CSDC 92

Pope Pius XI did not fail to raise his voice against the totalitarian regimes that were being imposed in Europe during his pontificate. Already on 29 June 1931 he had protested against the abuse of power by the totalitarian fascist regime in Italy with the Encyclical Non Abbiamo Bisogno¹⁵⁵ Cf. Pius XI, Encyclical Letter Non Abbiamo Bisogno: AAS 23AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 23 (1931) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1931), 285-312.. He published the Encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge, on the situation of the Catholic Church under the German Reich, on 14 March 1937¹⁵⁶ The official German text can be found in AAS 29AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 29 (1937) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1937), 145-167.. The text of Mit Brennender Sorge was read from the pulpit of every Catholic Church in Germany, after having been distributed in the greatest of secrecy. The Encyclical came out after years of abuse and violence, and it had been expressly requested from Pope Pius XI by the German Bishops after the Reich had implemented ever more coercive and repressive measures in 1936, particularly with regard to young people, who were required to enrol as members of the Hitler Youth Movement. The Pope spoke directly to priests, religious and lay faithful, giving them encouragement and calling them to resistance until such time that a true peace between Church and State would be restored. In 1938, with the spreading of anti-Semitism, Pope Pius XI affirmed: “Spiritually we are all Semites”¹⁵⁷ Pius XI, Address to Belgian Radio Journalists (6 September 1938), in John Paul II, Address to international leaders of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith (22 March 1984): L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, 26 March 1984, pp. 8, 11.. With the Encyclical Letter Divini Redemptoris¹⁵⁸ The official Latin text can be found in AAS 29AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 29 (1937) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1937), 65-106., on atheistic communism and Christian social doctrine, Pope Pius XI offered a systematic criticism of communism, describing it as “intrinsically perverse”¹⁵⁹ Cf. Pius XI, Encyclical Letter Divini Redemptoris: AAS 29AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 29 (1937) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1937), 130., and indicated that the principal means for correcting the evils perpetrated
by it could be found in the renewal of Christian life, the practice of evangelical charity, the fulfilment of the duties of justice at both the interpersonal and social levels in relation to the common good, and the institutionalization of professional and interprofessional groups.