Pastoralis
Pastoralis is an encyclical published on July 25, 1891 by Pope Leo XIII. has been published. He turned to the Portuguese episcopate with this encyclical, subtitled "On Religious Communities" .
The religious communities
- At the beginning the Pope mentioned that he very much welcomed the decision to strengthen the religious communities in Portugal . The Portuguese Bishops' Conference , which had recently been held in Braga , had sent him a message which he would now answer with this Apostolic Circular . It is thanks to the persistence of this conference that the plans have been turned into reality and have produced fruitful results.
- He emphatically gives the Portuguese bishops the responsibility to stand up for a Christian religious community together with the laity . He assigns a control function to the annual bishops' conferences, they are the guardians and administrators of canon law and, moreover, he expects the intensification of the formation of suitable lay people and priests.
- The cooperation of the Catholic religious community with the associations and the government of Portugal is a basis that can impart certain rules and discipline to society . It is just the society in freedom contribute and the responsibility for the Christian population of Portugal. In this encyclical, the Pope goes back to the upheavals in society and emphasizes the character of religious education.