Solutions to this Crisis : A Principle of Unity:
“in fide unitas, in opinionibus libertas, in omnibus caritas”
“Unity in the faith, liberty in opinions,
and charity in all things.”
Table of contents
- Introduction: the unity of the Church without a visible pope
- In fide unitas (In the faith there must be unity)
- In opinionibus libertas (In opinions, the liberty of others must be respected)
- In omnibus caritas (In all things, fraternal charity must be preserved)
- Application and refutation of counter-arguments
List of sources
- Introduction: the unity of the Church without a visible pope
The instrument par excellence of the unity of and in the Church is in practice the papacy. But because for a certain — and even long — time we have no pope, unity is our weakest point. And the devil, as an excellent strategist with the most powerful intelligence among creatures, always attacks us at the weakest point; but we must not fall into this trap.
Unity is principally realized and manifested in the Church by the same Head (invisible but real: Our Lord Jesus Christ), the same Doctrine, the same Morals, the same Sacraments, the same legislation and the same traditions for all its members. All this we must cherish as our greatest common treasure.
The Latin expression “in fide unitas, in opinionibus libertas, in omnibus caritas” sums up the attitude to be kept in order to maintain unity, especially in the present times.
The origin of the expression
The adage is not from Saint Augustine. It is not found in his works. The attribution to Augustine is an old and widespread error.
The oldest known written occurrence dates from 1617. Bishop Marco Antonio de Dominis (1560–1624), then Archbishop of Split, uses it in De republica ecclesiastica libri X, published in London, book IV, chapter 8. The Latin text is:
“Omnesque mutuam amplecteremur unitatem in necessariis, in non necessariis libertatem, in omnibus caritatem.”
Translation: “And that we all mutually embrace one another: unity in things necessary, liberty in things not necessary, charity in all things.”
This form is therefore earlier by nine years than that of Rupertus Meldenius (anagrammatic pseudonym of Peter Meiderlin, 1582–1651), Lutheran theologian of Augsburg. Until the end of the twentieth century, most historians attributed the formula to Meldenius. In 1999, Henk J. M. Nellen showed that de Dominis had already used it. This finding corrected the earlier consensus.
But it is rather a later synthesis of the Catholic attitude, as found in the writings of the Fathers of the Church and traditional teaching. This underlines the central role of faith and charity in Catholic teaching.
A neighbouring formula is taken up in Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. 51, 1959, p. 513: “In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas” — “In things necessary, unity; in things doubtful, liberty; in all things, charity.”
- In fide unitas (In the faith there must be unity)
This refers to the absolute necessity of unity in the Catholic faith, as defined by the infallible and immutable teaching of the Church. The faith, as it is set down in the dogmas and the Tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, is one and indivisible. No compromise is possible on the truths of the faith, as they have been handed down by the apostles and confirmed by the popes and the councils, kept with the greatest care as the “Deposit of the Faith.”
Unity in the faith means that Catholics adhere to the immutable doctrine, as set forth in works such as the Catechism of the Council of Trent (published by order of Pius V; Rome, In aedibus Populi Romani, apud Paulum Manutium, 1566, Latin; later official editions) or the encyclicals of popes such as Pius IX and Pius X. Any deviation from this doctrine is regarded as heresy or schism, if not an error more or less grave. The modern “Catholic” hierarchy, since the Second Vatican Council, has broken this unity by departing from the traditional Teaching.
- In opinionibus libertas (In opinions, the liberty of others must be respected)
This concerns the liberty enjoyed by Catholics in matters that do not fall under the binding teaching of the Church. In questions not fixed by the dogmas or by moral doctrine, such as personal preferences, political opinions or unrevealed speculations, there is room for diverse opinions, provided that they do not contradict the truths of the faith and that they are properly documented. For example, in theological questions not definitively settled by the Church (such as certain aspects of eschatology not fixed dogmatically), Catholics may hold different views.
However, this liberty never applies to the rejection of defined dogmas, to the deposit of the faith as has just been seen in the first part of the adage, such as the Immaculate Conception (Pius IX, apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus, 8 December 1854) or papal infallibility, as established in Pastor aeternus (Pius IX and the First Vatican Council, session 4, 18 July 1870, chapter 4; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 6, 1870–1871, pp. 45–47, especially p. 47). The sedevacantist view insists that opinions defending modern “Catholic” innovations (such as the Novus Ordo liturgy) are not legitimate opinions, but heretical deviations.
In the present Catholic world, the sedevacantist world, there are indeed some different opinions on current subjects, such as on certain aspects of the present vacancy of the apostolic see.
- In omnibus caritas (In all things, fraternal charity must be preserved)
This underlines that charity, in the Catholic sense, must be the guiding force in all actions and interactions. Charity here means the supernatural virtue of love of neighbour, rooted in the love of God and of neighbour for the love of God. This implies that, even in discussions on the faith or on opinions, Catholics must always act with patience, respect toward one another and with a sincere desire to save souls.
From the sedevacantist point of view, this also means correcting errors with charity, such as refuting the heresies of modernism, but with the intention of bringing souls back to the true doctrine, as Christ commanded: “Go therefore, teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19; La Sainte Bible, translation of Augustin Crampon, Desclée, 1923, New Testament, p. 36). This does not, however, exclude defending the truth with force and without ambiguity, as Pope Pius X did in his encyclical Pascendi dominici gregis (8 September 1907; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 40, Rome, 1907, pp. 593–650, Latin) against modernism.
This adage implies above all that a Catholic cannot condemn a confrere as a heretic from the mere fact that the other would hold an opinion different from his own.
- Application and refutation of counter-arguments
This expression is sometimes misinterpreted by modernists or non-Catholics to justify religious relativism or indifferentism, as if all opinions on the faith were equivalent or as if Catholic truths were only opinions about which one may organize public dialogues and disputes with heretics and pagans.
This is contrary to divine and Catholic teaching, which affirms that truth is objective and that heresy is not a legitimate “opinion.” The sedevacantist view refutes this error by stressing that “in fide unitas” is absolute: there is no liberty to depart from defined dogmas. The liberty in “opinionibus” applies only to non-binding questions, and “caritas” does not mean accepting error, but correcting it with love, as Christ did when He drove the merchants from the temple (John 2:15; La Sainte Bible, translation of Augustin Crampon, Desclée, 1923, New Testament, p. 101).
List of sources
Catechism of the Council of Trent, published by order of Pius V, Rome, In aedibus Populi Romani, apud Paulum Manutium, 1566, Latin; later official editions.
Pius IX, apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus, 8 December 1854.
Pius IX and the First Vatican Council, dogmatic constitution Pastor aeternus, session 4, 18 July 1870, chapter 4; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 6, 1870–1871, pp. 45–47, especially p. 47.
Pius X, encyclical Pascendi dominici gregis, 8 September 1907; Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. 40, Rome, 1907, pp. 593–650, Latin.
La Sainte Bible, translation of Augustin Crampon, Desclée, 1923, New Testament, Matthew 28:19, p. 36; John 2:15, p. 101.