They belong to history, many papal encyclicals, bulls and briefs; to interpret their meaning, to understand their purpose, and to measure what they accomplished, we must have knowledge of the circumstances that provoked these papal utterances and injunctions.

What can we make of Clericis Laicis of Boniface VIII (was it not annulled by Clement V, first of the Avignon popes?); of the Regnans in Excelsis of St. Pius V (judged to be of doubtful expediency by a later pontiff, Urban VIII); of the Unigenitum of Clement XI; the Dominus ac Redemptor of Clement XIV; the Mirari Vos of Gregory XVI—pronouncements all of interest in the history of the papacy and of mankind—unless we know the conditions and occasions? The commentary of the historian is necessary if there is to be profit from the perusal of these important documents. While it may be urged, truthfully enough, that as the judgments of the Holy See on things temporal, all briefs, bulls and encyclicals are to ‘be received with respect; yet without knowledge of the pressure that urged utterance our respect is liable to be without understanding.

As with the injunctions of a more remote past, so with the collection of encyclicals recently issued by the Catholic Truth Society annotation is needed, if the reader is to be fully enlightened on the papal teaching of our times. It is even highly probable that the documents may be misinterpreted without adequate guidance. ‘The Bible without note or comment’ was the cry of some of our undenominational educators in the past. Papal encyclicals without note or comment can easily lead the minds of men astray.