| Pascendi Dominici gregis Latin for 'The Feedings of the Flock of the Lord' Encyclical of Pope Pius X | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Signature date | 8 September 1907 |
| Subject | Modernism in the Catholic Church |
| Number | 11 of 17 of the pontificate |
| Text | |
Pascendi Dominici gregis (English: Feeding the Lord's Flock) is a papal encyclical letter, subtitled "On the Doctrines of the Modernists", promulgated by Pope Pius X on 8 September 1907. [1]
Pius X viewed the church as under siege, intellectually from rationalism and materialism, politically from liberalism and anti-clericalism. The pope condemned modernism, a loose movement of Catholic biblical scholars, philosophers and theologians who believed that the church could not ignore new scientific historical research concerning the Bible. [2] Modernist nun Maude Petre FCM would later recall, "We must remember, in fairness to those who were not always fair, that the impact of historical criticism on the traditional teaching of the Church was terrifying; that it seemed a case of saving the very essence of the Christian faith from destruction". [3]
Alfred Loisy held that only scientific exegesis is verifiable and therefore, reliable. Interpretation based on faith, on the other hand, "is a purely subjective". [4] This discounts entirely the value of revelation. Concerning Jesus, "In the person of Christ, they say, science and history encounter nothing that is not human. Therefore, in virtue of the first canon deduced from agnosticism, whatever there is in His history suggestive of the divine, must be rejected". [1] The threat was seen as more severe as appearing to come from member of the ordained clergy.
Much of the encyclical was drafted by Joseph Lemius OMI , Procurator General of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, [5] and Cardinal José de Calasanz Vives y Tutó OFMCap . [4] [6]
It condemned the proposition that religion is merely a sentiment based on a psychological need for the divine. [1]
 |
| Papal primacy, supremacy and infallibility |
|---|
The fundamental error attributed to the modernists was that of denying the capacity of reason to know the truth, thereby reducing everything – including religion, and including Christianity – to subjective experience. Modernists rejected this interpretation, saying their focus was on historical criticism of sacred texts. [4]
Following the example of the bishops of Umbria, Pius X directed the bishops to establish councils to look into any errors being promoted in their dioceses and to inform the bishop thereof, with particular attention given to the curriculum and texts used in the seminaries and schools. It also reiterated a 1896 decree of the Congregation for Indulgences and Sacred Relics that "Ancient relics are to retain the veneration they have always enjoyed except when in individual instances there are clear arguments that they are false or suppositions.' [1] If however, the bishop knows the relic is not authentic, it is to be withdrawn from veneration, and if authentication has been lost due to civil disturbances, no relic may be presented for public veneration before the bishop has verified it. [1]
Pope Pius X was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, and for promoting liturgical reforms and Thomist scholastic theology. He initiated the preparation of the 1917 Code of Canon Law, the first comprehensive and systemic work of its kind. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.
The Oath Against Modernism was instituted by Pope Pius X in his motu proprioSacrorum antistitum on September 1, 1910. The oath was required of "all clergy, pastors, confessors, preachers, religious superiors, and professors in philosophical-theological seminaries" of the Catholic Church. It remained in force until the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, with the approval of Paul VI, replaced it with a revised Profession of Faith on July 17, 1967.
Modernism in the Catholic Church describes attempts to reconcile Catholicism with modern culture, specifically an understanding of the Bible and Catholic tradition in light of the historical-critical method and new philosophical and political developments of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Alfred Firmin Loisy was a French Roman Catholic priest, professor and theologian generally credited as a founder of modernism in the Roman Catholic Church. He was a critic of traditional views of the interpretation of the Bible, and argued that biblical criticism could be helpful for a theological interpretation of the Bible.
Americanism was, in the years around 1900, a political and religious outlook attributed to some American Catholics and denounced as heresy by the Holy See.
Development of doctrine is a term used by John Henry Newman and other theologians influenced by him to describe the way Catholic teaching has become more detailed and explicit over the centuries, while later statements of doctrine remain consistent with earlier statements.
George Tyrrell was an Anglo-Irish Catholic priest and a highly controversial theologian and scholar. A convert from Anglicanism, Tyrrell joined the Jesuit order in 1880. His attempts to adapt Catholic theology to modern culture and science made him a key figure in the debate over modernism in the Catholic Church beginning in the late 19th-century. During the anti-modernist crusade led by Pope Pius X, Tyrrell was expelled from the Jesuit Order in 1906 and excommunicated in 1908.
Mortalium animos is a papal encyclical promulgated in 1928 by Pope Pius XI on the subject of religious unity, condemning certain presumptions of the early ecumenical movement and confirming that the unique Church founded by Jesus Christ is the Catholic Church.
Humani 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". It primarily discussed, the encyclical says, "new opinions" which may "originate from a reprehensible desire of novelty" and their consequences on the Church.
Hippolyte Delehaye, S.J., was a Belgian Jesuit who was a hagiographical scholar and an outstanding member of the Society of Bollandists.
The Nouvelle théologie is an intellectual movement in Catholic theology that arose in the mid-20th century. It is best known for Pope John XXIII's endorsement of its closely-associated ressourcement idea, which shaped the events of the Second Vatican Council. It existed most notably among certain circles of French and German theologians.
Auctorem fidei is a papal bull issued by Pius VI on 28 August, 1794 to condemn the tendency towards Gallicanism and Jansenist-tinged reforms of the Synod of Pistoia (1786).
Corrado Pizziolo is an Italian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as Bishop of Vittorio Veneto.
A dogma of the Catholic Church is defined as "a truth revealed by God, which the magisterium of the Church declared as binding". The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
The Church's Magisterium asserts that it exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes, in a form obliging Catholics to an irrevocable adherence of faith, truths contained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes, in a definitive way, truths having a necessary connection with these.
Mariological papal documents have been a major force that has shaped Roman Catholic Mariology over the centuries. Mariology is developed by theologians on the basis not only of Scripture and Tradition but also of the sensus fidei of the faithful as a whole, "from the bishops to the last of the faithful", and papal documents have recorded those developments, defining Marian dogmas, spreading doctrines and encouraging devotions within the Catholic Church.
Lamentabili sane exitu is a 1907 syllabus, prepared by the Roman Inquisition and confirmed by Pope Pius X, which condemns what it deems to be errors in the exegesis of Holy Scripture and in the history and interpretation of dogma.
École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem, commonly known as École Biblique, is a French academic establishment in Jerusalem specializing in archaeology and Biblical exegesis. It is housed by the Saint-Étienne priory. Associated with the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), it is one of two major Roman Catholic biblical academies in Jerusalem, along with the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum.
Pierre Batiffol – was a French Catholic priest and prominent theologian, specialising in Church history. He had also a particular interest in the history of dogma.
Romolo Murri was an Italian politician and ecclesiastic. This Catholic priest was suspended for having joined the party Lega Democratica Nazionale and is widely considered in Italy as the precursor of Christian democracy.
Andreas Steinhuber, S.J. was a German prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in education as a teacher and administrator, was made a cardinal in 1893, and then held senior positions in the Roman Curia. He was a forceful opponent of modernism in the Catholic Church and in wider society.
On the Errors of the Modernists public domain audiobook at LibriVox | Background |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Events |
| |
| Documents | ||
| Holy See | ||
| Organisations | ||
