''Testem benevolentiae nostrae'' is an apostolic letter written by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

to Cardinal

James Gibbons James Cardinal Gibbons (July 23, 1834 – March 24, 1921) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina from 1868 to 1872, Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as Archbishop of Baltimore from 1877 unti ...

, Archbishop of Baltimore, dated January 22, 1899. In it, the pope addressed a

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...

that he called Americanism and expressed his concern that the

Catholic Church in the United States The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion, communion with the pope, who as of 2025 is Chicago, Illinois-born Pope Leo XIV, Leo XIV. With 23 percent of the United States' population , t ...

should guard against American values of

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...

and pluralism undermining the doctrine of the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

Background

''Testem benevolentiae nostrae'' is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "Witness to Our Good Will."

was concerned about the culture of Catholics in the United States in response to the preface of the French

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

of the biography of the American priest Isaac Thomas Hecker.Pallen, Condé. "Testem Benevolentiae." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 7 November 2015 Hecker's biography reached

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

11 years after Hecker had died in good standing with the Church, and its French translation included a liberal preface by Abbé Félix Klein. Leo proposed to review certain opinions expressed by the translator in the book about Hecker. In particular, Klein implied that Hecker thought that the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

should adapt to the new advanced civilization, relax its disciplines regarding the rule of life and the deposit of faith, and pass over or minimize certain points of doctrine or give to them a new meaning that the Church had never held. According to his biographers Fr. Vincent A. Yzermans and Franz Xaver Wetzel, Archbishop John Joseph Frederick Otto Zardetti, whose repeated clashes over theology, while Bishop of St. Cloud, with Archbishop John Ireland and his supporters within the American hierarchy are well-documented, played a major role, as an official of the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

, in ''Testem Benevolentiae'', which was signed by the Pope on 22 January, 1899. As a reward, Zardetti was promoted to assistant to the papal throne on 14 February 1899. In commenting on Zardetti's role in the letter, Fr. Yzermans has commented, "In this arena, he might well have seen his greatest impact on American Catholicism in the first half of the twentieth century in the United States."

Content

Rejection of American particularism

''Testem benevolentiae nostrae'' involved American particularism and view of individual

liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

. On particularism, it was believed that a movement of American Catholics felt they were a special case and needed greater latitude to assimilate to a majority-

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

nation. The letter rejected the idea of some who conceive and would have the Church in America to be different from what it is in the rest of the world.Pope Leo XIII. ''Testem benevolentiae nostrae'', 22 January 1899
/ref> The letter actually had more to do with Catholics in

than those in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. French conservatives were appalled at Abbé Félix Klein's remarks in a book about an American priest, Isaac Thomas Hecker, and claimed that a number of the American Catholic clergy shared those views.Kelly, Joseph Francis. ''History and Heresy'', Liturgical Press, 2012
Leo expresses concern that Americans would value their freedom and

individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote realizing one's goals and desires, valuing independence and self-reliance, and a ...

so much that they would reject the idea of

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...

and the priesthood: "Did not your country, the United States, derive the beginnings both of faith and of culture from the children of these religious families?" It was not uncommon for American bishops, finding themselves having to provide education and health care to large numbers of immigrants, to solicit congregations pointedly that were involved in those activities. Leo cautioned against valuing an active apostolate more than a contemplative one: "Nor should any difference of praise be made between those who follow the active state of life and those others who charmed with solitude, give themselves to prayer and bodily mortification."

Negative view of freedom of press

In November 1892, at a meeting of the archbishops held in New York City, Bishop

Francesco Satolli Francesco Satolli (21 July 1839 – 8 January 1910) was an Italian theologian, professor, cardinal, and the first Apostolic Delegate to the United States. Biography He was born on 21 July 1839, at Marsciano near Perugia. He was educated at ...

, who would soon be the first

apostolic delegate An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

to the United States, presented 14 propositions regarding the solution of certain school problems that had been for some time under discussion. The draft propositions were "inopportunely" published with incorrect interpretations and malign insinuations in some papers, which caused a good deal of "acrid" discussion.Parsons, Reuben. "Leo XII and the Church in the United States", ''Studies in Church History'', Century XIX, Pt. II, J.J. McVey, 1900
/ref> The apostolic letter clearly rejects full

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...

"These dangers, viz., the confounding of license with liberty, the passion for discussing and pouring contempt upon any possible subject, the assumed right to hold whatever opinions one pleases upon any subject and to set them forth in print to the world, have so wrapped minds in darkness that there is now a greater need of the Church's teaching office than ever before, lest people become unmindful both of conscience and of duty."

Legacy and influence

John L. Allen Jr. believes that the apostolic letter was really directed at liberal currents in France. The disturbance caused by the condemnation was slight since almost the entire laity and a considerable part of the clergy were unaware of the affair. However, the letter ended up strengthening the position of the conservatives in France. Smith, Michael Paul. "Isaac Thomas Hecker." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 20 February 2020

References

External links

{{Wikisource, Testem Benevolentiae Nostrae

Documents of Pope Leo XIII History of Catholicism in the United States History of Catholicism in France Religion and politics 1899 documents 1899 in Christianity January 1899