HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Modernism in the Catholic Church describes attempts to reconcile
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
with modern culture, specifically an understanding of the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
and
Sacred Tradition Sacred tradition, also called holy tradition, Anno Domini tradition or apostolic tradition, is a theological term used in Christian theology. According to this theological position, sacred Tradition and Scripture form one ''deposit'', so sacred T ...
in light of the
historical-critical method Historical criticism (also known as the historical-critical method (HCM) or higher criticism, in contrast to lower criticism or textual criticism) is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts to understand "the world b ...
and new philosophical and political developments of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''modernism''—generally used by its critics rather than by adherents of positions associated with it
—came to prominence in
Pope Pius X Pope Pius 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 Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...
's 1907
encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally fr ...
''
Pascendi Dominici gregis ''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. Context Pius X viewed the church as under si ...
'', where he condemned modernism as "the synthesis of all heresies". Writing in the ''
Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...
'' in 1911, the
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
Arthur Vermeersch gave a definition of modernism in the perspective of the Catholic
heresiology In theology or the history of religion, heresiology is the study of heresy, and heresiographies are writings about the topic. Heresiographical works were common in both medieval Christianity and Islam. Heresiology developed as a part of the emerg ...
of his time:
"In general we may say that modernism aims at that radical transformation of human thought in relation to God, man, the world, and life, here and hereafter, which was prepared by
Humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...
and eighteenth-century philosophy, and solemnly promulgated at the French Revolution."
The modernist movement was influenced and accompanied by
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
theologians and clergy like Paul Sabatier and
Heinrich Julius Holtzmann Heinrich Holtzmann Heinrich Julius Holtzmann (7 May 1832 – 4 August 1910), German Protestant theologian, son of theologian Karl Julius Holtzmann (1804–1877), was born at Karlsruhe, where his father ultimately became prelate and counsellor to t ...
. On the other hand, modernist theologians were critical of Protestant theology and engaged in Catholic apologetics against a Protestant understanding of Christianity, as in the famous attack of Alfred Loisy in ''L'Évangile et l'Église'' (1902) on
Adolf von Harnack Carl Gustav Adolf von Harnack (born Harnack; 7 May 1851 – 10 June 1930) was a Baltic German Lutheran theologian and prominent Church historian. He produced many religious publications from 1873 to 1912 (in which he is sometimes credited ...
's ''Das Wesen des Christentums'' (1900). The modernist movement has a parallel in the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
where the journal ''
The Modern Churchman Modern Church is a charitable society promoting liberal Christian theology. It defends liberal positions on a wide range of issues including gender, sexuality, interfaith relations, religion and science, and biblical scholarship. In church affai ...
'' was founded in 1911. The controversy on modernism was prominent in French and British intellectual circles and to a lesser extent in Italy, but in one way or another concerned most of Europe and the Americas. Pope Pius X saw modernism as a universal threat which required a global reaction.


Dimensions of the controversy over modernism

Although the so-called modernists did not form a uniform movement, they responded to a common grouping of religious problems which transcended Catholicism alone around 1900: first of all the problem of
historicism Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying the process or history by which they came about. The term is widely used in philosophy, ant ...
, which seemed to render all historical forms of faith and tradition relative; secondly, through the reception of modern philosophers like
Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...
,
Maurice Blondel Maurice Blondel (; ; 2 November 1861 – 4 June 1949) was a French philosopher, whose most influential works, notably ''L'Action'', aimed at establishing the correct relationship between autonomous philosophical reasoning and Christian belief. ...
, and
Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; ; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopher who was influential in the traditions of analytic philosophy and continental philosophy, especially during the first half of the 20th century until the S ...
, the neo-scholastic philosophical and theological framework set up by
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...
had become fragile. The assertion that objective truth is received subjectively is fundamental for the entire controversy. This focus on the religious subject engendered a renewed interest in mysticism, sanctity and religious experience in general. The aversion against a religious "extrinsicism" also led to a new hermeneutics for doctrinal definitions which were seen as secondary formulations of an antecedent (immanent) religious experience (
George Tyrrell George Tyrrell (6 February 1861 – 15 July 1909) 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 the ...
; cfr. also the Christian
personalism Personalism is an intellectual stance that emphasizes the importance of human persons. Personalism exists in many different versions, and this makes it somewhat difficult to define as a philosophical and theological movement. Friedrich Schleie ...
of Lucien Laberthonnière). The controversy was not restricted to the field of philosophy and theology. On the level of politics, Christian Democrats like the layman
Marc Sangnier Marc Sangnier (; 3 April 1873, Paris – 28 May 1950, Paris) was a French Roman Catholic thinker and politician, who in 1894 founded '' Le Sillon'' ("The Furrow"), a social Catholic movement. Work Sangnier aimed to bring the Catholic Church ...
in France and the priest Romolo Murri in Italy, but also the left wing of the Centre Party and the Christian Unions in Germany, opted for a political agenda which was no longer completely controlled by the hierarchy. Pope Pius X reacted by excommunicating Murri in 1909, by dissolving Sangnier's '' Le Sillon'' movement in 1910, and by issuing the encyclical in 1912 which clearly favoured the German Catholic workers' associations over and against the Christian Unions. Furthermore, antimodernists like Albert Maria Weiss , and the Swiss Caspar Decurtins, which were both favoured by Pius X, would even find "literary modernism" on the field of the Catholic ''
belles-lettres () is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pej ...
'' which did not meet their standards of
orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...
. In the eyes of the antimodernist reaction, the "modernists" were a uniform and secret sect within the Church. From a historical perspective, one can discern networks of personal contacts between "modernists", especially around Friedrich von Hügel and Paul Sabatier. On the other hand, there was a great diversity of opinions within the "movement", from people ending up in rationalism (e.g. Marcel Hébert, Albert Houtin, Alfred Loisy, Salvatore Minocchi, and Joseph Turmel) to a mild religious reformism, even including neo-scholastic theologians like Romolo Murri. This perception of a broad movement from left to right was already shaped by the protagonists themselves.


Terminology

The term ''
Liberal Catholicism Liberal Catholicism was a current of thought within the Catholic Church influenced by classical liberalism and promoting the separation of church and state, freedom of religion in the civic arena, expanded suffrage, and broad-based education. ...
'' originally designated a current of thought within the Catholic Church that was influential in the 19th century, particularly in France, that aimed to reconcile the church with
liberal democracy Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberalism, liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal dem ...
. It was largely identified with French political theorists such as Felicité Robert de Lamennais, Henri Lacordaire, and
Charles Forbes René de Montalembert Charles-Forbes-René, comte de Montalembert (; 15 April 1810 – 13 March 1870) was a French publicist, historian and Count of Montalembert, Deux-Sèvres, and a prominent representative of liberal Catholicism. Family Charles Forbes René de ...
. In the second half of the 19th century the term was also applied to theologians and intellectuals like
Ignaz von Döllinger Johann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger (; 28 February 179914 January 1890), also Doellinger in English, was a German theologian, Catholic priest and church historian who rejected the dogma of papal infallibility. Among his writings which proved c ...
, St. George Jackson Mivart, John Zahm, and
Franz Xaver Kraus Franz Xaver Kraus (18 September 1840 – 28 December 1901) was a German Catholic priest, and ecclesiastical and art historian. Early life Franz Xaver Kraus was born in Trier in 1840. He completed his studies in the Trier gymnasium, began his the ...
who wanted to reconcile the Catholic faith with the standards of modern science and society in general. In 1881, the Belgian economist Charles Périn, a conservative Catholic layman, published a volume titled ("Modernism in the Church according to the unpublished letters of La Mennais"). Périn was the first author to use the term ''modernism'' in a Catholic context – before him the Dutch
Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...
Abraham Kuyper Abraham Kuyper ( , ; 29 October 1837 – 8 November 1920) was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands between 1901 and 1905, an influential neo-Calvinist pastor and a journalist. He established the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, which upo ...
had attacked the rationalist German theology of the Protestant Tübingen School as "modernism" (, 1871). For Périn, 'modernism' was a label for the attempts of Liberal Catholics to reconcile Catholicism with the ideals of the French Revolution and of democracy in general. He saw a danger that humanitarian tendencies in secular society would be received within the Catholic Church. This "social" definition of Catholic modernism would be taken up again later by Integralism. Périn's usage of the term ''modernism'' was accepted by the Roman journal of the Jesuits, the semi-official , which added the aspect of an exaggerated trust in modern science to this concept. When five exegetical books of the French theologian Alfred Loisy were placed on the
Index of Forbidden Books The (English: ''Index of Forbidden Books'') was a changing list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former dicastery of the Roman Curia); Catholics were forbidden to print o ...
in December 1903, the
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
’s official paper ''
L'Osservatore Romano ''L'Osservatore Romano'' is the daily newspaper of Vatican City which reports on the activities of the Holy See and events taking place in the Catholic Church and the world. It is owned by the Holy See but is not an official publication, a role ...
'' distinguished between "modernity" and "modernism", which entailed heresy in religion, revolution in politics, and error in philosophy. The term ''modernism'' now began to replace older labels like 'Liberal Catholicism' or (especially in Germany) 'Reform Catholicism'. The connection between 'Liberal Catholicism' and 'modernism' has been subject to controversial discussion. In 1979, Thomas Michael Loome stressed the continuity between the two and talked of a "vertical dimension" of the modernist controversy. This "invention of tradition" was criticized – amongst others – by Nicholas Lash. It is clear, however, that the Joint Pastoral of the English episcopate against "Liberal Catholicism" (December 1900) did not only react on St. George Jackson Mivart, but also on the writings of the later "modernist"
George Tyrrell George Tyrrell (6 February 1861 – 15 July 1909) 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 the ...
. The letter had been prepared in Rome and was inspired by
Rafael Merry del Val Rafael Merry del Val y Zulueta, (10 October 1865 – 26 February 1930) was a Spanish Catholic bishop, Vatican official, and cardinal. Before becoming a cardinal, he served as the secretary of the papal conclave of 1903 that elected Pope Pius ...
who became Tyrrell's chief opponent under Pius X. Furthermore, "modernists" like Tyrrell compared their own difficulties after the publication of with the difficulties of "liberal Catholics" like
Ignaz von Döllinger Johann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger (; 28 February 179914 January 1890), also Doellinger in English, was a German theologian, Catholic priest and church historian who rejected the dogma of papal infallibility. Among his writings which proved c ...
after Vatican I. In December 1907, Tyrrell wrote to a German correspondent: "Is it not time to reconsider the pseudo-council of 1870 and to ask whether the Alt-Katholiks were not, after all, in the right? etc. You will know them by their fruits"; Matthew 7:16may surely be used as a criterion of
Ultramontanism Ultramontanism is a clerical political conception within the Catholic Church that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope. It contrasts with Gallicanism, the belief that popular civil authority—often represented b ...
. Individuals, like myself, can afford to stand aloof as Döllinger did. But can multitudes live without sacraments and external communion? And yet now no educated man or woman will be able to remain in communion with Pius X." Tyrrell was also inspired by the posthumous publication of
Lord Acton John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, Liberal politician, and writer. A strong advocate for individua ...
's ''History of Freedom and Other Essays'' in 1907.


History of the modernist controversy

Although the so-called "Modernist Crisis" is usually dated between 1893 (the publication date of
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...
's encyclical ) and 1914 (the death of
Pope Pius X Pope Pius 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 Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...
), the controversy had, and continues to have, both a pre-history and a post-history.


Pre-history: Liberal Catholicism in the 19th century

With notable exceptions like Richard Simon or the
Bollandist The Bollandist Society (; ) is an association of scholars, philologists, and historians (originally all Jesuits, but now including non-Jesuits) who since the early seventeenth century have studied hagiography and the cult of the saints in Christia ...
s, Catholic studies in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries had tended to avoid the use of critical methodology because of its rationalist tendencies. Frequent political revolutions, the bitter opposition of "liberalism" to the Church and the expulsion of religious orders from France and Germany had made the church understandably suspicious of the new intellectual currents. Following the French Revolution and the subsequent coming to power of the Conservative Order, the
Magisterium The magisterium of the Catholic Church is the church's authority or office to give authentic interpretation of the word of God, "whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition". According to the 1992 ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' ...
had enacted harsh condemnations against
liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
,
rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the Epistemology, epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to ot ...
,
pantheism Pantheism can refer to a number of philosophical and religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arisesAnn Thomson; Bodies ...
,
panentheism Panentheism (; "all in God", from the Greek , and ) is the belief that the divine intersects every part of the universe and also extends beyond space and time. The term was coined by the German philosopher Karl Krause in 1828 (after reviewin ...
,
deism Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin term '' deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge and asserts that empirical reason and observation ...
,
indifferentism Indifferentism is the belief that no one religion or philosophy is superior to another. Political indifferentism describes the policy of a state that treats all the religions within its borders as being on an equal footing before the law of the c ...
,
socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
,
communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
and other popular philosophies. Non-Catholic Bible translations and interpretations had been met with similar scorn. In 1863,
Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; ; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, writing on Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote wo ...
published (Life of Jesus). Renan had trained for the priesthood before choosing a secular career as a philologist and historian. His book described Jesus as – a man, no doubt extraordinary, but only a man. The book was very popular, but cost him his chair of
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
at the
Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...
. Among Renan's most controversial ideas was that "a miracle does not count as a historical event; people believing in a miracle does." Renan's Jesus is a man of simple piety and almost unimaginable charisma whose main historical significance was his legion of followers. In the same year, Church historian
Ignaz von Döllinger Johann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger (; 28 February 179914 January 1890), also Doellinger in English, was a German theologian, Catholic priest and church historian who rejected the dogma of papal infallibility. Among his writings which proved c ...
invited about 100 German theologians to meet in
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
(, 1863) to discuss the state of Catholic theology. In his address, "On the Past and Future of Catholic Theology", Döllinger advocated greater academic freedom of theology within the Church, formulating a critique of neo-scholastic theology and championing the historical method in theology. Döllinger's friend
Charles de Montalembert Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...
gave two powerful speeches at the Catholic Congress in Malines that year too, insisting that the church had to reconcile itself with civil equality and
religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...
. On 8 December 1864
Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
issued the encyclical , decrying what he considered significant errors afflicting the modern age. It condemned certain propositions such as: "the people's will, manifested by what is called public opinion ..constitutes a supreme law, free from all divine and human control"; on civil law alone depend all rights of parents over their children, and especially that of providing for education; and that
religious orders A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their founders, and have a d ...
have no legitimate reason for being permitted. Some of these condemnations were aimed at anticlerical governments in various European countries, which were in the process of secularizing education and taking over
Catholic schools Catholic schools are parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school system. In 201 ...
, as well as suppressing religious orders and confiscating their property. Attached to the encyclical was a , which had been condemned in previous papal documents, requiring recourse to the original statements to be understood. The ''Syllabus'' reacted not only to modern atheism, materialism, and agnosticism, but also to Liberal Catholicism and the new critical study of the Bible. It was also a direct reaction to Döllinger's speech in Munich and Montalembert's speeches in Malines. Among the propositions condemned in the ''Syllabus'' were: * "7. The prophecies and miracles set forth and recorded in the Sacred Scriptures are the fiction of poets, and the mysteries of the Christian faith the result of philosophical investigations. In the books of the Old and the New Testament there are contained mythical inventions, and Jesus Christ is Himself a myth." * "13. The method and principles by which the old scholastic doctors cultivated theology are no longer suitable to the demands of our times and to the progress of the sciences." – Letter to the Archbishop of Munich, , December 21, 1863. * "15. Every man is free to embrace and profess the Religion he shall believe true, guided by the light of reason." – Apostolic Letter, , 10 June 1851. Allocution , 9 June 1862. The
First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...
was held from December 1869 to October 1870. The council provoked a degree of controversy even before it met. In anticipation that the subject of papal infallibility would be discussed, many bishops, especially in France and Germany, expressed the opinion that the time was "inopportune".
Ignaz von Döllinger Johann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger (; 28 February 179914 January 1890), also Doellinger in English, was a German theologian, Catholic priest and church historian who rejected the dogma of papal infallibility. Among his writings which proved c ...
led a movement in Germany hostile to the definition of infallibility. In Döllinger's view, there was no foundation for this definition in Catholic tradition. After the definition, Döllinger was excommunicated by the Archbishop of Munich Gregor von Scherr in 1871. Montalembert died before the end of the Council. The dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, , tried to steer a middle way between
rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the Epistemology, epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to ot ...
and
fideism Fideism ( ) is a standpoint or an epistemological theory which maintains that faith is independent of reason, or that reason and faith are hostile to each other and faith is superior at arriving at particular truths (see natural theology). The ...
. It presented a concept of
revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...
which highlighted the aspect of divine instruction by revelation. The dogmatic Constitution addressed the primacy of the pope and rejected the idea that decrees issued by the pope for the guidance of the church are not valid unless confirmed by the secular power. It also declared
papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...
when speaking ''
ex cathedra Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...
'' on matters of faith and morals. Other matters were deferred when the Italian infantry entered Rome and the Council was prorogued. The Council remained formally open until 1960, when it was officially closed by
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...
, in order to convene the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...
. The First Vatican Council's decisions were so controversial that they even caused a schism of some German, Swiss, Austrian and Dutch liberal Catholics, who broke away from the Vatican and merged with the Jansenists, who had maintained a somewhat precarious hierarchy in the Netherlands, into the
Old Catholic Church The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches, or Old Catholic movement, designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undiv ...
, which exists to this day.


The beginning of the modernist controversy under Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...
, Pius IX's successor, wanted to advance what he understood as the true Christian science in every way: he worked for a revival of
Thomism Thomism is the philosophical and theological school which arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, Thomas's disputed ques ...
as Christian philosophy, he encouraged the study of history and archaeology, and in 1881 he opened up the Vatican Archives for researchers. In 1887 he encouraged the study of the natural sciences, and in 1891 opened a new
Vatican Observatory The Vatican Observatory () is an astronomical research and educational institution supported by the Holy See. Originally based in the Roman College of Rome, the Observatory is now headquartered in Castel Gandolfo, Italy and operates a telescope a ...
. Leo's response to the rationalist trend to undermine the authority of sacred scripture was for the Church to have its own trained experts. In 1893, with , Pope Leo gave the first formal authorization for the use of critical methods in biblical scholarship.Prior, Joseph G., ''The Historical Critical Method in Catholic Exegesis'', Gregorian Biblical BookShop, 1999
“Hence it is most proper that Professors of Sacred Scripture and theologians should master those tongues in which the sacred Books were originally written, and have a knowledge of natural science.” He recommended that the student of scripture be first given a sound grounding in the interpretations of the
Fathers A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fathe ...
such as
Tertullian Tertullian (; ; 155 – 220 AD) was a prolific Early Christianity, early Christian author from Roman Carthage, Carthage in the Africa (Roman province), Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive co ...
,
Cyprian Cyprian (; ; to 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Christian writer of Berbers, Berber descent, ...
, Hilary,
Ambrose Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...
, Leo the Great,
Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...
,
Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...
and
Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...
, and understand what they interpreted literally, and what allegorically; and note what they lay down as belonging to faith and what is opinion. Although tried to encourage Catholic biblical studies, it also created problems. In the encyclical, Leo XIII excluded the possibility of restricting the inspiration and inerrancy of the bible to matters of faith and morals. Thus, he interfered in the lively discussion about biblical inspiration in France, where Maurice d'Hulst, founder of the ''Institut Catholique de Paris'', had opted for a more open solution in his article on . Not only exegetes of this ''école large'' were now in trouble, but also the prominent French theologian Alfred Loisy who worked for a thoroughly historical understanding of the Bible, in order to open up spaces for theological reform. The Roman Congregation of the Index began to prepare a censuring of Loisy's main works, but until the death of Leo XIII in 1903 no decision was taken, as there was also considerable resistance within the
Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...
against a premature judgment on matters of biblical interpretation. On the whole, official Catholic attitudes to the study of Scripture at the turn of the 20th century were of cautious advance, and a growing appreciation of what had promise for the future. In 1902, Pope Leo XIII instituted the Pontifical Biblical Commission, which was to adapt Catholic Biblical studies to modern scholarship and to protect Scripture against attacks.


Marie-Joseph Lagrange

In 1890 the
École Biblique 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. Associate ...
, the first Catholic school specifically dedicated to the critical study of the bible, was established in
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
by Dominican
Marie-Joseph Lagrange Marie-Joseph Lagrange (born Albert Marie-Henri Lagrange; 7 March 1855 – 10 March 1938) was a Dominican priest and founder of the École Biblique in Jerusalem. His cause for beatification has been initiated in 1991. Life Albert Marie-Henri ...
. In 1892
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...
gave his official approval. While many of Lagrange's contemporaries criticized the new scientific and critical approach to the Bible, he made use of it. Lagrange founded the , and his first articles drew sharp criticism, but Pope Leo was not inclined to discourage new ideas.Becker O.P., John Vianney. "Pere LaGrange", ''Dominicana''
/ref> As long as Pope Leo lived, Lagrange's work quietly progressed, but after Leo's death, an ultra-conservative reaction set in. The
historical-critical method Historical criticism (also known as the historical-critical method (HCM) or higher criticism, in contrast to lower criticism or textual criticism) is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts to understand "the world b ...
was considered suspect by the Vatican. Père Lagrange, like other scholars involved in the 19th-century renaissance of biblical studies, was suspected of being a modernist."Our Founder", École biblique et archéologique française de Jerusalem
/ref> In 1912 Lagrange was given an order for the to cease publication and to return to France. The École itself was closed for a year, and then Lagrange was sent back to Jerusalem to continue his work.


Duchesne and Loisy

Louis Duchesne Louis Marie Olivier Duchesne (; 13 September 1843 – 21 April 1922) was a French priest, philology, philologist, teacher and a critical historian of Christianity and Roman Catholic liturgy and institutions. Life Descended from a family of Bri ...
was a French priest, philologist, teacher, and amateur archaeologist. Trained at the
École pratique des Hautes Études École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...
in Paris, he applied modern methods to church history, drawing together archaeology and topography to supplement literature and setting ecclesiastical events within the contexts of social history. Duchesne held the chair of ecclesiastical history at the
Institut Catholique de Paris The Institut catholique de Paris (, abbr. ICP), known in English as the Catholic University of Paris (and in Latin as ''Universitas catholica Parisiensis''), is a private university located in Paris, France. History: 1875–present The Institut ...
, and was frequently in contact with like-minded historians among the
Bollandist The Bollandist Society (; ) is an association of scholars, philologists, and historians (originally all Jesuits, but now including non-Jesuits) who since the early seventeenth century have studied hagiography and the cult of the saints in Christia ...
s, with their long history of critical editions of hagiographies. Duchesne gained fame as a demythologizing critical historian of the popular, pious lives of saints produced by Second Empire publishers. However, his , 1906–1911 (translated as ''Early History of the Christian Church'') was considered too modernist by the church at the time, and was placed on the
Index of Forbidden Books The (English: ''Index of Forbidden Books'') was a changing list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former dicastery of the Roman Curia); Catholics were forbidden to print o ...
in 1912. Alfred Loisy was a French Catholic priest, professor and theologian generally credited as the "father of Catholic Modernism". He had studied at the Institut Catholique under Duchesne and attended the course on Hebrew by
Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; ; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, writing on Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote wo ...
at the
Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...
. Harvey Hill says that the development of Loisy's theories have to be seen also in the context of France's Church-State conflict, which contributed to Loisy's crisis of faith in the 1880s. In November 1893, Loisy published the last lecture of his course, in which he summed up his position on
biblical criticism Modern Biblical criticism (as opposed to pre-Modern criticism) is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible without appealing to the supernatural. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical c ...
in five propositions: the
Pentateuch The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () o ...
was not the work of
Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
, the first five chapters of
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
were not literal history, the
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
and the
Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
did not possess equal historical value, there was a development in scriptural doctrine, and Biblical writings were subject to the same limitations as those by other authors of the ancient world. When his attempts at theological reform had failed, Loisy came to regard the Christian religion more as a system of humanistic ethics than as divine revelation. He was excommunicated in 1908.


The climax of the controversy under Pius X

Pope Pius X Pope Pius 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 Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...
, who succeeded Leo XIII in August 1903, engaged almost immediately in the ongoing controversy. Reacting on pressure from the Parisian Archbishop Cardinal François-Marie-Benjamin Richard, he transferred the censuring of Loisy from the Congregation of the Index to the
Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office Supreme may refer to: Entertainment * Supreme (character), a comic book superhero created by Rob Liefeld * ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film * Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer * "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams * ...
. Already in December 1903, Loisy's main exegetical works were censured. At the same time the Holy Office began to prepare a syllabus of errors contained in the works of Loisy. Due to ongoing internal resistance, especially from the
Master of the Sacred Palace In the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Theologian of the Pontifical Household () is a Roman Curial office which has always been entrusted to a Friar Preacher of the Dominican Order and may be described as the pope's theologian. The title w ...
, the papal theologian Alberto Lepidi , this Syllabus was published only in July 1907 as the decree , which condemned sixty-five propositions from the field of biblical interpretation and the history of dogma. did not mention the term ''modernism'', and it seems that Pius X and his close collaborators like Cardinal
Rafael Merry del Val Rafael Merry del Val y Zulueta, (10 October 1865 – 26 February 1930) was a Spanish Catholic bishop, Vatican official, and cardinal. Before becoming a cardinal, he served as the secretary of the papal conclave of 1903 that elected Pope Pius ...
and Cardinal José de Calasanz Vives y Tutó were not satisfied with the document. Therefore, in the summer of 1907, another document was prepared in a small circle around the Pope and already in September 1907, Pius X promulgated the encyclical , which formulated a synthesis of modernism and popularized the term itself. The encyclical condemned modernism as embracing every
heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...
. described the "modernist" in seven "roles": as purely immanentist philosopher, as believer who relies only on their own religious experience, as theologian who understands dogma symbolically, as historian and biblical scholar who dissolves divine revelation by means of the historical-critical method into purely immanent processes of development, as apologete who justifies the Christian truth only from immanence, and as reformer who wants to change the church in a radical way.
Agnosticism Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer t ...
, immanentism,
evolutionism Evolutionism is a term used (often derogatorily) to denote the theory of evolution. Its exact meaning has changed over time as the study of evolution has progressed. In the 19th century, it was used to describe the belief that organisms deliberat ...
and
reformism Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political or religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution. Within the socialist movement, ref ...
are the keywords used by the Pope to describe the philosophical and theological system of modernism. The encyclical describes the modernist as an enemy of scholastic philosophy and theology and resistant to the teachings of the
Magisterium The magisterium of the Catholic Church is the church's authority or office to give authentic interpretation of the word of God, "whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition". According to the 1992 ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' ...
; their moral qualities are curiosity, arrogance, ignorance, and falsehood. Modernists deceive the simple believers by not presenting their entire system, but only parts of it. Therefore, the encyclical wants to reveal the secret system of modernism. contained also disciplinary measures for the promotion of scholastic philosophy and theology in the seminaries, for the removal of suspect professors and candidates for the priesthood, for a more rigid censuring of publications and for the creation of an antimodernist control group in every diocese. All bishops and superiors of religious orders had to report regularly on the execution of these measures. Pius frequently condemned the movement, and was deeply concerned that its adherents could go on believing themselves strict Catholics while understanding dogma in a markedly untraditional sense (a consequence of the notion of evolution of dogma). Therefore, in 1910, he introduced an anti-modernist oath to be taken by all Catholic priests. To ensure enforcement of these decisions, Monsignor Umberto Benigni organized, through his personal contacts with theologians and laymen in various European countries, a secret network of informants who would report to him those thought to be teaching condemned doctrine or engaging in political activities (like Christian Democratic Parties, Christian Unions) which were also deemed to be "modernist" because they were not controlled by the Catholic hierarchy. This group was called the , i.e. Fellowship of Pius (V), with the code name of . Its frequently overzealous and clandestine methods often hindered rather than helped the Church combat modernism. Benigni also published the journal /, which initiated press campaigns against practical and social modernism throughout Europe. Benigni fell out with Cardinal Secretary of State
Rafael Merry del Val Rafael Merry del Val y Zulueta, (10 October 1865 – 26 February 1930) was a Spanish Catholic bishop, Vatican official, and cardinal. Before becoming a cardinal, he served as the secretary of the papal conclave of 1903 that elected Pope Pius ...
in 1911. The was eventually dissolved in 1921. Recent research has stressed the
antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
character of Benigni's antimodernism.


In America

With his slogan "Church and Age unite!", Archbishop John Ireland of
Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...
, became the hero of reformers in France ( Félix Klein), Italy and Germany ( Herman Schell) in the 1890s. The modernist controversy in the United States was thus initially dominated by the conflict on " Americanism", which after was also presented as a "forerunner" of modernism in Catholic heresiology. "Americanism" was perceived as an influence of
classical liberalism Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited governmen ...
in the
Catholic Church in the United States The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion, communion with the pope, who as of 2025 is Chicago, Illinois-born Pope Leo XIV, Leo XIV. With 23 percent of the United States' population , t ...
, particularly regarding the concept of
separation of Church and State The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...
. Such tendencies alarmed Pope Leo XIII, who condemned them, at the urging of Archbishop Ireland's old opponent from
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
Archbishop John Joseph Frederick Otto Zardetti, in the apostolic letter (1899). Archbishop Ireland had to be extremely careful to avoid condemnation for his views. Following the issuing of , the antimodernist measures were especially felt in the
Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New York (state), State of New York. It encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York ...
: The ''New York Review'' was a journal produced by Saint Joseph's Seminary. It printed papers by leading Catholic Biblical experts who were part of the newly emerging schools of
Biblical criticism Modern Biblical criticism (as opposed to pre-Modern criticism) is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible without appealing to the supernatural. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical c ...
, which raised eyebrows in Rome. Around 1908, the ''Review'' was discontinued, ostensibly for financial reasons, although there is strong evidence that it was suppressed for modernist tendencies. Despite his support for modernization, Archbishop Ireland actively campaigned against modernism following the encyclical: this apparently inconsistent behavior stemmed from Ireland's concept of a "golden mean" between "ultraconservatism", rendering the Church irrelevant, and "ultraliberalism," discarding the Church's message.


Post-history in the 20th and 21st centuries

After the pontificate of Pius X, there was a gradual abatement of attacks against modernists. The new
Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...
, who was elected to succeed Pius X in 1914, once again condemned modernism in his encyclical , but also urged Catholics to cease condemning fellow believers. Nevertheless, theological antimodernism continued to influence the climate within the Church. The
Holy Office The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace o ...
, until 1930 under the guidance of Cardinal
Rafael Merry del Val Rafael Merry del Val y Zulueta, (10 October 1865 – 26 February 1930) was a Spanish Catholic bishop, Vatican official, and cardinal. Before becoming a cardinal, he served as the secretary of the papal conclave of 1903 that elected Pope Pius ...
, continued to censure modernist theologians and rationalist exegesis was once again condemned by the Pontiff in his encyclical . In the 1930s, Loisy's ''opera omnia'' (“all works”) were placed on the . During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, French propaganda claimed that the
Catholic Church in Germany The Catholic Church in Germany () or Roman Catholic Church in Germany () is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope, assisted by the Roman Curia, and with the German bishops. The current "Speaker" (i.e., Chairman) of th ...
was infested with modernism. Already in 1913 it had been claimed by the French academic Edmond Vermeil that the Catholic Tübingen School in the mid-19th century, with its interest for the "organic development" of the church in history, was a "forerunner" of "modernism" – a claim which has been debated ever since. Between World War I and the Second Vatican Council, Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange was a "torchbearer of orthodox
Thomism Thomism is the philosophical and theological school which arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, Thomas's disputed ques ...
" against modernism. Garrigou-Lagrange, who was a professor of philosophy and theology at the
Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PUST), also known as the ''Angelicum'' or ''Collegio Angelico'' (in honor of its patron, the ''Doctor Angelicus'' Thomas Aquinas), is a pontifical university located in the historic center of R ...
, , is commonly held to have influenced the decision in 1942 to place the privately circulated book (Étiolles-sur-Seine 1937) by Marie-Dominique Chenu on the Vatican's "Index of Forbidden Books" as the culmination of a polemic within the
Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...
between the supporters of a speculative scholasticism and the French revival Thomists who were more attentive to historical hermeneutics, such as Yves Congar At the beginning of the 1930s, Congar read the of Loisy and realised that modernism had addressed problems in theology which were still not resolved by neo-scholastic theology. Chenu and Congar, two protagonists of the , began to prepare a dossier on this topic. In 1946, Congar wrote to Chenu that neo-scholastic theology had already begun to "liquidate" itself on a daily basis and that the Jesuits were among the fiercest "liquidators". Congar's was also suspected of modernism because its methodology derived more from religious experience than from syllogistic analysis. A first relaxation of the strict anti-modernist measures imposed on biblical scholars by Pius X came in 1943: on that year,
Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
issued the encyclical , regulating the issue of Biblical exegesis. The encyclical inaugurated the modern period of Roman Catholic
Biblical studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Jewish usage and the Christian Bible including the can ...
by encouraging the study of
textual criticism Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts (mss) or of printed books. Such texts may rang ...
(or 'lower criticism'), pertaining to text of the Scriptures themselves and transmission thereof (for example, to determine correct readings) and permitted the use of the
historical-critical method Historical criticism (also known as the historical-critical method (HCM) or higher criticism, in contrast to lower criticism or textual criticism) is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts to understand "the world b ...
(or 'higher criticism') to be informed by
theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
,
Sacred Tradition Sacred tradition, also called holy tradition, Anno Domini tradition or apostolic tradition, is a theological term used in Christian theology. According to this theological position, sacred Tradition and Scripture form one ''deposit'', so sacred T ...
, and
ecclesiastical history Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of the ...
on the historical circumstances of the text, hypothesizing about matters such as authorship, dating, and similar concerns. Catholic Biblical scholar
Raymond E. Brown Raymond Edward Brown (May 22, 1928 – August 8, 1998) was an American Sulpician priest and prominent biblical scholar. He was a specialist on the hypothetical Johannine community, which he speculated contributed to the authorship of the Gosp ...
described the encyclical as a "
Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...
for biblical progress". Despite his cautious openings on the issue of biblical criticism, Pius XII was suspicious of the new theological trends, which he feared could cause a modernist revival: in 1950, he published the encyclical ''
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". It primarily discussed, the encyclical says, "new opinion ...
'', in which he condemned "certain new intellectual currents" in the Church, accusing them of relativism and attacking them for reformulating dogmas in a way that was not consistent with Church tradition and for following
biblical hermeneutics Biblical hermeneutics is the study of the principles of interpretation concerning the books of the Bible. It is part of the broader field of hermeneutics, which involves the study of principles of interpretation, both theory and methodology, fo ...
that deviated from the teachings of ''Providentissimus Deus'', ''Spiritus Paraclitus'' and ''Divino afflante Spiritu''. The encyclical specifically accused these new "trends" of having embraced the modernist heresy condemned by Pius X in ''Pascendi Dominici gregis''. The encyclical did not mention any particular theologian but was widely interpreted as a condemnation of the ''Nouvelle théologie'' and was followed by an anti-modernist purge in '' Le Saulchoir'' and Fourvière. Following the election of
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...
and the calling of the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...
, anti-modernist polemics declined and many theologians associated with the ''Nouvelle théologie'' were gradually rehabilitated and many of them took part in the Council with the qualification of '' peritus''. However,
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul 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 State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...
once again condemned modernism in his encyclical ''
Ecclesiam Suam ''Ecclesiam Suam'' is an encyclical letter of Pope Paul VI on the Catholic Church given at St. Peter's, Rome, on the Feast of the Transfiguration, 6 August 1964, the second year of his Pontificate. In the opening words of the letter, Pope Paul ...
'' (1964), calling it "an error which is still making its appearance under various new guises, wholly inconsistent with any genuine religious expression" and described it as "an attempt on the part of secular philosophies and secular trends to vitiate the true teaching and discipline of the Church of Christ". Despite this, the Oath Against Modernism was abolished on 17 July 1967 by the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...
with the approval of Paul VI. Following the Council, the more conservative supporters of ''Nouvelle théologie'' had important careers in the Church:
Jean Daniélou Jean-Guenolé-Marie Daniélou (; 14 May 1905 – 20 May 1974) was a French Jesuit and cardinal, an internationally well known patrologist, theologian and historian and a member of the Académie française. Biography Early life and studies Jean ...
, Yves Congar and
Henri de Lubac Henri-Marie Joseph Sonier de Lubac (; 20 February 1896 – 4 September 1991), better known as Henri de Lubac, was a French Jesuit priest and Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal who is considered one of the most influential Theology, theologia ...
were made cardinals by
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
, while Joseph Ratzinger was elected as
Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
in 2005.
Hans Urs von Balthasar Hans Urs von Balthasar (; 12 August 1905 – 26 June 1988) was a Swiss theologian and Catholic priest who is considered one of the most important Catholic theologians of the 20th century. With Joseph Ratzinger and Henri de Lubac, he founded the th ...
died two days before being created cardinal. The same honours were not granted to the more liberal members, who were gradually marginalised due to their extreme views: Hans Küng was stripped from his theological license by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1979 for questioning
papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...
, while
Edward Schillebeeckx Edward Cornelis Florentius Alfonsus Schillebeeckx (November 12, 1914 – December 23, 2009) was a Belgium, Belgian Catholic Church, Catholic theologian born in Antwerp. He taught at the Radboud University Nijmegen, Catholic University in Nijmegen ...
was repeatedly condemned by the Congregation and even by Pope Paul VI himself (encyclical '' Mysterium fidei'') due to his heterodox views about
Christology In Christianity, Christology is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...
and the
eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...
. References to modernism continue to be frequent among conservative and
traditionalist Catholics Traditionalist Catholicism is a movement that emphasizes beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions and presentations of teaching associated with the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). ...
.


Notable persons involved in the Modernist controversy

* John Ireland (1838–1918), Archbishop of Saint Paul. Considered one of the leaders of Americanism, he later turned against modernism. *
Franz Xaver Kraus Franz Xaver Kraus (18 September 1840 – 28 December 1901) was a German Catholic priest, and ecclesiastical and art historian. Early life Franz Xaver Kraus was born in Trier in 1840. He completed his studies in the Trier gymnasium, began his the ...
(1840–1901), church historian, "Liberal Catholic" *
Louis Duchesne Louis Marie Olivier Duchesne (; 13 September 1843 – 21 April 1922) was a French priest, philology, philologist, teacher and a critical historian of Christianity and Roman Catholic liturgy and institutions. Life Descended from a family of Bri ...
(1843–1922), priest and philologist; one of his books was placed on the * Herman Schell (1850–1906), German theologian * Alfred Loisy (1857–1940), priest and theologian, excommunicated for his views in 1908 and his ''opera omnia'' were placed on the . Later became an agnostic and a secular scholar at the . * Joseph Turmel (1859-1943), priest and church historian, excommunicated in 1930 and his opera omnia placed on the ''Index'' in 1931. *
George Tyrrell George Tyrrell (6 February 1861 – 15 July 1909) 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 the ...
(1861–1909), expelled from the
Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
in 1906 for his views and excommunicated in 1908 * Maude Petre (1863–1942), English nun, close friend of Tyrrell, and a participant in the modernist movement as well as one of its first historians and critics; some of her works were placed on the ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' *Salvatore Minocchi (1869–1943), priest and biblical scholar, suspended ''a divinis'' in 1908, later left the priesthood and became an agnostic. * Pierre Batiffol (1861–1929), historian of dogma * Friedrich von Hügel (1852–1925), philosopher of religion * Wilfrid Ward (1856–1916), English essayist and biographer * Henri Bremond (1865–1933), French literary scholar, sometime Jesuit, and Catholic philosopher *
Joseph Schnitzer Joseph Schnitzer (15 June 1859 in Lauingen – 1 December 1939 in Munich) was a theologian. He started teaching at Munich University in 1902. Literary works * ''Quellen und Forschungen zur Geschichte Savonarolas'', 6 vols., 1902–1914 * ''Sa ...
(1859–1939), historian of dogma in Munich * Giovanni Semeria (1867–1931), Barnabite priest, preacher * Carl Muth (1867–1944), editor of the cultural and religious journal '' Hochland'' * Ernesto Buonaiuti (1881–1946), who as a scholar of the
history of Christianity The history of Christianity began with the life of Jesus, an itinerant Jewish preacher and teacher, who was Crucifixion of Jesus, crucified in Jerusalem . His followers proclaimed that he was the Incarnation (Christianity), incarnation of Go ...
and of religious philosophy, was a leader in the Italian modernist movement and was excommunicated in 1925


In popular culture

* Irish comedian Dermot Morgan parodied the Modernist trend of the Post-
Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilic ...
Catholic Church in Ireland The Catholic Church in Ireland, or Irish Catholic Church, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Holy See. With 3.5 million members (in the Republic of Ireland), it is the largest Christian church in Ireland. In ...
while appearing on the
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
television show '' The Live Mike'' between 1979 and 1982. On the show, Morgan played a range of comic characters, including Father Trendy, a trying-to-be-cool
hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...
-
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
, who wore an Elvis haircut, a leather jacket and who was given to drawing ludicrous parallels between religious and non-religious life in two-minute 'sermons' to the camera. Morgan created the character as a
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...
of Father Brian D'Arcy, a left-wing
Passionist The Passionists, officially named the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (), abbreviated CP, are a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men, founded by Paul of the Cross in 1720, with a special emphasis on a ...
priest who was trying to be the chaplain to the show business community in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. * In the episode "The Bishop's Gambit" of the British TV series ''
Yes Minister ''Yes Minister'' is a British political satire sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. Comprising three seven-episode series, it was first transmitted on BBC2 from 1980 to 1984. A sequel, ''Yes, Prime Minister'', ran for 16 episodes f ...
'' (season 1, episode 7), Prime Minister
Jim Hacker James George Hacker, Baron Hacker of Islington, , BSc ( Lond.), Hon. D.Phil. ( Oxon.) is a fictional character in the 1980s British sitcom ''Yes Minister'' and ''Yes, Prime Minister''. He is the minister of the fictional Department of Adminis ...
discusses candidates for an Anglican bishopric with Cabinet Secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby. The Church Commissioners have suggested a candidate who is a "modernist". Sir Humphrey later explains to the PM that "modernist" is ecclesiastical code for an
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
and
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
Anglican clergyman.


See also

*
Americanism (heresy) 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. In the 1890s, European "continental conservative" clerics detected signs of modernism o ...
*
Biblical criticism Modern Biblical criticism (as opposed to pre-Modern criticism) is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible without appealing to the supernatural. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical c ...
*
Désiré-Joseph Mercier Désiré Félicien François Joseph Mercier (21 November 1851 – 23 January 1926) was a Belgian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Mechelen from 1906 until his death in 1926. A Thomist scholar, he had several of his works translated i ...
* Integrism * Joseph Malègue *
Liberal Catholicism Liberal Catholicism was a current of thought within the Catholic Church influenced by classical liberalism and promoting the separation of church and state, freedom of religion in the civic arena, expanded suffrage, and broad-based education. ...
*
Nouvelle Théologie The ( English: ''New Theology'') 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'' (French for ''return to the ...
*
Spirit of Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...


References

Notes Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **Cf. * * * * * * *


External links

* Bourmaud, Fr. Dominique
''One Hundred Years of Modernism: A Genealogy of the Principles of the Second Vatican Council''
* — Fr. Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P., explains why Thomism is the solution to the present crisis of Modernism in the Church.
''Providentissimus Deus''
Leo XIII, 18 November 1893

Pius X, 3 July 1907

Pius X, 8 September 1907

Essays with bibliography arranged by subjects, headed "Note: Most of the works dealing with Modernism are sympathetic to the Modernists, and students should maintain a critical stance towards the assigned readings."

* {{Authority control Catholicism-related controversies