"Such disregard for the authority of sacred and divine law in public life, Leo wrote, “almost tends to the removal of the Christian faith from our midst, and, if that were possible, of the banishment of God Himself from the earth.” He went on to describe a state of affairs which bears an uncanny resemblance to our own turbulent and anxious times:
When men’s minds are raised to such a height of insolent pride, what wonder is it that the greater part of the human race should have fallen into such disquiet of mind and be buffeted by waves so rough that no one is suffered to be free from anxiety and peril? When religion is once discarded it follows of necessity that the surest foundations of the public welfare must give way, whilst God, to inflict on His enemies the punishment they so richly deserve, has left them the prey of their own evil desires, so that they give themselves up to their passions and finally wear themselves out by excess of liberty.
This is one of the great themes, perhaps the great theme, of the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII. When man, in his pride, attempts to “free” himself from God, he instead becomes a slave to his passions. When man forgets God, he loses sight of himself."
