Introduction
The
United States of today has often been compared to the Roman Empire of
yesterday. The diversity in race, religion, and ideals has rarely been matched.
This culture of complication yearns for guidance and direction even more so
than a culture of stagnation. Constantine turned toward Christianity for both
order and advice in his nation. The following emperors followed suit and it
wasn’t long before Ambrose rose as a mouthpiece for the Lord. Although he had
never wanted to be a leader of the church, his background in politics gave him
the tools he would need to both serve his people and advise his emperor. His
pagan and Christian tutelage would allow him to have a balanced mind as he
addresses both the Church and the State as well as their place in this world.
Setting
Society
The Roman Empire was the most
powerful entity of the fourth century. Its capital, Rome, soon became the
“epitome of the world,” and the “home of the gods,” drawing attention from all
classes and realms of its cosmos. Walking amidst her streets one may see
rhetoricians from Gaul; officials from Constantinople; and physicians from
Alexandria. These clashed with the Jewish merchants from Africa; and huge
grey-eyed, yellow-haired German soldiers enlisted in the imperial service. Egyptian priests with shaven heads; rich Indian and
Persian princes; and half-naked slaves
from various regions crowded past. While, the aristocrats walked about with moustaches and long
hair. Senators were carried down the street by muscular bearers. Clergymen wore
perfume. Noble women traveled in a sea of eunuchs. Wild-looking monks wore scraggly
beards like goats. There were artisans,
philosophers, magistrates, and prostitutes; the "vulgar rich" and the inexhaustible poor; black-robed nuns who looked like owls in enormous
hoods. Entertainers, jugglers, bards,
apes, government spies, and pickpockets filled the spaces in between. [1]
Religion
The diversity of Rome's culture was
matched only by the diversity of her religions.
Religious festivals were the heart-beat of pagan society. Yet, the
festivals themselves became no more than a reason to celebrate immorality and
drunkenness. The Roman community often gave in to her passions, committing
murder and adultery even in the aristocratic society, as well as avarice, apathy,
and hypocrisy among the clergy. Mobs of unemployed swarmed after handouts and
into the coliseum where they would bathe their senses in gore and violence.[2]
In such a lost
society, citizens once again began to see the merit in religion. It was not understood
as a type of movement or organization, but as an answer to their deep,
haunting, existential questions. They knew their own failures and mortal
limitations and they “sought help” to escape from their sorrow and death. This
help was often found in Oriental cults from Anatolia, Iran, Syria, and Egypt.
The followers of Attis, for instance, sacramentally slaughtered a bull over an
initiate so that the baptism in blood may redeem them holistically. In this
field, merchants became missionaries as they carried their customs and
worldviews even further than their goods.[3]
Well-needed in the
diverse society, Constantine’s edict of Milan, proclaimed full toleration of
all religion in the empire. Even more
than the edict, he was able to rework the polity of his nation from one Caesar
to two. His coin reform ceased the nation’s hyperinflation. And, he made
Christianity the official state religion.[4]
The transition between Christian
persecution and Christian allegiance goes much smoother than anticipated. Yet,
it is far from over (as Augustine would later remind us in some of his sermons). Still, the empire
is much more welcoming to the young religion than expected. Instead of slaughtering Christians in the arena
and begging for their blood, one outspoken pagan pontiff is noted for bouncing
his Christian granddaughter on his knee while she sang him a song of the
salvation found only in Jesus Christ. Rumors
of aristocratic women putting behind their fashions and dedicating themselves
to acts of piety and charity begin to emerge.[5]
Backstory
Two years after
the death of Constantine, on the outskirts of his empire, Ambrose was born. It
is in the center of this culture that he was raised. Ambrose’ father had been a
resident of Gaul in Trier. There, he lived in a community, surrounded by thick militarized
walls. The people of Trier were known for feeding, clothing, and arming the soldiers
of the empire. As the "Praetorian Prefect," Ambrose' father was
responsible for all of the financial and judicial administration of Gaul, Spain
and Britain. After his death, Ambrose' mother had more than enough influence
and funding to bring her son and daughter to Rome where they could achieve the
best education of the time.[6]
Under pagan
teachers, Ambrose would have had the standard education.[7]
He took rhetoric, mathematics, philosophy, and science, obtaining a vast
knowledge of Greek. On his way to a promising legal career, he also studied
jurisprudence. [8]
After a life of scholasticism, Ambrose’ studies were rewarded with the office
of “Provincial Governor” in Milan. This title was high class, giving him a seat
of membership in the Roman Senate. In the view of the every-day-man, Ambrose
had every right to not only be proud of his office, but to be worshiped as a state official.[9]
The Bishop of Milan
The Call
As
one of his duties as Provincial Governor in Milan, Ambrose was summoned to keep
order at an election for the office of the next bishop. The Arian bishop,
Auxentius, had passed away and a new head of the religious region was needed. At
the gathering, a child’s cry would forever resonate in Ambrose’ life. It was
only two words that would impact the man forever, “Ambrose, bishop!”[10]
The hearers were
immediately reminded of Psalm 8:2, “Out of the mouths of infants, you
ordained…” As Ambrose began to protest, both the Arians and Catholics of the
Church unanimously agreed to make him the next bishop of Milan. Still, he
resisted ordination.
Immediately,
Ambrose left the church where he had been acclaimed and climbed up onto a
raised platform just as Pilate had to sacrifice Christ. In line with his
judicial office, but against the legislation of the Church that disqualified
those who employ torture to be ordained, Ambrose ordered that torture be
applied to some individuals. Instead of retracting their plea for his
ordination, Biblically, the people cried out, “May your sin be upon us!”[11]
Again, Ambrose
resisted, attempting to join the meditative cult of philosophy which would also
disqualify him from a religious vocation. When that attempt failed, he ordered
a prostitute to come to his house in order to make himself too impure for his
vocation. Once again, the people cried out that his sin would be upon them,
keeping him holy for his office. That night, he attempted to leave the city and
ended up circling its gates instead. When he was found, he was imprisoned until
he could be properly ordained.[12]
His last way out, as he saw it, was the fact that he had never been officially
adopted into the Church. Although he had grown up Catholic and his family even
had a martyr among its forbearers, Ambrose had not been baptized in his youth. In
fact, Ambrose was hardly a catechumen in the church at all. Still, the clergy
and the emperor, Valentinian I, agreed to the exception, Ambrose was to be
appointed “Bishop of Milan.” He was baptized twenty-nine days after his
ordination.[13]
Teaching/Learning
The Bishop of Milan had clearly been
chosen by the people. It is a fact he
later reflects on when preaching about the command to “honor thy parents.” He
relates the people of Milan to his own father and mother in the respect that
they were the ones who had birthed him into the office (whether he liked it or
not). Soon enough, it would seem as if Ambrose had indeed been born for his new
role. “As the son of an eminent official, he was a person to whom a habit of
command came naturally.”[14]
Yet, his upbringing
was far from that of his peers. Instead of learning, growing, and studying in
the church, he had studied in the world.[15]
In his own words, he was “the man not
brought up in the lap of the church, not tamed from childhood; but snatched
from tribunals, carried away from the vanities of this world.”[16]
He needed Simplicianus, a priest who had been tutoring him in Christianity,
to continue his instruction in Milan. Now, Ambrose found himself at a unique
juxtaposition of instructing “before he had even learned.”[17]
In a situation common among many teachers, Ambrose’ devotion to teaching was
the best way in which he himself could
learn.[18]
Politics
At
first, Ambrose’ secular education may have seemed to hinder his theological
advances. But, his political background and his distance from the life of the
church gave him an advantage over many of his opponents. One of the wisest
decisions of his career was choosing not to rock the boat right away. Although
he was a Catholic and his predecessor was Arian (two separate sects of
Christianity at the time), Ambrose decided to hold the Christians of the area
together instead of slamming a wedge in the divide.[19]
His
city, Milan, was the home of the emperors. Here, Ambrose’ office became “a key
job in a key place,” allowing him to influence the majority of the empire where
Christianity had already spread amongst the major cities and taken root in the
hearts of her leaders.[20]
Throughout all of Northern Italy, Ambrose became a “metropolitan.” The limits
of his episcopal never hindered the distance of his activity. He was
responsible for founding several bishoprics and advised the Church of Aemelia
on the date of Easter. He corresponded with the Bishops of Rome, Naples, Gaul,
and Alexandria, all of which were technically outside of his province. He also
contacted the newly elected Bishops of Thessalonica, Como, Imola, and Claterna.[21]
Looking back on Ambrose’ life, his followers related him to Elijah as unafraid
to speak before kings and other power figures. Under his leadership, Milan
became recognized as the most important sight of the West, adding much-needed
prestige to the church.[22]
Although, he was a powerful figure
and clung to his aristocratic roots, “Ambrose saw a member of the clergy as
someone who lived in public.” Part of his vocation was to be easily accessible
to those who needed him.[23]
He was still the peoples’ choice and he used his power to serve them, never
using his authority for personal interest or material gain.[24]
Religious Conflict
Ambrose quickly became the spiritual
leader of his day, using his influence and experience “to propagate the faith,
to defend its dogma, and, if necessary, to shed his
blood for its preservation.” He had stood firmly on his principles when he had
dealt with emperors. Still, when the occasion arose, he was known to forgive
the sins of his enemies, heaping benefits upon them. “His care for souls was
not limited to those within his jurisdiction, but the good of the Church drew
him into its concerns” prompting him to take a leading part in Church councils
held in Aquileia, Rome, and Capua and forcing him to take a prominent role in
the security of the Church.[25]
Against Arianism
As a Catholic, Ambrose would
understand Arianism, not only as a separate sect of Christianity, but a heresy.
The Arians took the Christ of the Church and made him simply into an elevated
man (instead of God). This was a danger to the dogma that the saint grew to
love. And, he needed to defend against it for the sake of his people. In order
to defeat the maturing leviathan, Ambrose utilized not only his effective
preaching and skill in persuasion, but also the help of the imperial laws
against heretics.[26]
Against Paganism
Ambrose was also
faced with philosophical and cultural dangers from outside the church. It was
clear that although Constantine had achieved a foothold for the Faith in the
West, Christians were still the minority.[27]
Heavily due to Ambrose’ influence, Christianity became the majority religion in
Milan in the second half of the century.[28]
One of his most
important struggles concerned “the altar of Victory,” a historic pagan marker,
which had been previously removed by a Christian emperor and reinstated by the
only nonchristian emperor since Constantine’s time. By Ambrose’ day, the altar
had been removed once again, while others tried to convince the emperor to
reinstate it, Ambrose made sure the pagan idol was left in the past. This
became “an important stage in the defeat of classical polytheism.”[29]
Two years later, Ambrose was involved in a “bitter battle with the government
over the use of church buildings in Milan.” And, soon afterward, he faced
Emperor Theodosius I concerning a synagogue which had been burnt to the ground
and a massacre which occurred in Thessaloniki. All of these would be seen as
important victories of the church over the state.[30]
Church & State
Although the bishop may have grown
up in the midst of secularism under the tutelage of pagans, it is clear that
his allegiance was to “the true God, that is, the God of the Christians.”[31]
After he had been called into a vocation of ministry by the people of Milan,
despite his previous background, he lived to serve them as an influential
leader of the Church in the world. This allowed him both the opportunity to
shepherd his own Catholic flock and defend against the wolves who lashed at
them. Ambrose’ setting, call, and office within the changing culture of the
Roman Empire allowed him a unique perspective on the roles of the church and
the state.
Catholicism
Fourth
century theologians would often have a different vernacular than the Christian thinkers
of today. It is crucial to understand Ambrose’ concept of “the Church” before
relating it to the position of the state. In short, the bishop’s idea of the Ecclesia is eternal, holistic, and built
on the faith in Jesus Christ.
To
Ambrose, the Church originated at the foundation of the world. “Prefigured in
the Flood, announced by the Law, [and] invoked by the prophets. It preceded the
Synagogue itself, which had entered into the world so that sin might abound and
that grace might thus abound still more.” It is the body of Christ, just as
whole and close-knit as Adam and Eve, bone of bone and flesh of flesh, linked
for all eternity and built up solely by her head, the Lord.[32]
Here,
all are one in Christ. “There are not now many congregations; there is but one
congregation, one Church.” It is a union of brothers and people “not in order
to form new nations and new peoples but to be bound together in a single great
and universal congregation.” It is a union of every race, not just the
offspring of a single nation. There is a new identity, dignity, and glory in
this union, not subjects or slaves, but friends of God.[33]
This
is not the action of any man, but of God Himself, building His Church from every
race and nation through faith in Him. “It is a gate in a double sense: it is
through faith that Christ enters into us, and it is through faith that we enter
into the Church.” It is a supernatural society founded on the confession of
Jesus Christ as Lord. “Faith is the foundation of the Church.” “Without faith
in Christ’s divinity neither the Church nor its foundation can exist.”[34]
Understanding
the Church in this light allowed the Ecclesia
Romana to become a beacon of the ideal in the real. The Church, seen
through the Roman establishment, now tangibly appeared as the moon in the Old
Testament, first hidden in the darkness, under persecution and retribution of
the world, but little by little, she distinguished herself from the culture of
the surrounding pagans and “had come to shine brightly,” enabling her to
outpour “the rights of the venerable community.” In this way, the Roman Church
(not just the city of Rome) becomes the capital of the entire Roman world as
well as the wellspring of the apostles’ sacred faith.[35]
This congregation under the guidance of its traditions is able to preserve the
beliefs of the Universal Church (such as the Apostles’ Creed). These same
beliefs have been passed down through the apostles, specifically Peter.
As Christ falls upon the Church, establishing it as “the fount of every
grace,” “He falls upon Peter” who is able to keep the faith. And, through
Peter, He falls upon the nations, saving all those upon whom he falls. “To be
in communion with this [Petrine] Church is a sure proof of the true faith.”
Yet, it is not that the Church became a sign of Peter’s presence, but that
Peter’s presence is a sign and proof of the Universal and Creedal Church.[36]
Governance
This
Creedal Church and its role with the government’s authority is a unique one.
Christianity is the only major religion that thrived apart from governmental
sponsorship, proving that it did not need the political and secular realm to
succeed. Yet, it openly interacts with politics in both a serving and guiding
way.[37]
To Ambrose, his
office was in servitude to the secular leader of his people, he writes to
Emperor Gratian, “I put myself in your camp day and night by my concern for you
and by my thought. I stretched out for you a coverlet of prayers; if I was unable
to give you the attention which you deserved, yet I was unremitting in my
affection.” In the same way that Jesus had loved and served his disciples, the
Church loves and serves the State. Although Ambrose would have preferred to
live under a more democratic government, the bishop accepted and supported the
absolute monarchy of his time.[38]
This Christian
leader also understood that the office of the secular leader was in servitude
to God (on whose behalf Ambrose spoke). During the “altar
of Victory” controversy, Ambrose writes to the Christian Emperor
Valentinian in order to remind him that, “Just as all men who live under Roman
rule serve in the armies under you, the emperors and princes of the world, so
too do you serve as soldiers of almighty God and of our holy faith.” In
military matters, the opinion of a soldier should be advised while in religion,
the true, Christian God should be in counsel. The Church was to be seen as “the
guardian and herald of the moral law, just as it is of dogmatic truth.” This
gave it the right to proclaim the norms of Christian conduct in society both individualistically
and communally. With this standard, the Bishop of Milan was able to inspire
civil laws against heretics and apostates, even though he might not have openly
requested them.[39]
Ambrose had a
sincere affection for the Empire and an immense love for the Church. This
allowed him to remain both well balanced and realistic when it came to their
relation and policies. His mission was three-fold: Striving to protect the
Church against the violence of the emperors by living as a gentle servant to
them; demanding that the civil power respect the moral law of God; and
fostering the union of the Church and State so that the Catholic Church would
be favored in the secular realm.[40]
Under a Christian
Emperor, it is not as if the State and the Church were two distinct entities,
but they became two heads of leadership in the Empire.[41]
They lived and breathed together, walking in arms toward a governance of
Christ’s people that honors God and serves each other. Even when the State is
lead to sin, it should be unafraid to turn to the Church to free it from its
sin. The religious and civil powers, according to Ambrose, are meant to work
together in order to free men from both their material and spiritual ills. Yet,
due to the monarchal structure of the Empire, apart from a Christian Emperor
the visible church’s relationship with the State would be independent in
religious matters, staying relatively dependent on the institution for secular
guidance only.[42]
Independence
Ultimately, Ambrose
promoted a Christian civilization. Since the Church is an institution in truth
and culture, it is able to go much farther than any tangible element such as
the State ever could. It was able to spread throughout the Roman Empire, and
then forward, past any secular border, destined to embrace all mankind. The
Church is “a body living in a frail and fallible world, but it had been from
the beginning supported by divine grace and was destined for immortality.”[43]
No matter what
governing structure were to exist in the surrounding culture, the Church could
take its same root and shape, becoming the eyes of the secular body. One peers
into the moral while the other meditates on the mystical. The Church may be
made out of mortal clay, but its heavenly spirit entails a mystical body.[44]
Conclusion
As
the first political figure of the Church, Ambrose became a great bishop,
pastor, and priest, winning the generous devotion of the faithful and the
affectionate attention of both emperors and non-Catholics. Clergy and laity
both consulted him. Men found in him the piety, charity, mercy, modesty,
justice, and firmness able to win their esteem. This Saint is eternalized in
both his faith and his memory.[45]
Known
as one of the four great fathers of the Western church, revealed at the
beginning of Scripture in the four rivers of Eden, Ambrose’ major concern was
with teaching and interpreting the Bible.[46]
Yet, the Bishop of Milan was given a many-sided role.[47]
He dealt not only with the learning and imparting of deep theological
understanding, but also with the politics of his time. His doctrine sprung from
an ever-growing well of experience and knowledge both in the world and in the
Church. As he partook in creating an ecclesiastico-political system, unable to
borrow his concepts from those before him, he was charged to work it out by
himself through his own understanding of the Biblical precepts.[48]
The
way in which he did so is similar to the holistic way in which he interpreted
Scripture. For instance, when he was faced “with an apparent contradiction
between the account of Christ healing one blind man in one gospel (Matt. 20:30)
and two blind men in another (Luke 18:35), he breezily comments that there is
no difference.”[49]
In the world, the Church and the State become two authorities of God. One
serves in a physical way while the other serves in a spiritual way. The two
heads serve the whole being as long as they are in accord with one another.
While some see two, others see one, yet there is no difference.
[1] “At the height of her glory.” Athenaeus and Auson as
quoted by F. Homes Dudden, D.D. The Life and
Times of St. Ambrose Vol. I. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1935), 24-26.
[2] Dudden,
30-33, 43; Angelo Paredi trans. by M. Joseph
Costelloe, S.J., Saint Ambrose: His Life and Times (Notre Dame, Indiana:
University of Notre Dame Press, 1964), 216, 218.
[3] Paredi, 219-222.
[4] Circa 313 AD. John Moorhead, Ambrose: Church and Society in the Late Roman , (London and New York: Longman, 1999), 1, 103.
[5] Dudden, 39-40,
46.
[6] Ambrose
was born in 340 AD. It was also noted that Ambrose’ family was so well known
that Roman Bishops would regularly visit their home. Moorhead, 1, 20-21.
[7] Dudden,
57.
[8] His Greek would eventually allow him to intimately
know the works of the Hellenistic Fathers and transmit them into the Latin of
the Westurn Church while his jurisprudence would enable him to defend the
Church against future opposition. Sister Mary
Melchior Beyenka, O.P., Ph.D. "Introduction." In Saint Ambrose
Letters, by O.P., Ph.D. St. Ambrose trans. by Sister Mary Melchior Beyenka,
v-xiv. (New York: Fathers of the Church, Inc., 1954) vi.
[9] Ambrose’
legal career began at Sirmium at the age of 25 circa 365 AD. He became the
provincial governor in 370. Moorhead, 24; Dudden, 61.
[10] November
of 373 AD. Moorhead, 24.
[11] Ambrose
later pupil, Augustine, resisted ordination as well. It is also interesting
that, at the time, resisting the call was seen as even more affirmation towards
the need of the call. If the people were the ones who wanted the leader and it
was not a gain of selfish ambition, then they needed him all-the-more.
Moorhead, 23-24.
[12]
Moorhead 24, Dudden 67.
[13] Ambrose
was consecrated bishop on December 1st, 373 and baptized December 30th.
Beyenka, vi-vii; Moorhead, 24.
[14]
Moorhead, 1-2, 24-25.
[15] His
knowledge of the culture and the philosophers becomes even more evident in some
of his later homiletics specifically in his eulogy for his brother. Moorhead,
37-38.
[16] Ambrose
as quoted by Moorhead, 25.
[17]
Simplicianus also succeeded Ambrose as the Bishop of Milan upon his death in
397 AD. Beyenka, vi-vii
[18]
Moorhead, 30-31.
[19]
Moorhead, 25.
[20]
Moorhead, 2. His rhetoric also comes out in his letters. For one example,
Ambrose defends his absence from the emperor as a sign of his affection for him,
“A sense of awe has kept my affection from meeting your Clemency. If I did not
go on foot to meet you… I did meet you in spirit, I met you with prayer… the
most important duty of a bishop…” Beyenka, viii, 3.
[21] He also
intervened with an election for the successor of Limenius, installing
Honoratus. Beyenka, ix.
[22] Moorhead,
29; Beyenka, vii.
[23] The
same trait is seen in Pope Francis today. Ironically, because Ambrose was so
accessible to the every-day man, Augustine later remarked that he had trouble
meeting with him because he was so busy. Moorhead, 33.
[24] According to St. Augustine quoted in M. Joseph Costelloe, S. J. "Introduction."
In Church and State in the Teaching of St. Ambrose, by S. J. St. Ambrose
trans. by Joseph Costelloe, ii-, (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of
America Press, Inc., 1969), ii. Problem with indentation.
[25]
Moorhead, 3.
[26]
Beyenka, viii.
[27] The emperor may have been Christian, but he would
need guidance on handling the encroaching pagan institutions, customs, and
habits. One of Ambrose’ greatest victories was convincing him to “act as a
Christian, both with respect to Christianity and to paganism.” Costelloe, v. indentation issues?
[28] Paredi,
214.
[29] 384 AD. Moorhead, 3. It is easy to see how Ambrose
had the Church in one hand and the State in the other in his letter on the
issue addressing “The most blessed prince and most Christian emperor
Valentinian” in order to remind him that, “there is no sureness of salvation unless
everyone worships in truth… the God of the Christians, under whose sway are all
things; for He alone is the true God…” There were other government leaders at
the time who had taken a stand for Christianity and Ambrose advises Valentinian
to uphold the merit of their works and hopes he will not share grace with those
who “never spared our blood, who destroyed the very church buildings,” denying
us “the common right of speaking and teaching.” Paredi, 230-231.
[30] The prior in 386 AD, the latter in 388, the massacre
took place in 390. Moorhead, 3. Theodosius’ massacre had been in retribution
over the murder of one of his officials and although he was a Christian,
Ambrose excommunicated him, implying that the Church can and should hold even
the emperor accountable for his actions. Glenn Sunshine,
The Separation of Church and State. 08 27, 2012.
https://www.colsoncenter.org/the-center/columns/indepth/18352-the-separation-of-church-and-state
(accessed 09 20, 2015).
[31]
Beyenka, 31.
[32]
Costelloe, 3-4.
[33]
Costelloe, 6.
[34]
Costelloe, 6-7, 9-11. The authority of the Church, to Ambrose, was not on the
Apostle Peter, but upon his confession. Therein lies the saving faith and the
rock which clings to Jesus Christ. Costelloe, 10-15.
[35] Moorhead,
103; Costelloe, 14.
[36]
Costelloe, 13-14.
[37]
Sunshine.
[38] Beyenka,
3; Costelloe, ii.
[39]
Costelloe, vi, 9; Paredi, 230-231.
[40] Costelloe,
ii; Beyenka, vii.
[41] “The
juxtaposition of two powers rather than that of two societies…” Costelloe, v.
[42] Costelloe, v; John Baptist Cardinal Montini, "A sermon preached on the Feast of St.
Ambrose." St. Ambrose trans. by M. Joseph Costelloe, S. J., Church and
State in the Teaching of St. Ambrose, April 4, 1962: i.
not sure what is going
on with your spacing here.
[43]
Montini, i.
[44]
Moorhead, 85. Montini, i.
[45] Costelloe,
vii; Moorhead, 3.
[46] Moorhead, 3. "While the Bible nourishes us, we
in turn can nourish one of the prophets when we have made, our minds, out
feelings, and the support of our hearts, which we have placed in the light of
the gospel, and had made it respectable for different readers, or the same
reader, to see more than one meaning in a text... There may be an indefinite
number of valid readings... He believed in an objective, supernatural reality
to which the Bible have access; for him, the lack of an authoritative reading
was connected with its very authority." Moorhead, 100-101.
[47] This is
most evident in his letters found in the book cited. Beyenka, vi.
[48]
Costelloe, ii.
[49]
Montini, i.
