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Given by His
Holiness 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 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, and these holy Gospels of God which I touch with my hand.
May God help us to keep this oath until death. Pray for the Restoration to
come. |
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