He then reminded French Catholics of their duties: The pope denounced a philosophy "that seeks to eradicate the foundations of Christian truth," a justice detached from divine principles, and the "errors that inevitably bring about the ruin of the State."
Leo XIII did not desire discord in a country that had experienced much ruin and proposed the collaboration of the Church for the good of the nation, provided that the Republic recognized Catholics' rights to live under a legislative and political framework aligned with natural principles and ensured the Church's freedom to teach divine principles.
He specifically mentioned the law dissolving religious congregations and the protest letter he sent to the president of the Republic in June 1883 (Jules Grévy).
Finally, he exhorted bishops and clergy to defend the Church's freedom and called on the laity to work for unity, contribute to the common good, and support initiatives of social solidarity.
This encyclical was interpreted as a preliminary move towards reconciling Catholics with the French Third Republic, a theme Leo XIII would later expand upon in his 1892 encyclical Au milieu des sollicitudes, which led to the ralliement of Catholics concerned with the social doctrine of the Church and a minority faction of liberal bishops seeking social appeasement.