教皇承认更改安息日的公告

　　一九三四年五月廿二日，美国乔治亚州一位名叫汤玛斯顿的男子，寄了一封信给当时的教皇皮亚士十一世。内容询问教皇是否更改安息日的问题，内容如下：

信件英文原文：

Pope Plus XI
Rome， Italy

Thomaston. Georgia
May 22， 1934

Dear Sir:

　Is the accusation true that Protestants accuse you of? They say you changed the seventh day Sabbath to the so-called Christian Sunday – identical with the first day of the week. If so, when did you make the change, and by what authority?

Yours very truly,

J. L. Day

(Signature)

信件中文翻译：

亲爱的阁下：

　　教徒对你的谴责是否正确呢？他们说你（教皇）将第七日的安息日改为所谓的基督徒的星期日，亦即是一週的第一日；如果是真的，那麽，是何时改的，和依据甚麽权力而改的?

非常忠实的

J. L. Day

（签名）

教皇回覆的英文原文：

THE CATHOLIC EXTENSION MAGAZINE
The largest Catholic Magazine Published in the U.S.A.
180 Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Illinois
（Under the Blessings of Pope Plus XI）

Dear Sir:

Regarding the change from the observance of the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Sunday, I wish to draw your attention to the facts:

(1) That Protestants, who accept the Bible as the only rule of faith and religion, should by all means go back to the observance of the Sabbath. The fact that they do not, but on the contrary observe the Sunday, stultifies them in the eyes of every thinking man.

(2) We Catholics do not accept the Bible as the only rule of faith. Besides the Bible we have the living Church, the authority of the Church, as a rule to guide us. We say, this Church, instituted by Christ, to teach and guide man through life, has the right to change the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament and hence, we accept her change of the Sabbath to the Sunday. We frankly say, “Yes, the Church made this change, made this law, as she made many other laws; for instance, the Friday Abstinence, the unmarried priesthood, the laws concerning mixed marriages, the regulation of Catholic marriages, and a thousand other laws.”

(3) We also say that of all Protestants, the Seventh-day Adventists are the only group that reason correctly and are consistent with their teachings. It is always somewhat laughable to see the Protestant Churches, in pulpil and legislature, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in the Bible.

With best wishes

Peter R. Tramer. Editor

教皇回覆的中文翻译：

亲爱的阁下：

关于由遵守犹太人的安息日改为基督徒的星期日，我希望你留意如下事实：

（一）那些接纳圣经为唯一的信仰和宗教准则的新教徒，当然应该要回返至遵守安息日。事实上，他们并没有这样做，相反地，他们却遵守星期日，使他们在有思想的人眼中显得愚蠢。

（二）我们天主教，并不接纳圣经为唯一的信仰和宗教准则。除圣经之外，我们有活的教会，教会的法规作为引导我们的准则。我们说，这教会是基督所创立，通过生活来教导人，是有权来更改旧约并以后的崇拜仪式及法规，因此，我们接纳教会更改安息日至星期日的法规。我们坦白地说：「是的，（我们的）教会作了这种改变，作了这律法，一如教会订立很多其他的律法一样，诸如：星期五的斋戒法规，神父修女等人不准结婚的法规，有关溷杂婚姻的法规，天主教的婚姻法和成千条其他法规等。」

（三）我们同时说，所有新教徒中，只有基督复临安息日会的信徒是唯一的一群，有正确的了解，并且恆切地谨守圣经教训。这就是经常看见其他新教教会（即基督教教会）在讲台上和议事会上，要求遵守星期日，是颇为好笑的事，因为这是圣经中没有提过的。

最美好的祝愿

编者 Peter R. Tramer

下图为教皇于一九五六年就先前的信件在天主教报刊回覆的拷贝