Throughout its history, the Catholic Church has taken a firm stand against external threats that endanger its freedom, doctrine, and supernatural mission. From the Roman Empire to the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century, including absolutist regimes, secular ideologies, and atheistic systems, the Church has faced numerous challenges. However, to present these confrontations as isolated phenomena is a grave mistake, as it obscures the unity and continuity of the war underlying them. This exposition presents the principal magisterial documents that articulate this resistance, not as reactions to disparate attacks, but as bulwarks in one and the same battle against the antichristic conspiracy—the engine of modern civilization that, since the Renaissance, has labored to destroy the supernatural order (Delassus, 2010, I, p. 34).
🏛 Ancient and Patristic Period
Letter to the Christians of Smyrna – St. Ignatius of Antioch (2nd Century)
In the context of Roman persecutions, St. Ignatius writes to the community of Smyrna to exhort the faithful to unity with the bishop and to fidelity to the Church even in the face of martyrdom. This is a testimony to the role of legitimate hierarchy and ecclesial resistance against hostile state power, whose primary cause is found in the hatred of the synagogue of Satan, which incited the Empire to persecute Christians. As demonstrated, indeed, “the synagogues are the sources from which persecution emanates” (Delassus, 2010, I, p. 170), and this document is the first manifestation of the Church’s resistance to the conspiracy already in its early stages.
🏰 Middle Ages
Unam Sanctam – Pope Boniface VIII (1302)
Issued amidst conflict with King Philip IV of France, this bull affirms that outside submission to the Roman Pontiff there is no salvation. It proclaims the superiority of spiritual power over temporal power, warning princes who attempt to usurp spiritual prerogatives. It marks a milestone in teaching about the sovereignty of the Church in the face of nascent absolutism, which marked a fateful turning point, for the Anagni attack that followed dealt a “first and most grievous blow” to Christendom, opening the door to the Great Schism and, subsequently, the Reformation (Delassus, 2010, I, p. 23).
📜 Modern and Early Modern Period
Regiminis Apostolici – Pope Alexander VII (1665)
Condemning 45 Jansenist propositions, this bull reaffirms the Pope’s doctrinal authority and combats Gallican theses advocating greater autonomy of local churches from Rome. This was an effort to contain both moral deviations and local political influences over the theological life of the Church—such influences being the “toxins of intellectual order” sown by the antichristic sect to prepare the ground for the Revolution (Delassus, 2010, I, p. 34).
⚖️ Against Liberalism, Communism, and Totalitarianisms (19th and 20th Centuries)
Mirari Vos – Pope Gregory XVI (1832)
Reacting to the rationalism and emerging liberalism of the post-French Revolution era, Gregory XVI denounces religious indifferentism, absolute freedom of conscience, the separation of Church and State, and unrestricted freedom of the press. This encyclical marks the beginning of the Magisterium’s systematic critique of so-called “modern errors,” which are none other than the dogmas of Freemasonry, designed to corrupt ideas and lead nations into apostasy (Delassus, 2010, II, p. 85).
Quanta Cura and Syllabus Errorum – Pope Pius IX (1864)
Quanta Cura condemns doctrinal liberalism and secularism, while the Syllabus attaches 80 condemned propositions, including the relativization of papal authority, laicism, and the denial of the Church’s right to teach publicly. Both documents form the basis of the Church’s anti-modern doctrine in the 19th century, serving as a direct antidote to the Masonic poison sown to destroy Christian civilization.
Rerum Novarum – Pope Leo XIII (1891)
Considered the cornerstone of Catholic social doctrine, this encyclical responds to the abuses of capitalism and the materialism of socialism. Leo XIII defends the dignity of the worker, the right to private property, and the Church’s mediating role in social issues. The text presents a Christian alternative to materialist economic models, which are, in truth, two sides of the same revolutionary coin that, after undermining the political and religious order, necessarily attacks property and family, with socialism as its logical and final consequence (Delassus, 2010, I, p. 46).
Non Abbiamo Bisogno – Pope Pius XI (1931)
This letter to the Italian episcopate denounces the fascist regime’s hostility to Catholic Action and its attempts to monopolize youth formation. Pius XI condemns the “cult of the State” as idolatry and affirms the Church’s freedom to organize its own pastoral and educational activities.
Mit Brennender Sorge – Pope Pius XI (1937)
Written in German and read secretly in churches in Germany, this is the most direct condemnation of National Socialism. Pius XI denounces racism, neopaganism, religious repression, and the betrayal of the regime’s commitments. He defends the dignity of the human person and the freedom of faith in the face of totalitarianism.
Divini Redemptoris – Pope Pius XI (1937)
Published a few days after the former, it is a comprehensive denunciation of atheistic communism. The Pope accuses Marxism of eliminating religion, dissolving the family, and replacing natural law with ideology. As a response, he proposes a Christian social order based on the principle of subsidiarity and love of neighbor. These three encyclicals by Pius XI are admirable in their denunciation of the manifestations of the same evil: the deification of the State, whether in the form of nation, race, or class. All these totalitarianisms are fruits of the Revolution, which in its essence is satanic and seeks to rebuild society upon the ruins of Christianity (Delassus, 2010, I, p. 38), erecting the Masonic Temple under the direction of the Great Architect, who is Satan.
Humani Generis – Pope Pius XII (1950)
Addressed especially to the theological world, this encyclical warns against philosophies such as existentialism, historicism, and dogmatic evolutionism. Pius XII condemns the relativization of revealed truth and reaffirms the role of the Magisterium in the legitimate interpretation of doctrine, in the face of ideological infiltrations within the Church itself—demonstrating the most dangerous and subtle phase of the conspiracy: the attempt to corrupt the Church from within, making the clergy march under the banner of the sect while still believing they serve Christ (Delassus, 2010, II, p. 103).
Conclusion
The documents presented here show the coherence of the Church in its defense of truth, freedom, and faith amid hostile political and ideological contexts. In all times, the Magisterium has sought to discern dangers, reaffirm immutable doctrine, and guarantee the Church’s freedom to fulfill its evangelizing mission. This fight is not against abstract “contexts,” but against the conspiracy of the antichristic sect. The prophetic voice of the Magisterium remains the point of reference for resistance against the universal dissolution planned by the Hidden Power—and the only hope for the restoration of Christian civilization.
References
Congar, Y. (2002). The Church and Temporal Power. São Paulo: Paulinas.
Delassus, H. (2010). The Antichristic Conspiracy: The Masonic Temple to Be Raised upon the Ruins of the Catholic Church (Vol. I & II).
Denzinger, H. (2009). Compendium of Creeds, Definitions and Declarations on Matters of Faith and Morals (DH). Petrópolis: Vozes.
Gregory XVI. (1832). Mirari Vos.
Ignatius of Antioch. Letter to the Smyrnaeans. Brazilian translation by Paulus.
Leo XIII. (1891). Rerum Novarum.
Leo XIII. (1896). Apostolicae Curae.
Pius IX. (1864). Syllabus Errorum and Quanta Cura.
Pius XI. (1931). Non Abbiamo Bisogno.
Pius XI. (1937). Mit Brennender Sorge.
Pius XI. (1937). Divini Redemptoris.
Pius XII. (1950). Humani Generis.
Tierney, B. (1988). The Crisis of Church and State, 1050–1300. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
