Oath Against Modernism
Encyclopedia
The Oath against Modernism was issued by the Roman Catholic
Pope, Saint Pius X, on September 1, 1910, and mandated that "all clergy, pastors, confessors, preachers, religious superiors, and professors in philosophical-theological seminaries" should swear to it.
The oath
continued to be taken until July 1967 when the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
rescinded it. It is, however, still taken before priestly ordination by some clergy voluntarily and by certain confraternities.
Previously Pius X had defined Modernism
as a heresy
in his encyclicals Pascendi Dominici gregis of 1907, and Lamentabili Sane.
When John Paul II issued the apostolic letter Ad Tuendam Fidem
on ecclesiastical discipline, it provoked dissenters into claiming that the letter was a second oath against modernist thought.
The Oath Against Modernism was promulgated by Pius X in the Motu Proprio Sacrorum antistitum. The swearing of the oath was compulsory for all Catholic bishops, priests and teachers, until its abolition by Pope Paul VI
in 1967.
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Pope, Saint Pius X, on September 1, 1910, and mandated that "all clergy, pastors, confessors, preachers, religious superiors, and professors in philosophical-theological seminaries" should swear to it.
The oath
Oath
An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...
continued to be taken until July 1967 when the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition , and after 1904 called the Supreme...
rescinded it. It is, however, still taken before priestly ordination by some clergy voluntarily and by certain confraternities.
Previously Pius X had defined Modernism
Modernism (Roman Catholicism)
Modernism refers to theological opinions expressed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but with influence reaching into the 21st century, which are characterized by a break with the past. Catholic modernists form an amorphous group. The term "modernist" appears in Pope Pius X's 1907...
as a heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
in his encyclicals Pascendi Dominici gregis of 1907, and Lamentabili Sane.
When John Paul II issued the apostolic letter Ad Tuendam Fidem
Ad Tuendam Fidem
Ad Tuendam Fidem is an apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II issued motu proprio on May 18, 1998.The apostolic letter made modifications to the Oriental and Latin codes of canon law defining penalties for public dissent by public ministers of the Church....
on ecclesiastical discipline, it provoked dissenters into claiming that the letter was a second oath against modernist thought.
The Oath Against Modernism was promulgated by Pius X in the Motu Proprio Sacrorum antistitum. The swearing of the oath was compulsory for all Catholic bishops, priests and teachers, until its abolition by Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
in 1967.
Excerpts from the text
To be sworn to by all clergy, pastors, confessors, preachers, religious superiors, and professors in philosophical-theological seminaries.- I profess that God, the origin and end of all things, can be known with certainty by the natural light of reason from the created world....
-
- ...sincerely hold that the doctrine of faith was handed down to us from the apostles through the orthodox Fathers in exactly the same meaning and always in the same purport...
-
- ...reject that method of judging and interpreting Sacred Scripture which, departing from the tradition of the Church, the analogy of faith, and the norms of the Apostolic See...
-
- ...declare that I am completely opposed to the error of the modernists who hold that there is nothing divine in sacred tradition...'
-
- ...firmly hold, then, and shall hold to my dying breath the belief of the Fathers in the charismCharismIn Christian theology, a charism in general denotes any good gift that flows from God's love to man. The word can also mean any of the spiritual graces and qualifications granted to every Christian to perform his or her task in the Church...
of truth, which certainly is, was, and always will be in the succession of the episcopacy from the apostles. The purpose of this is, then, not that dogma may be tailored according to what seems better and more suited to the culture of each age; rather, that the absolute and immutable truth preached by the apostles from the beginning may never be believed to be different, may never be understood in any other way...
- ...firmly hold, then, and shall hold to my dying breath the belief of the Fathers in the charism
-
- ...promise that I shall keep all these articles faithfully, entirely, and sincerely, and guard them inviolate, in no way deviating from them in teaching or in any way in word or in writing...
-
- ...Thus I promise, this I swear, so help me God...
See also
- Providentissimus DeusProvidentissimus DeusProvidentissimus Deus, "On the Study of Holy Scripture", was an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on 18 November 1893.In it, he reviewed the history of Bible study from the time of the Church Fathers to the present, spoke against the errors of the Rationalists and "higher critics", and outlined...
- Pascendi Dominici GregisPascendi Dominici GregisPascendi dominici gregis was a Papal encyclical letter promulgated by Pope Pius X on 8 September 1907.The pope condemned Modernism, and a whole range of other principles described as "evolutionary", which allowed change to Roman Catholic dogma...
- Lamentabili Sane ExituLamentabili Sane ExituLamentabili Sane Exitu is a 1907 syllabus, prepared by the Holy Office and confirmed by Pope Pius X, which condemned errors in the exegesis of Holy Scripture and in the history and interpretation of dogma...
- Humani generisHumani GenerisHumani generis is a papal encyclical that Pope Pius XII promulgated on 12 August 1950 "concerning some false opinions threatening to undermine the foundations of Catholic Doctrine"...