[212] In virtue of the Supreme Apostleship which he exercises in the universal Church, His Holiness, Pius XI, has never ceased to inculcate in word and writing that precept of St. Paul (I Tim. II, 9, 10): "Women also in decent apparel; adorning themselves with modesty and sobriety ... as it becometh women professing godliness, with good works."
And on many occasions the same Supreme Pontiff has reproved and sharply condemned the immodesty in dress which today is everywhere in vogue, even among women and girls who are Catholics; a practice which does grave injury to the crowning virtue and glory of women, and moreover unfortunately leads not merely to their temporal disadvantage, but, what is worse, to their eternal ruin and that of other souls.
It is no wonder, then, that Bishops and other Ordinaries of places, as becomes ministers of Christ, have in their respective dioceses unanimously resisted in every way this licentious and shameless fashion, and in doing so have cheerfully and courageously borne the derision and ridicule sometimes directed at them by the ill-disposed.
Accordingly this Sacred Congregation for the maintenance of discipline among clergy and people, in the first place accords merited approval and praise to this vigilance and action on the part of the Bishops, and moreover earnestly exhorts them to continue in the purpose and undertaking they have so well begun, and to pursue them with even greater vigor, until this contagious disease be entirely banished from decent society.
That this may be accomplished with greater ease and security, this Sacred Congregation, in pursuance of the orders of His Holiness, has determined upon the following regulations on the subject:
I. Especially pastors and preachers, when they have the opportunity, must, according to those words of St. Paul (II Tim. 4, 2): "be instant, reprove, entreat, rebuke," to the end that women may wear clothes of becoming modesty, which may be an ornament [213] and safeguard of virtue; and they must also warn parents not to permit their daughters to wear immodest clothes.
II. Parents, mindful of their very grave obligation to provide especially for the moral and religious education of their children, must see to it with special care that their girls receive solid instruction in Christian doctrine from their earliest years; and they themselves must by word and example earnestly train them to a love of modesty and chastity. After the example of the Holy Family they must strive so to order and regulate the family that every member of it shall find at home a reason and inducement to love and to cherish modesty.
III. Parents should also prevent their daughters from taking part in public drills and athletic contests. If the girls are obliged to take part in them, the parents must see to it that they wear a costume that is entirely modest, and must never permit them to appear in immodest dress.
IV. Heads of girls' schools and colleges must strive so to imbue the hearts of their girls with the love of modesty that they may be induced to dress modestly.
V. They shall not admit to the schools or colleges girls who are given to immodest dress; and if any such have been admitted, they shall be dismissed unless they change their ways.
VI. Nuns, in accordance with the Letter of 23 Aug., 1928, of the Sacred Congregation of Religious, shall not admit to their colleges, schools, oratories, or amusement centers, nor allow to remain there any girls who do not observe Christian modesty in dress; and in the education of their charges they shall take special care to sow deeply in their hearts a love of chastity and Christian modesty.
VII. Pious associations of women shall be established and fostered for the purpose of restraining by counsel, example, and activity, abuses regarding immodest dress, and of promoting purity of morals and modesty of dress.
VIII. Women who wear immodest clothes should not be admitted to these associations; and those who have been admitted, if they afterward commit any fault in this regard and fail to amend after being warned, shall be expelled.
IX. Girls and women who are immodestly dressed are to be refused Holy Communion and excluded from the office of sponsor [214] in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation; and in proper cases are even to be excluded from the church.
X. On such feasts throughout the year as offer special opportunities for inculcating Christian modesty, especially on the feasts of the Blessed Virgin, pastors and priests who have charge of pious unions and Catholic associations should not fail to preach a timely sermon on the subject, in order to encourage women to cultivate Christian modesty in dress. On the feast of the Immaculate Conception, special prayers shall be recited every year in all cathedral and parish churches, and when it is possible there shall also be a timely exhortation by way of a solemn sermon to the people.
XI. The diocesan Council of Vigilance, mentioned in the declaration of the Holy Office, 22 March, 1918,[footnote 1] shall at least once every year treat especially of the ways and means of providing effectively for modesty in women's dress.
XII. In order that this salutary action may proceed with greater efficacy and security, Bishops and other Ordinaries of places shall every third year, together with their report on religious instruction mentioned in the Motu proprio, Orbem Catholicum, of 29 June, 1923,[footnote 2] also inform this Sacred Congregation upon the situation as regards women's dress, and upon the measures that will have been taken in pursuance of this Instruction.
[Source of translation:] AAS 22-26; S.C. Conc., Instruction, 12 Jan., 1930. Periodica, 19-195.
[Footnotes:]
1. See c. 6; AAS 10-136.
2. See c. 1329; AAS 15-327.
Source: "Council of Vigilance: To Treat of Modesty in Women's Dress (Instruction, S.C. Conc.) AAS 22-26, 12 Jan., 1930," Canon Law Digest 1 (1917-1933): 212–214.
Under: Book II, Persons, Canon 363:
§1. The diocesan Curia consists of those persons who render assistance in the governance of the whole diocese to the Bishop or others who govern the diocese in the place of the Bishop.
§2. Belonging to it, therefore, are the Vicar General, officialis, chancellor, promoter of justice, defender of the bond, synodal judges and examiners, pastor consultors, auditors, notaries, couriers, and citation servers.
[Translation source: Edward N. Peters, The 1917 Pio-Benedictine Code of Canon Law in English Translation with Extensive Scholarly Apparatus (San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 2001), 144.]
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An alternate English translation may be found here: https://suburbanbanshee.wordpress.com/2018/04/21/de-inhonesto-feminarum-vestiendi-more/
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[The following is copied from the online scanned edition of the AAS on the Vatican website; some of the Latin is undoubtedly mis-scanned. Unlike the earlier AAS, where the page numbers are 22-26, in this edition, the pages are 26-28. Here is a link to the relevant file on the Vatican website: http://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/documents/AAS-22-1930-ocr.pdf]
[26] SACRA CONGREGATIO CONCILII INSTRUCTIO AD ORDINARIOS DIOECESANOS: DE INHONESTO FEMINARUM VESTIENDI MORE
Vi supremi apostolatus, quo in universa Ecclesia divinitus fungitur, Ssmus Dominus Noster Pius Papa XI verbis et scriptis nunquam destitit illud S. Pauli (I ad Tim., II, 9,10) inculcare, videlicet: «mulieres in habitu ornato cum verecundia et sobrietate ornantes se, et... quod decet mulieres, promittentes pietatem per opera bona ».
Ac saepenumero, occasione data, idem Summus Pontifex improbavit acerrimeque damnavit inhonestum vestiendi morem in catholicarum quoque mulierum ac puellarum usum hodie passim inductum, qui non modo femineum decus atque ornamentum graviter offendit, sed nedum in temporalem earumdem feminarum perniciem verum etiam, quod peius est, in sempiternam, itemque in aliorum ruinam miserrime vertit.
Nihil igitur mirum, si Episcopi ceterique locorum Ordinarii, sicut decet ministros Christi, in sua quisque dioecesi pravae huiusmodi licentiae ac procacitati modis omnibus unaque voce obstiterunt, derisiones nonnumquam ac ludibria ob hanc causam sibi a malevolis illata aequo fortique animo tolerantes.
Itaque hoc Sacrum Consilium cleri populique disciplinae provehendae cum eiusmodi Sacrorum Antistitum vigilantiam et actionem merita probatione ac laude prosequatur, tum eosdem vehementer hortatur ut consilia atque incepta opportune inita insistant et alacrius pro viribus urgeant, quoadusque hic pestíferas morbus ex honesta hominum consortione penitus extirpetur.
Quod ut facilius ac tutius ad effectum deducatur, haec Sacra Congregatio, de mandato Sanctissimi Domini, ea quae sequuntur ad rem statuere decrevit:
I. Parochi praesertim et concionatores, data occasione, secundum illud Apostoli Pauli (II ad Tim., IV, 2) instent, arguant, obsecrent, increpent ut feminae vestes gestent, quae verecundiam sapiant quaeque sint ornamentum et praesidium virtutis; moneantque parentes ne filiae indecoras vestes gestare sinant.
[27] II. Parentes, memores gravissimae obligationis qua tenentur prolis educationem in primis religiosam et moralem curandi, peculiarem adhibeant diligentiam, ut puellae a primis annis in doctrina christiana solide instituantur atque in earum animo ipsi, verbis et exemplo, amorem virtutum modestiae et castitatis impense foveant; fairiiliam vero, Sacrae Familiae exempla imitati, ita constituere atque gubernare satagant, ut singuli verecundiae amandae atque servandae inter domesticos parietes habeant causam et invitamentum.
III. Parentes iidem filias a publicis exercitationibus et concursibus gymmcis arceant; si vero eisdem filiae interesse cogantur, curent ut vestes adhibeant quae honestatem plene praeseferant; inhonestas vero vestes illas gestare nunquam sinant.
I[V]. Collegiorum moderatrices et scholarum magistrae modestiae amore puellarum animos ita imbuere enitantur, ut eaedem ad honeste vestiendum efficaciter inducantur.
[V]. Eaedem moderatrices ac magistrae puellas, ne ipsarum quidem matribus exceptis, quae vestes minus honestas gestent, in collegia et scholas ne admittant, admissasque, nisi resipiscant* dimittant.
VI. Religiosae, iuxta litteras die xxiii mensis Augusti, a. MDCCCCXXVI[II], datas a Sacrae Congregatione de Religiosis, in sua collegia, scholas, oratoria, recreatoria puellas ne admittant, admissas ne tolèrent, quae christianum vestiendi morem non servent: ipsae vero in alumnis educandis peculiare adhibeant studium, ut in earum animo sancti pudoris et verecundiae christianae amor altas radices agat.
VII. Piae instituantur et foveantur feminarum Associationes, quae consilio, exemplo et opere finem sibi praestituant cohibendi abusus in vestibus gestandis christianae modestiae haud congruentibus et promovendi morum puritatem ac vestiendi honestatem.
VIII. In pias Associationes feminarum ne illae admittantur, quae inhonestas vestes induant; admissae vero, si quid postea hac in re peccent et monitae non resipiscant, expellantur.
I[X.] Puellae et mulieres, quae inhonestas vestes induunt, a Sancta Communione et a munere matrinae in sacramentis Baptismi et Confirmationis arceantur, atque, si casus ferat, ab ipso ecclesiae ingressu prohibeantur.
X. Cum incidunt per annum festa, quae modestiae christianae inculcandam peculiarem exhibeant opportunitatem, praesertim, vero.festa B. M. Virginis, parochi et sacerdotes piarum Unionum et Catholicarum Consociationum moderatores feminas ad christianum vestiendi morem, opportuno sermone revocare atque excitare ne praetermittant. In festo autem Beatae Mariae Virginis sine labe conceptae peculiares preces in omnibus cathedra-
[28] libus et paroecialibus ecclesiis quovis anno peragantur, habitis, ubi fieri potest, opportunis cohortationibus in soHemni ad populum concione.
[XI]. Consilium dioecesanum a vigilantia, de quo in declaratione Sancti Officii die xxii mensis Martii, a. MDCCCCX VIII data, semel saltem in anno de aptioribus modis ac rationibus ad feminarum modestiae efficaciter consulendum ex professo agat.
XII. Quo vero haec salutaris actio efficaciter et tutior succédât, Episcopi aliique locorum Ordinarii, tertio quoque anno, una simul cum relatione de religiosa, institutione, de qua in Litteris Orbem catholicum die xxi x mensis Iunii, a. MDCCCCXXin Motu proprio datis, etiam de rerum conditione ac statu circa feminarum vestiendi morem deque operibus ad normam huius Instructionis praestitis, hanc Sacram Congregationem certiorem reddant.
Datum Romae, ex aedibus Sacrae Congregationis Concilii, die XII mensis Ianuarii in festo Sacrae Familiae, anno MDCCCCXXX.
£8 D. CAED. SBARBETTI, Episc. Sabinen, et Mandelen., Praefectus.
L. $ S.
Iulius, Ep. Lampsacen., Secretarius.
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Repost: Pope Benedict XV Sacra Propediem (1921) on Modesty
[...] 19. From this point of view one cannot sufficiently deplore the blindness of so many women of every age and condition; made foolish by desire to please, they do not see to what a degree the in decency of their clothing shocks every honest man, and offends God. Most of them would formerly have blushed for those toilettes as for a grave fault against Christian modesty; now it does not suffice for them to exhibit them on the public thoroughfares; they do not fear to cross the threshold of the churches, to assist at the Holy sacrifice of the Mass, and even to bear the seducing food of shameful passions to the Eucharistic Table where one receives the heavenly Author of purity. And We speak not of those exotic and barbarous dances recently imported into fashionable circles, one more shocking than the other; one cannot imagine anything more suitable for banishing all the remains of modesty.
20. In considering attentively this state of things, the Tertiaries will understand what it is that our epoch expects from the disciples of St. Francis. If they bring their gaze back to the life of their Father, they will see what perfect and living resemblance to Jesus Christ, above all in His flight from satisfactions and his love of trials in this life, had he whom they call the Poverello, and who had received in his flesh the stigmata of the Crucified. It is for them to show that they remain worthy of him by embracing poverty, at least in spirit, in renouncing themselves, and in bearing each one his cross.
21. In what concerns specially the Tertiary Sisters, We ask of them by their dress and manner of wearing it, to be models of holy modesty for other ladies and young girls; that they be thoroughly convinced that the best way for them to be of use to the Church and to Society is to labor for the improvement of morals.
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Source: Pope Benedict XV, "Sacra Propriedem" [On the Third Order of St. Francis], Vatican website, http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xv/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xv_enc_06011921_sacra-propediem.html, nn. 19–21.
20. In considering attentively this state of things, the Tertiaries will understand what it is that our epoch expects from the disciples of St. Francis. If they bring their gaze back to the life of their Father, they will see what perfect and living resemblance to Jesus Christ, above all in His flight from satisfactions and his love of trials in this life, had he whom they call the Poverello, and who had received in his flesh the stigmata of the Crucified. It is for them to show that they remain worthy of him by embracing poverty, at least in spirit, in renouncing themselves, and in bearing each one his cross.
21. In what concerns specially the Tertiary Sisters, We ask of them by their dress and manner of wearing it, to be models of holy modesty for other ladies and young girls; that they be thoroughly convinced that the best way for them to be of use to the Church and to Society is to labor for the improvement of morals.
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Source: Pope Benedict XV, "Sacra Propriedem" [On the Third Order of St. Francis], Vatican website, http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xv/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xv_enc_06011921_sacra-propediem.html, nn. 19–21.
Repost: Head-Covering of Women in Church (Jan. 1909)
[96] Qu. Would you, please, kindly inform me and many others, who are in doubt about a supposed rule compelling women to wear a head-gear in church. Is there a rule or law of the Church, which obliges women to wear a hat or head-covering in church? Weltzer and Welte's Kirchenlexikon says: "Nach den Untersuchungen de Rossi's besteht keine Gewaehr dafuer, dass Papst Linus den Frauen die Verschleierung in der Kirche geboten hat."
Does usus or church decorum require head-coverings for women in church? Should ladies and girls be told not to appear in church without hats?
PH. W.
[97] Resp. There is no present and universal ecclesiastical law that obliges women to appear in the church with or without any particular head-covering. Usage and decorum in Italy and other Catholic countries appear to be in favor of the wearing of veils, and there is a decision of the S. Congregation answering this question, whether women assisting at the sacred functions in church should wear veils, in the affirmative (Decr. authent., 7 July, 1876, n. 3402). The decision is for Ravenna.
To the question whether women and young girls should be told by the priest not to come to church without hats, we would answer emphatically, no; at least not as though such a prohibition were the law of the Church. We have other ways of inculcating upon women what modesty demands of them in church, and the priest who enters into the details of millinery, or even notices them, must have exceptional qualities if he can manage to talk about such things without forfeiting some of that high esteem which our women ought to have for their pastors. Our suggestion would be to let their hats alone; if we speak rightly to them about their needs of soul, they will most likely come with their veils or hats or whatever is needed to give us the proper impression of their modesty and decorum.
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Source: "Head-Coverings of Women in Church," The Ecclesiastical Review 40 (January 1909): 96–97.
Does usus or church decorum require head-coverings for women in church? Should ladies and girls be told not to appear in church without hats?
PH. W.
[97] Resp. There is no present and universal ecclesiastical law that obliges women to appear in the church with or without any particular head-covering. Usage and decorum in Italy and other Catholic countries appear to be in favor of the wearing of veils, and there is a decision of the S. Congregation answering this question, whether women assisting at the sacred functions in church should wear veils, in the affirmative (Decr. authent., 7 July, 1876, n. 3402). The decision is for Ravenna.
To the question whether women and young girls should be told by the priest not to come to church without hats, we would answer emphatically, no; at least not as though such a prohibition were the law of the Church. We have other ways of inculcating upon women what modesty demands of them in church, and the priest who enters into the details of millinery, or even notices them, must have exceptional qualities if he can manage to talk about such things without forfeiting some of that high esteem which our women ought to have for their pastors. Our suggestion would be to let their hats alone; if we speak rightly to them about their needs of soul, they will most likely come with their veils or hats or whatever is needed to give us the proper impression of their modesty and decorum.
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Source: "Head-Coverings of Women in Church," The Ecclesiastical Review 40 (January 1909): 96–97.
Monday, July 30, 2018
Repost: Immodest Women's Dress (Nov. 1929)
[171] Question: In the Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus ordered to be recited by His Holiness Pope Pius XI we read: "In particular we purpose to expiate immodesty and shamelessness in behavior and dress." What is immodest and shameless dress? Would the following words of the Sacred Congregation of Religious of September 24, 1928, addressed to the educational institutions for girls in Rome apply: "We recall that a dress cannot be called decent which is cut deeper than two fingers breadth under the pit of the throat, which does not cover the arms at least to the elbow, and scarce reaches a bit below the knee. Furthermore, dresses made of transparent material are improper, as are also flesh-colored stockings which suggests the legs being bare."
SACERDOS.
Answer: The very fact that the Holy Father thought it important enough to mention specially the expiation for the sins committed [172] by the immodest behavior and dress, proves how serious a matter it is in the eyes of the Supreme Pontiff. It is difficult to determine with absolute precision what dresses are immodest. The approved fashions of today have certainly sinned against Christian decency under the pretext of enhancing the beauty of the female figure and of a hygienic form of dress. The worship of nature in opposition to the God of all created things is at the bottom of the ideas manifested in the fashions, which offend the religious feelings of Christian people who have a sincere regard for God's law that demands reverence for the human body because it is the temple of the Holy Ghost. The Saviour [sic] says that he who looks at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery in his heart. The enemies of God and of all true Christians constantly endeavor to put God out of the heart and mind of His devoted children, and they know that they can succeed best by first seducing them to sins of the lust of the flesh. Besides, they tackle the servants of God in the weakest point, for it is well known that the flesh continually rebels against the spirit. All the nudity that the so-called fashionably dressed girls and women exhibit, must necessarily arouse the passions of the flesh in the opposite sex, and God only knows how many sins are committed by impure thoughts and desires frequently followed by impure actions. Unfortunately, there are very few people, even among those who want to lead a Christian life, who have enough strength of character and independence to resist the perverse fashion of women's dress; they feel shame and humiliation at the way they are dressed, because they are forever trying to pull the dress down far enough to cover their knees while they are sitting down in trains and buses; but they will continue to wear that kind of clothing because it is the fashion of the day. It has been said that the girls and young women cannot help wearing such dresses, because they cannot buy any others in the market. Be this as it may, not all girls and young women dress in the extremes of the fashion, and there must therefore be some way out of the bondage of fashion that is meant to give a sinful attractiveness to the human figure. The words of the Sacred Congregation of Religious quoted by our correspondent are very helpful to the priests and Catholic educators inasmuch as they express the mind of the Holy See on the subject of immodesty in women's dress. We have frequently read in the [173] Osservatore Romano of the efforts made by very many bishops in Europe to combat the present sinful excesses of the fashion in women's dresses, and it is to be hoped that the hierarchy of the United States take a united stand against the ever-growing evil, for the individual pastor or bishop cannot effectively fight an evil that reaches through the length and breadth of the country.
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Source: "Immodest Women's Dress," The Homiletic and Pastoral Review 30, no. 1-6 (October, 1929 to March, 1930): 171–173.
SACERDOS.
Answer: The very fact that the Holy Father thought it important enough to mention specially the expiation for the sins committed [172] by the immodest behavior and dress, proves how serious a matter it is in the eyes of the Supreme Pontiff. It is difficult to determine with absolute precision what dresses are immodest. The approved fashions of today have certainly sinned against Christian decency under the pretext of enhancing the beauty of the female figure and of a hygienic form of dress. The worship of nature in opposition to the God of all created things is at the bottom of the ideas manifested in the fashions, which offend the religious feelings of Christian people who have a sincere regard for God's law that demands reverence for the human body because it is the temple of the Holy Ghost. The Saviour [sic] says that he who looks at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery in his heart. The enemies of God and of all true Christians constantly endeavor to put God out of the heart and mind of His devoted children, and they know that they can succeed best by first seducing them to sins of the lust of the flesh. Besides, they tackle the servants of God in the weakest point, for it is well known that the flesh continually rebels against the spirit. All the nudity that the so-called fashionably dressed girls and women exhibit, must necessarily arouse the passions of the flesh in the opposite sex, and God only knows how many sins are committed by impure thoughts and desires frequently followed by impure actions. Unfortunately, there are very few people, even among those who want to lead a Christian life, who have enough strength of character and independence to resist the perverse fashion of women's dress; they feel shame and humiliation at the way they are dressed, because they are forever trying to pull the dress down far enough to cover their knees while they are sitting down in trains and buses; but they will continue to wear that kind of clothing because it is the fashion of the day. It has been said that the girls and young women cannot help wearing such dresses, because they cannot buy any others in the market. Be this as it may, not all girls and young women dress in the extremes of the fashion, and there must therefore be some way out of the bondage of fashion that is meant to give a sinful attractiveness to the human figure. The words of the Sacred Congregation of Religious quoted by our correspondent are very helpful to the priests and Catholic educators inasmuch as they express the mind of the Holy See on the subject of immodesty in women's dress. We have frequently read in the [173] Osservatore Romano of the efforts made by very many bishops in Europe to combat the present sinful excesses of the fashion in women's dresses, and it is to be hoped that the hierarchy of the United States take a united stand against the ever-growing evil, for the individual pastor or bishop cannot effectively fight an evil that reaches through the length and breadth of the country.
---
Source: "Immodest Women's Dress," The Homiletic and Pastoral Review 30, no. 1-6 (October, 1929 to March, 1930): 171–173.
Repost: Instruction Concerning Indecent Dress of Women (April 1930)
[757] At the exhortation of His Holiness, Pope Pius XI, to counteract [758] the indecent fashions, many bishops have made regulations in their dioceses and forbidden Catholic ladies to wear fashionable but unbecoming dresses at the sacred functions in church, and especially when receiving Holy Communion. Though they had to suffer the insults that a heathenized press hurled against them, they remained firm in their prohibition of the unchristian fashion. The Sacred Congregation praises them for their constancy and publishes the following regulations:
1. Pastors and preachers shall urge the Catholic women to wear modest dresses, and insist that the mothers stop their daughters from wearing unbecoming apparel.
2. The parents have the obligation to care for the religious and moral education of their children and they must take special care to instruct the girls in the principles of Christian doctrine, and by word and example foster in their souls a love for the virtues of modesty and chastity.
3. The parents must keep the girls away from public gymnastic exercises and exhibitions; if their daughters are forced to take part in such affairs, the parents should see that they wear clothes that are absolutely modest and never allow them to wear immodest uniforms.
4. The heads of girls' colleges and schools and the teachers must endeavor to instill into the minds of the girls such a love for modesty that they shall detest immodest dress.
5. The heads of schools and the teachers shall not admit to their schools girls who wear unbecoming dress, or whose parents wear them; if those already admitted do not heed the warning, they shall be discharged from those schools.
6. The religious Sisterhoods shall not admit to their schools, colleges, chapels, or gymnasiums girls who do not dress in a manner becoming Christians, nor shall they tolerate girls already admitted.
7. Pious associations of women should be formed and fostered whose purpose shall be to counteract by example and practical efforts the abuses of the unchristian fashions and to promote purity of morals and decency in dress.
8. Into these associations are not to be received women who do not dress according to Christian modesty, and, if actual members fail against the principles of the association and do not heed the [759] admonition to stop the abuse, they shall be expelled from the associations.
9. Girls and women who wear immodest dress shall be denied Holy Communion, and shall not be admitted as sponsors at Baptism and Confirmation, and, if needs be, shall be stopped from entering any church.
10. On those feast days during the year which present a special opportunity to inculcate Christian modesty, especially the feast of Our Blessed Lady, the pastors and the priests in charge of women's societies shall by appropriate sermons exhort the women to wear dresses that bespeak Christian modesty. On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception special prayers shall be offered in all Cathedral and parochial churches and, if circumstances permit, an appropriate sermon should be preached.
11. The Diocesan Vigilance Committee, spoken of by the Holy Office on March 22, 1918, should at least once a year meet for the purpose of specially considering ways and means of promoting effectively Christian modesty of women.
12. In order to put these Instructions into effect, the local Ordinaries shall every three years, together with the report on religious teaching (cfr. Motu Proprio, June 29, 1923), inform the Sacred Congregation of the Council on the matter of immodest dress of women and what the Ordinaries have done to counteract that evil (January 12, 1930; Acta Ap. Sedis, XXII, 26-28).
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Source: "Instruction Concerning Indecent Dress of Women," The Homiletic and Pastoral Review 30, no. 7-12 (April to September, 1930): 757–759.
1. Pastors and preachers shall urge the Catholic women to wear modest dresses, and insist that the mothers stop their daughters from wearing unbecoming apparel.
2. The parents have the obligation to care for the religious and moral education of their children and they must take special care to instruct the girls in the principles of Christian doctrine, and by word and example foster in their souls a love for the virtues of modesty and chastity.
3. The parents must keep the girls away from public gymnastic exercises and exhibitions; if their daughters are forced to take part in such affairs, the parents should see that they wear clothes that are absolutely modest and never allow them to wear immodest uniforms.
4. The heads of girls' colleges and schools and the teachers must endeavor to instill into the minds of the girls such a love for modesty that they shall detest immodest dress.
5. The heads of schools and the teachers shall not admit to their schools girls who wear unbecoming dress, or whose parents wear them; if those already admitted do not heed the warning, they shall be discharged from those schools.
6. The religious Sisterhoods shall not admit to their schools, colleges, chapels, or gymnasiums girls who do not dress in a manner becoming Christians, nor shall they tolerate girls already admitted.
7. Pious associations of women should be formed and fostered whose purpose shall be to counteract by example and practical efforts the abuses of the unchristian fashions and to promote purity of morals and decency in dress.
8. Into these associations are not to be received women who do not dress according to Christian modesty, and, if actual members fail against the principles of the association and do not heed the [759] admonition to stop the abuse, they shall be expelled from the associations.
9. Girls and women who wear immodest dress shall be denied Holy Communion, and shall not be admitted as sponsors at Baptism and Confirmation, and, if needs be, shall be stopped from entering any church.
10. On those feast days during the year which present a special opportunity to inculcate Christian modesty, especially the feast of Our Blessed Lady, the pastors and the priests in charge of women's societies shall by appropriate sermons exhort the women to wear dresses that bespeak Christian modesty. On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception special prayers shall be offered in all Cathedral and parochial churches and, if circumstances permit, an appropriate sermon should be preached.
11. The Diocesan Vigilance Committee, spoken of by the Holy Office on March 22, 1918, should at least once a year meet for the purpose of specially considering ways and means of promoting effectively Christian modesty of women.
12. In order to put these Instructions into effect, the local Ordinaries shall every three years, together with the report on religious teaching (cfr. Motu Proprio, June 29, 1923), inform the Sacred Congregation of the Council on the matter of immodest dress of women and what the Ordinaries have done to counteract that evil (January 12, 1930; Acta Ap. Sedis, XXII, 26-28).
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Source: "Instruction Concerning Indecent Dress of Women," The Homiletic and Pastoral Review 30, no. 7-12 (April to September, 1930): 757–759.
Repost: Discretion Necessary in Preaching Against Immodest Dress of Women (April 1930)
[751] Question: In dealing with the matter of modesty in dress, is not the indirect method far more effective? We have heard numbers of sermons in which it was evident that the preacher was thoroughly enjoying his own talk, and the members of the congregation—especially the ones referred to—nearly or quite as much. For the chief reason for wearing such clothes was to attract attention by startlingness [sic], and they were receiving abundant and vociferous assurance that the object had been attained. Furthermore, they knew that they would be still more closely scrutinized by the men of the congregation. A theatrical manager would have paid handsomely for such an advertisement. Would not a sermon on the Blessed Mother or the Little Flower delivered with equal vigor and enthusiasm have produced far better results in promoting modesty?
PASTOR.
Answer: There is a great deal of truth in the remarks of our correspondent. If all preaching requires careful preparation and study as to what to say and how to say it in order that the discourse may be worthy of the sacred place and the holy purpose, preaching about modesty of dress of women and denunciation of sins committed by immodest apparel need careful weighing of words and expressions lest the serious-minded Catholic people be scandalized and the superficial ones be amused.
The seriousness of this particular form of immodesty is evidently very grave at the present time, for our Supreme Teacher of religion, the Vicar of Christ, remarked in his discourse to the Lenten preachers of the City of Rome (February 11, 1929) that the first thing he would request them to bring into their Lenten course of sermons is the shamelessness in the manner of dressing of so many disgraceful women and girls, who nevertheless call themselves and wish to be considered Christians. The preachers should endeavor with fatherly kindness, with patience and perseverance to convince them of the wrong they are doing, for many of them are slaves to this fashion, which is unworthy not only of Christian countries but of any civilized people. Very many, the Holy Father remarks, know that they are slaves to the fashion and are ashamed of it, but do not have the strength to rebel against a tyranny that exploits their [752] modesty as the slave trader does the blood of the slaves. Against those who do not only not feel their disgrace but glory in it and boast of it, the preachers should inveigh with all the vigor of their apostolic zeal.
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Source: "Discretion Necessary in Preaching Against Immodest Dress of Women," The Homiletic and Pastoral Review 30, no. 7-12 (April to September, 1930): 751–752.
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