The Oath Against Modernism was required of "all clergy, pastors,
confessors
Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways.
Confessor of the Faith
Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.preachers, religious superiors, and professors in philosophical-theological seminaries" of the Catholic Church from 1910 until 1967. It was instituted on 1 September 1910 by
Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) 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 C ...
Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...
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The oath marked the culmination of Pius X's campaign against the theological movement of modernism, which he extensively analyzed and denounced as heretical in his 1907 encyclicals '' Pascendi Dominici gregis'' and '' Lamentabili sane exitu''. Thomas Pègues, O.P. was also influential in the anti-modernist movement within the Church.
The Oath Against Modernism is still pronounced by clergy who are members of traditionalist Catholic movements, such as the Society of Saint Pius X, the
Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen
The Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen ( la, Congregatio Mariae Reginae Immaculatae; CMRI) is a sedevacantist Traditionalist Catholic religious congregation. The CMRI is dedicated to promoting the message of Our Lady of Fátima and the devo ...
Ad tuendam fidem
''Ad tuendam fidem'' ( en, To Protect the Faith) is an apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II issued motu proprio on May 18, 1998.John Paul II''Ad tuendam fidem'' accessed Jan-9-2013 The apostolic letter modified the Oriental and Latin codes of c ...
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Humani generis
''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". Theological opinions and doctrines known as ''Nouvelle Théolo ...
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Providentissimus Deus
''Providentissimus Deus'', "On the Study of Holy Scripture", was an encyclical letter 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 th ...