Our working definition is not our own but that of the Holy Pontiff Pope St. Pius X in Il
Fermo Proposito, of June 11, 1905:

‘To restore all things in Christ ‘ has always been the Church’s motto, and it is especially Our own during these fearful moments through which we are now passing. ‘To restore all things’—not in any haphazard fashion, but ‘in Christ ‘; and the Apostle adds, ‘both those in the heavens and those on earth’ (Eph. 1:10). ‘To restore all things in Christ ‘ includes not only what properly pertains to the divine mission of the Church, namely, leading souls to God, but also what We have already explained as flowing from that divine mission, namely Christian civilization in each and every one of the elements composing it.

 

Since We particularly dwell on this last part of the desired restoration, you clearly see, Venerable Brethren, the services rendered to the Church by those chosen bands of Catholics who aim to unite all their forces in combating anti-Christian civilization by
every just and lawful means. They use every means in repairing the serious disorders caused by it. They seek to restore Jesus Christ to the family, the school and society by re-establishing the principle that human authority represents the authority of God. They take to heart the interests of the people, especially those of the working and agricultural classes, not only by inculcating in the hearts of everybody a true religious spirit (the only true fount of consolation among the troubles of this life) but also by endeavoring to dry their tears, to alleviate their sufferings, and to improve their economic condition by wise measures. They strive, in a word, to make public laws conformable to justice and amend or suppress those which are not so. Finally, they defend and support in a true Catholic spirit the rights of God in all things and the no less sacred rights of the Church.

 

All these works, sustained and promoted chiefly by lay Catholics and whose form
varies according to the needs of each country, constitute what is generally known by a distinctive and surely a very noble name: ‘Catholic Action,’ or the ‘Action of Catholics.’ At all times it came to the aid of the Church, and the Church has always cherished and blessed such help, using it in many ways according to the exigencies of the age.

Catholic Action is understood as a work of the Catholic laity in the temporal order, so as to bring about the reign of Christian social principles in the State. It is this which St. Pius X strove especially to promote, and which can be called Catholic Action in the strict sense of the term.

St. Pius X reminds us that ‘One cannot at all conceive of this Catholic Action of the faithful independently from the counsel and higher guidance of ecclesiastical authority.’

What is Meant by The Social Kingship of Christ?

“The royalty of Christ rests upon a twofold basis. He is our King by right of birth and by
right of conquest. The first refers us to the personality of the Son of God, whereby in His divine nature as God and by virtue of the hypostatic union, He is the sovereign Lord and Master. The second places before us the God-man coming down on earth to rescue fallen man from the slavery of Satan, and by the labors and sufferings of His life, and passion, and death, to win a glorious victory for us over sin and hell.” (The New Marian Missal for Daily Mass).

1. Christ is God, the Creator of the universe and hence wields a supreme power over all things – “All things were created by Him”;
2. Christ is our Redeemer; He purchased us by His precious Blood and made us His
   property and possession;
3. Christ is Head of the Church, “holding in all things the primacy”; and
4. God bestowed upon Christ the nations of the world as His special possession and dominion.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is both God and Man; it is His right to rule over all of creation and
also to rule over all of Mankind. Having created Man to be a social being, God is the
creator of both Man and Society. Our Lord has the right to rule over each individual
human person and also over all human social and political institutions. The Holy Mother Church, being founded by Christ Himself to perpetuate His mission on earth, has the authority to instruct the nations of the world. The Pope as the Vicar of Christ and the Visible Head of the Church has certain powers over the princes and governments of each and every nation to teach, admonish, and correct them.

Where can we find the basis for this doctrine?

This doctrine is preached in both the Scriptures and Tradition. In the Scriptures, one often finds passages in the Old Testament mentioning that all the nations of the world will render praise to God and worship Him. Even before His Ascension, Our Lord instructed His Apostles to “teach ye all NATIONS; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” (Matt 28:19).

The Popes had always taught this doctrine, and it was even expounded in pontifical
documents. Pope Boniface VIII explicitly mentions it in his encyclical Unam Sanctam, in the year 1302. The Doctors of the Church (St. Augustine, St. Bernard, St. Thomas Aquinas, etc) had also unanimously taught the same.

“The Church without the State is a soul without a body. The State without the Church is a body without a soul.” (Leo XIII, Libertas).

“That the State must be separated from the Church is a thesis absolutely false, a most
pernicious error. Based, as it is, on the principle that the State must not recognize any religious cult, it is in the first place guilty of a great injustice to God. We owe Him not only a private cult, but a public and social worship to honor Him. Besides, this thesis is an obvious negation of the supernatural order. The civil power must not only place no obstacle in the way of this conquest, but must aid us in effecting it.” (St. Pius X, Vehementer, #2).

“At the last judgment, Christ will accuse those who have expelled Him from public life and will have the most terrible vengeance from such an outrage.” (Pius XI).

Was this ideal ever implemented in history?

Yes. In the Middle Ages, the Church converted many princes which in turn led to the conversion of their whole countries. Some prominent examples:

• Clovis, king of the Franks, baptized in 496 A.D.
• St. Ethelbert, king of Kent, baptized in 597 A.D.
• Boris, king of the Bulgars, baptized in 864 A.D.
• St. Wenceslas, duke of Bohemia, martyred in 929 A.D.
• Mieska, duke of Poland, baptized in 966 A.D.
• St. Wladimir, grand prince of Kiev, baptized in 989 A.D.
• St. Stephen baptized in 985 A.D. and crowned “Apostolic” king of Hungary on Christmas day 1000 A.D. by Pope Sylvester II.

This union of Church and State, which we call Christendom, reached its apex during the Carolingian Dynasty, the second Frankish Dynasty (751-987 A.D.), during the reign of the emperor Charlemagne. In fact, the Western Roman Empire was restored only when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Roman Emperor on Christmas day of the year 800 A.D.

Unfortunately, many later emperors and kings refused to acknowledge the Pope’s
teaching authority over them and sought to rule their own lands as if they had absolute
power. They resented the popes’ interference when they erred, and some had even tried to establish national churches. The 12th and 13th centuries witnessed a new, and perhaps greater, apex of the union of Church and State in Europe, where political and social institutions and customs were permeated by the Faith. The Council of Trent made an attempt to restore Christendom in the 16th and 17th centuries, but never really succeeded, due to the partitioning of Europe into Catholic and Protestant factions.

Why should the Church intervene with secular affairs when Our Lord Himself said to “render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God”?

That statement is frequently misunderstood, especially by modern man. If the state enacts bad laws that either force or encourage its citizens to sin, how then can it claim to have rendered to God what belongs to God, since every human person owes perfect obedience to God? Therefore, the laws and customs of the state must be made in harmony with the Law of God. Since the Church is the sole infallible guide to True Faith and Morals, she has the right to intervene particularly through the person of the Supreme Pontiff.

Is this doctrine, therefore, advocating theocracy for all nations?

No. A theocracy would be confusion between Church and State. A good example of such regimes would be fundamentalist Islamic states where religious leaders themselves hold the reins of power. The proper Catholic view is that Church and State are distinct but not separated. An analogy would be the body and soul of a human person. The soul and the body are distinct entities, but they are not separated. In fact, we all know that a separation of body and soul implies death. The state has the right to enact laws and implement policies for the acquisition of her citizens’ material needs, but these must be subordinated to the Laws of God, since it is Faith and Morals that directly determine the final ends of each of her citizens. Once again, this reflects the fact that a human person can legitimately pursue material gain, provided that such a pursuit does not lead to the detriment of his soul.

In such a country, what happens to people of other religious persuasions? Will it lead to persecution of the other religions?

When the state accepts the Laws of God and is obedient to the Church, it is declaring
that it recognizes the Catholic religion to be the One, True Religion. Surely, only Truth
has rights, while Falsehood does not. God, however, has given mankind the psychological freedom (not moral freedom) to choose to accept or reject Him. Therefore, the followers of false religions cannot be coerced into accepting the True Religion through violence. However, the state cannot allow the public expression of these false religions nor lend its support to them in any way. In other words, these false religions are tolerated out of charity towards their believers, even though they do not have the right to exist.

How can the average layperson contribute to the establishment of the Social Kingship of Our Lord?

Besides doing his best to lead an exemplary life in accordance with the Commandments of God and the Church, a Catholic should try as far as possible to infuse good habits and customs, inspired by the Gospels and Catholic Tradition into every social institution and environment of which he belongs to. This includes his family, workplace, school, clubs or associations, etc. It is also beneficial to set up Catholic professional associations, Catholic citizens’ associations, Catholic press, formations sessions or even parents’ organizations.

It is also important that one should, in a legitimate manner, resist or act against currents within society that seek to promote bad or sinful customs and laws. Legitimate actions should also be undertaken against public expressions that blaspheme against the honor of God and the Saints.

“The world must conform to Our Divine Lord, not He to it.” (Fr Denis Fahey).

“He [God] will reign; and if he does not reign by the benefits inseparable from his presence, he will reign by calamities inseparable from his absence.” (Cardinal Pie).

“The world has heard enough of the so-called ‘rights of man.’ Let it hear something of the rights of God.” (Pope Leo XIII).

Let us be about the rights of God. Let us be about the Social Kingship of Christ.

Ave Christus Rex.