At this present time, in a period of decline in Christian faith and morals which is still unchecked, still sweeping even lower, it remains true that the teachings given men by Christ, although whittled away and progressively abandoned, still preserve a better level of charity, justice, and chastity in
human affairs throughout Christendom than prevails in those regions where the name of Christ has hardly
entered, or where it is bitterly persecuted.