Leo XIII on what marriage owes to the Church

Jan 2, 2026

Thomas Mirus discusses Leo XIII’s 1880 encyclical
Arcanum, on Christian marriage. This was “the first formal
and synoptic teaching on marriage since the Council of Trent” – a
gap of four centuries. Arcanum is focused on what the
Church has done to uplift and protect marriage throughout history.
Leo argues at length that the state has no right to usurp the
Church’s governance of marriage.

LINKS 

Thomas’s article on Arcanum

Pope Leo XIII, Arcanum

 Audiobook of Pius XI’s Casti Connubii

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