4 But although the grace of Our merciful God which in former times preserved and most graciously embraced your nation, bids Us to argue well, and be of good hope for the future, nevertheless We ought to strive, so far as lies in Our power, to do that which will be most efficacious in healing the wounds which Our religion may have received, or in warding them off while still threatening us, so that Our holy Christian doctrine and code of morals may daily spread and bear fruit more largely. This We do not say as though the Catholic faith were in want of greater and less timid defenders among you, for We know well, Venerable Brethren, that you, together with the larger and better part both of those in sacred orders and others, are by no means idly callous to the contests and dangers with which your Church is surrounded, therefore, as Our predecessor, Pius IX., in his most loving letters addressed to the Bishops of Bavaria, (Litt. Nihil Nobis gratius , 20 Feb. 1851) praised in the highest manner the great earnestness they displayed in preserving the sacred rights of the Church, so We also freely and openly give well-deserved praise to each one of those who have bravely undertaken and carried out the defence of their ancestral faith. But when Our provident God allows His Church to be vexed with grievous storms, He himself justly demands from Us dispositions and powers more prepared to assist her. But you, O Venerable Brethren, each one equally with Us, behold with grief the strange and unhappy times upon which the Church has fallen; you were amongst the first to notice the conditions in which you are placed, and the difficulties with which you have to contend. Wherefore you know by experience that your office has greater duties than formerly, and that to perform them well you ought to strive very earnestly for watchfulness, diligence, strength, and Christian prudence.
Source: Officio Sanctissimo (Vatican.va)