Louis Veuillot: The Liberal Illusion [1866]

[Stone]

The Liberal Illusion

Chapter XVIII

The Christians despoiled pagan society of its weapons and its temples to transform them, not to destroy them. From the temple, they expelled the idol; upon might they imposed right. The foolish idea of abolishing force never even came to them. Force allowed itself to be transposed, allowed itself to be disciplined; allowed itself to be sanctified. Who is so rash as to think he can abolish might? and why, after all, should anyone wish to abolish it at all? Might is a very good thing; it is a gift of God, nay, a very attribute of God: I am the most mighty God of thy fathers.30

As right is of itself a force, so force can be of itself a right. Mankind and the Church recognize a right of war. From the iron of which it despoiled barbarous force, Christianity made coats of mail for the weak and noble swords with which it armed the right. Force in the hands of the Church is the force of right, and we have no desire that right should remain without force. Force in its proper place and doing its duty, that is the orderly way.

Because in the present world force is not everywhere in its proper place, that is to say at the disposition of the Church; because often, far from serving right, it is abused against the right, shall we therefore say yes to the Illuminati, some of whom decree the outright abolition of force, while the rest ordain that the supreme right shall never have force at its disposal, for fear it might hamper the liberty that wants to destroy the truth?

We ought, on the contrary, to be ready to shed our blood in order to restore force to its lawful function, in order to attach it exclusively to the service of right.

Force ought to protect, to affirm, to vindicate the grandest, the noblest, the most necessary right of man, which is to acknowledge and to serve God; it should enable the Church to extend to every man on Earth the benefit of this right. Let us never relinquish this right which liberal Catholicism surrenders, so that it can drift down the current, along with the crowd.

30 Genesis, 46:3.