American Reform – Is Leo XIV’s Conception of a “Catholic state” a Cheap Imitation, or the Real Deal? — Pt. 1

“But lying opinions, than which no mental plague is greater, and vices which corrupt the heart and moral life should be diligently repressed by public authority, lest they insidiously work the ruin of the State.” – Pope Leo XIII>

Responses on X to Leo XIV’s brief reference to Catholicism as the ‘state religion’ have run the gamut, from cautious optimism at one end of the spectrum to exuberance and outright triumphalism at the other

A Move in the Right Direction?

Today, in a speech to the Catholic community living in Monaco, a small European state, Leo XIV made a passing allusion to a Catholic state, uncharacteristically framed in a positive light. The exact wording of the relevant section is reproduced below, sourced from the Vatican website:>

You [Monaco] are among the few countries in the world to have the Catholic faith as a state religion. This faith places us before the sovereignty of Jesus, who calls Christians to become in the world a kingdom of brothers and sisters — a presence that does not cast down but raises up, that does not separate but connects, always ready to protect every human life with love, at any time and in any condition, so that no one is ever excluded from the table of fraternity. This is the perspective of integral ecology, which I know is very close to your hearts. By virtue of the profound bond that unites you to the Church of Rome, I entrust the Principality of Monaco with the very special task of deepening its commitment to the Social Doctrine of the Church and to develop local and international best practices that manifest its transformative power (emphasis added).1


Originally published in The Journal of American Reform. Read original article