Negative utility....

Maybe around the 1850's this was true...for religious types....

This is a tired destructive view of life. Aversion to suffering would work just as well, as in, accomplishing goals at your convenience without suffering...

I think of it more as character than a soul...

This is a helpful message from Pope to the religious of the time because it's likely they don't understand what's truly just. In this time, the objectively minded can't afford to be silent.