"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not
pass away."
(Mark 13:31)
THE
OATH AGAINST MODERNISM
Given by His Holiness Pope St. Pius X
September
1, 1910
To be sworn to by all clergy, pastors, confessors, preachers,
religious superiors, and professors in philosophical-theological
seminaries.
I . . . 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
principal 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 Rom. 1:90), 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 a 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 decree 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 a historian; as if it were
permissible for a 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 a 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 in 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 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.
. .
Pius X, Pope