pius IX himself. A decade later, Pius IX issued the encyclical Quanta Cura with the Syllabus of Errors which categorically condemned, among others, political liberalism. The Syllabus also condemned all forms of rationalism, freemasonry, liberal theology and religious toleration. What we witnessed then is the strengthening of the papacy of his spiritual power. And also during this time that the papacy has strong declaration against the separation of church and state to counter the growing strength of the republicanism in France. The Syllabus also attack civil marriage and liberal Catholicism as popularized by the Frenchman Lamennais. In response, France prohibited the publication of the Syllabus of Errors in 1865. Then, the religio-political drama continue at the peak of Pius IXs papacy, the first Vatican Council where the battle between the conservatives and the reformists discussing the hottest issue of the role of the papacy. Vatican I is mostly remembered by its doctrinal affirmation concerning the infallibility of the pope. Indeed, it was declared as a dogma! Well, this papal infallibility is not absolute as it is only applicable when the pope speaks ex cathedral on matters of faith and practice (morals). So, Vatican I established the papacy as the primary authority within the Roman Catholic church. Despite its increased spiritual power, the popes political authority was permanently weakened. Students who delved on the separation of church and state will surely find some intriguing data during the papacy of Pius IX. Among the strongest opponents of papal infallibility was the Prussians under the leadership of King William as the Emperor of Germany. Otto von Bishmark was in charged in unifying the growing German Confederation of States and launched the Kulturkampf against the Catholic church. The Kulturkampf had its roots when Archbishop Droste-Vishering of Cologne refused to sanction marriages of Protestants and Catholics. The archbishop was imprisoned by Friedrich Wilhelm III but was released months later. The incident caused a lasting rift between the Prussian crown and the papacy. The May Laws of the Minister of Public Worship Adalbert Falk claimed the absolute authority of the state and delimited the power of the bishops to discipline, especially excommunication. The Emperor set up a supreme church court whose members were appointed by him. Candidates to ordination were required to study at the state universities and pass examinations in literature, history and philosophy. Pius IX condemned the law. In 1901 the Association Law was passed in France requiring all religious institutions in France to register with the state. In 1905, the Separation Law was also passed repealing the Concordat of 1801 withdrawing all state subsidies to religious institutions. The Church buildings became state property and held in trust by association of public worship. The law abolished all the privileges of the Catholic church and at the same time it introduced complete freedom of worship. Pius X (1835-1914) declared the Separation Law null and void and called the French Catholics to disobey it. Before Pius X, the liberal papacy of Leo XIII (1810-1903) was able to strengthen the diplomatic relations with Washington, Tokyo and Moscow. His encyclical Rerum Novarum became the bible of social reform and trade unionism to ensure proper income to workers. He also supported and encourage Bible study and ecumenical relations. The papacy of Pius X was a return to conservatism who responded to the anti-clerical laws in France. In fact, he broke off diplomatic relations France but he made concession in 1906 to the constitutional monarchy in Italy for allowing Catholics to vote. Like his predecessors who lost temporal power, Pius X revived the use of Gregorian chant and urged the zealous veneration of the Virgin Mary. The spiritual strengthening through devotions and rituals. He even revised the breviary of prayers in 1911. Pius Xs Quas Primas (1928) had a long history of church-state relations. The Catholic church lost its temporal power but it strengthened its spiritual hold on the people particularly by declaring papal infallibility and the kingship of Christ. How about Manny Pacquiao? Well, he was successful in his battle in the ring and was declared a champion, the king of the ring. This win is against his own battle against the passionate tax czar Kim Henares who run after him in his dangerous work as a professional boxer. Meanwhile the rich and famous businessmen are off the hook without any case of tax evasion. If there is a case filed, it has no future. News agencies are not keen to inform the public. Henares herself is so silent about these cases. Is he able to translate his victory into political victory in 2016? He still inspired ordinary people and even those who have more in life. He is the king!
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 11:53:27 +0000
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