Pope St. Pius X - Oath Against Modernism
Declared on 1 September 1910 by His Holiness Pope Saint Pius X, to be
required of all to be ordained to major orders, pastors, confessors,
preachers, superiors, and professors of philosophy or theology.
I, (Name)
firmly embrace and accept each and every definition
that has been set forth and declared by the unerring teaching
authority of the Church, especially those principle truths which
are directly opposed to the errors of this day.
And first of
all, 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 (see Romans 1:20), that is from the visible works
of creation, as a cause from its effects, and that, therefore,
his existence can also be demonstrated.
Secondly, I accept and
acknowledge the external proofs of revelation, that is, divine
acts and especially miracles and prophecies as the surest signs
of the divine origin of the Christian religion and I hold that
these same proofs are well adapted to the understanding of all
eras and all men, even of this time.
Thirdly, I believe with
equally firm faith that the Church, the guardian and teacher of
the revealed word, was personally instituted by the real and
historical Christ, when He lived among us, and that the Church
was built upon Peter, the prince of the apostolic hierarchy, and
his successors for the duration of time.
Fourthly, I 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. Therefore, I entirely reject the
heretical misrepresentation that dogmas evolve and change from
one meaning to another different from the one which the Church
held previously. I also condemn every error according to which,
in place of the divine deposit which has been given to the Spouse
of Christ to be carefully guarded by her, there is put a
philosophical figment or product of human conscience that has
gradually been developed by human effort and will continue to
develop indefinitely.
Fifthly, I hold with certainty and
sincerely confess that faith is not a blind sentiment of religion
welling up from the depths of the subconscious under the impulse
of the heart and the motion of a will trained to morality; but
faith is a genuine assent of the intellect to truth received by
hearing from an external source. By this assent, because of the
authority of the supremely truthful God, we believe to be true
that which has been revealed and attested to by a personal God,
our creator and lord.
Furthermore, with due reverence, I submit and adhere with my
whole heart to the condemnations, declarations, and all the
prescripts contained in the encyclical
Pascendi
and in the degree
Lamentabili, especially those concerning what is known as the
history of dogmas. I also reject the error of those who say that
the faith held by the Church can contradict history, and that
Catholic dogmas, in the sense in which they are now understood,
are irreconcilable with a more realistic view of the origins of
the Christian religion. I also condemn and reject the opinion of
those who say that a well educated Christian assumes a dual
personality -- that of a believer and at the same time of an
historian; as if it were permissible for an historian to hold
things that contradict the faith of the believer, or to establish
premises which, provided there be no direct denial of dogmas,
would lead to the conclusion that dogmas are either false or
doubtful.
Likewise, I 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, embraces the misrepresentations of the
rationalists and with no prudence or restraint adopts textual
criticism as the one and supreme norm. Furthermore, I reject the
opinion of those who hold that a professor lecturing or writing
on an historico-theological subject should first put aside any
preconceived opinion about the supernatural origin of Catholic
tradition or about the divine promise of help to preserve all
revealed truth forever; and that they should then interpret the
writings of each of the Fathers solely by scientific principles,
excluding all sacred authority, and with the same liberty of
judgment that is common to the investigation of all ordinary
historical documents.
Finally, I declare that I am completely opposed to the error
of the modernists who hold that there is nothing divine in sacred
tradition; or what is far worse, say that there is, but in a
pantheistic sense, with the result that there would remain
nothing but this plain simple fact -- one to be put on a par with
the ordinary facts of history -- the fact, namely, that a group
of men by their own labor, skill, and talent have continued
through subsequent ages a school begun by Christ and His
apostles. I firmly hold, then, and shall hold to my dying breath
the belief of the Fathers in the charism 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.
I promise that I shall keep all of 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, thus I swear, so help me God.
