Tim Staples addresses a question about the relevance of a 1928 letter on modesty written by the Cardinal Vicar of Pope Pius XI. He clarifies that while the letter contains valuable insights on the importance of modesty, it does not hold the binding authority of the Magisterium and should not be treated as a strict decree.
Transcript:
I’m wondering if the Mary-like modesty letter to women written by the Cardinal Vicar of Pope Pius XI in 1930 still applies today. Also, I love your show. I listen every day to it.
Gotcha. Gotcha. Yeah. Well, actually, no, it never had the binding force of the Magisterium, because as you mentioned, and I’m glad to hear you say that, it was written by the Cardinal Vicar of Pope Pius XI, and that was in 1928 actually, not 1930. But no, it doesn’t have any binding authority, any magisterial authority. Now, having said that, it has been referenced over the decades by various bishops, especially back in the 1930s and 40s. You’ve had bishops reference it. And there are some good things in that letter, but nowadays you get online often. The famous line where you have to address can only go two fingers with beneath the throat in order to… That’s right. Me and Cy don’t cut it right here, I think, right now. You know, those sorts of things cannot be taken to be some sort of binding magisterial document, and unfortunately some folks do that. But it doesn’t mean there’s nothing good in it either. Heaven knows we need modesty in our culture today, to be sure. Just, you know, don’t fall prey to those who claim. In fact, if you go online, you’ll see that famous letter referred to as a decree of Pope Pius XI, a binding magisterial decree and that sort of thing, which it simply is not.
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