Annum ingressi sumus
Annum ingressi sumus is an Apostolic Letter from Pope Leo XIII. on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his pontificate . It was published on March 19, 1902. The letter is called the “ testament ” of the Pope, as he draws a summary of his pontificate, but at the same time points to further developments.
His will
Leo XIII. describes the deeper reason of his writing itself "as the" testament "which We, near the end, want to leave to humanity with the deepest wish for the well-being of the peoples!" He summarizes important principles, creates an overview of central church topics and gives hints for the future.
thanksgiving
At the beginning of his 25th anniversary in office, he first expresses his gratitude to God , who has allowed him to lead the government for so many years. Further thanks go to the bishops , he praises their zeal for work and calls to mind the difficulties with which his "Venerable Brothers" had to struggle.
Fight against the church
In the next section he describes the origins of the struggle against the Church and analyzes the forms and occasions that would have led to these conflicts. He describes the way in which it came about and explains that Jesus Christ had already foretold this: “If the world hates you, know that it hated me before you” (John 15:18). Leo explains that this hatred is unfounded because Jesus' purpose was to fraternize humanity in peace and harmony. Leo names different forms of struggle against the children of God: brute force , false doctrines , unbelief and Caesaropapism (union of secular and ecclesiastical power in the hands of a secular ruler), as well as free research, the enlightenment, and skepticism the lack of religion.
The dire consequences and remedies
This hopeless struggle had disastrous consequences that threatened the foundations of religion , justice and morality had been disintegrated by pagan world views. In particular, he considers the following to be particularly ominous: independent morality , the breakdown of the family , the collapse of the social order, egoism in political life and anarchism . In his letter, he also names remedies against these consequences that could lead to changes, and differentiates between good and false remedies.
Good and Wrong Remedies
The Pope compiles a catalog of the remedies that he believes can remedy the troublesome evils. It is the highest duty to admonish and conjure people who are in excellent positions to look for suitable remedies and to apply them emphatically.
Wrong means
Leo XIII counts to the realm of wrong means: freedom without reins, teaching without religion and cultural progress without God
Right means
For the Pope, these include: Christian freedom, progress and teaching, and a return to the Catholic Church.
Against the good intentions of the Church
With the slander that the church is an enemy of culture , freedom and the state , one tries to discredit the intentions of the church. “But the church does not cease to proclaim to all the world that Christ commanded the emperor to give what is to the emperor and to God what is of God; It has thus established the permanent and unchangeable difference between the two powers, both of which are the highest in their order; a beneficial distinction, which had contributed a lot to the development of the Christian attitude ”.
Persecution by Freemasonry
He directs massive allegations against Freemasonry and says that its purpose is the destruction of state and church. The Church is persecuted by the Freemasons, they are the initiators of these campaigns. “.... the fire of hatred that has flared up in many places at the same time recently, for which there is no sufficient reason, the same means to stir up this fire, the cheek of the daily newspapers, the tumult of the public meetings, the exuberance of the theater performances , the same way of irritating the masses with shameful slander, it all points to equality of sentiments and to a single leader ”. He sees the greatest danger in the persecution of the priesthood and the seizure of religious places; the attacks on the Holy See, to which the Pope felt himself exposed to an extraordinary degree, testify to the fact that the Freemasons want to push ahead with the robbery of the Divine See.
Damage to order
The persecution of the church and the robbery of the divine throne only ruin the state, because the damage to the social order is also a damage to the state: “This is simply the case that the weapons of attack directed against religion are directed against society . For just as God created and educated man for society, so in His providence he also founded the Church ”.
outlook into the future
Leo XIII. In his will, he also gives indications for the future, which he sees especially in the fact that he awaits the victory of the church. His hope is the unity of the church. The Christian associations also gave the church the courage to defend it and, in the end, he was sure that the church would grow among the pagans.
Exhortation
In his exhortation he calls on all bishops to diligently exercise their pastoral office so that the kingdom of God may be protected on earth. He also addresses the laity and hopes that the clergy would find strong support in them: “But the main thing with this order and discipline is willing and trusting submission to the instructions of the Apostolic See. In this way the controversies cease and all strive together towards the one goal of preparing the way for the victory of Jesus Christ in his Church ”.