Leo XIII on the State’s duties toward the Church, w/ Thomas Pink

Apr 15, 2026

This interview with Prof. Thomas Pink, originally published in
2020, is being republished as part of Thomas Mirus’s ongoing series
covering the major encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII.

Vatican II’s Declaration on Religious Freedom, Dignitatis
Humanae, begins by noting that its discussion of religious liberty
“has to do with immunity from coercion in civil society” and so
“leaves untouched traditional Catholic doctrine on the moral duty
of men and societies toward the true religion and toward the one
Church of Christ.” This episode is about discovering what that
traditional doctrine was and is. 

Our main source will be Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Immortale
Dei, which is available in audiobook form on CatholicCulture.org.
Thomas Pink guides us through a close reading of this document
(with supplementary material from Libertas and Longuinqua). Here,
and in the magisterium of other 19th-century Popes, we find a
number of teachings on Church and State that have gone largely
unmentioned since the Council, and which are sadly forgotten or
even rejected by the majority of self-described conservative
Catholics.

Links

Thomas Mirus’s article summarizing the encyclical https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/leo-xiii-on-states-duties-toward-church/

Audiobook of Immortale Dei https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/pope-leo-xiii-immortale-dei-on-christian-constitution-states/

Text of Immortale Dei (On the Christian Constitution of
States) https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=4916

Thomas Pink, “Conscience and Coercion” https://www.firstthings.com/article/2012/08/conscience-and-coercion

Timestamps

[00:00] Introduction 

[4:59] The historical and theological context of Immortale
Dei 

[9:42] An overview of points from Immortale Dei and
Libertas 

[12:28] The source and nature of authority; its directive and
coercive functions 

[20:30] The State’s duty to profess, protect and foster the one
true religion 

[25:56] Reasons for toleration of other religions; coercion of
the baptized 

[36:05] Leo’s analogy of Church and State with soul and
body 

[45:26] Separate sovereignties of Church and State interact;
State can act as the “secular arm” 

[51:31] Obligations twd. religion of the State properly
speaking, not just rulers as individuals 

[55:03] Consequences of the State neglecting God and
religion 

[1:02:40] Dignitatis Humanae: drafting, intended scope, legacy,
compatibility with tradition 

[1:10:30] Papal condemnations of freedom of speech and
opinion 

[1:31:10] The Church’s move away from coercing baptized
heretics 

[1:36:13] The importance of docility in accepting difficult
teachings 

[1:41:29] Need for a synthesis of the whole magisterium on
Church, State and religious liberty

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