''Iniquis afflictisque'' (''On the Persecution of the Church in Mexico'') is an
encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally fr ...
of
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...
promulgated on November 18, 1926, to denounce the
persecution of the Catholic Church in Mexico. It was one of three encyclicals concerning
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, including ''
Acerba animi
''Acerba animi'' (Latin, "Of harsh souls"; also called ''On the Persecution of the Church in Mexico'') is an encyclical of Pope Pius XI promulgated on 29 September 1932, to denounce the continued Persecution of Christians in Mexico, persecution ...
'' (1932) and ''
Firmissimam Constantiamque'' (1937).
[Philippe Levillai]
The Papacy: An Encyclopedia
p. 1208, 2002 Routledge The Mexican government at the time was engaging in violently
anticlerical
Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historically, anti-clericalism in Christian traditions has been opposed to the influence of Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, ...
persecution of the Church and the Pope harshly criticised the government for its abuses.
The Pope criticized the state's interference in matters of worship, outlawing of religious orders and the
expropriation
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English)
is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with p ...
of Church property. He noted that, "Priests are... deprived of all civil and political rights. They are thus placed in the same class with criminals and the insane."
See also
*
Cristero War
The Cristero War (), also known as the Cristero Rebellion or , was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 3 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementation of secularism, secularist and anti-clericalism, anticler ...
External links
Iniquis afflictisque
References
{{Authority control
Papal encyclicals
Documents of Pope Pius XI
1926 in Christianity
1926 documents
November 1926
History of Catholicism in Mexico