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PDF versionBlast From the Past: Pope St. Pius X
by Michael Sean Winters on Sep. 03, 2010
A final section from the RCIA lectures:
I. The papacy of Pope Pius X accomplished many good things, such as an increased focus on CCD, a liturgical renewal and a commitment to more frequent reception of the Eucharist. As well, Pius X was a saintly man whose piety impressed all who met him. But, his reign was a disaster in many ways and especially for the life of the mind. He issued an encyclical condemning modernism which he called the sum of all heresies. He instituted an oath against modernism that all university professors took. And he indulged a secretive organization, the Sodalitium Pianum, which undertook witchhunts against those it considered suspect. Among those considered suspect by the group were two future Popes, Benedict XV and John XXIII. The only notable American Catholic magazine, the Ecclesiastical Review, was shut down. American Catholic academic life went into a free-fall precisely when it was needed to challenge the increasing influence of John Dewey’s pragmatism. In the great debate between evolutionary theorists and evangelicals that resulted in the famous Scopes trial, the Church was a bystander.
Just as problematic, during Pius’s reign – 1903-1914 – appointments to prominent American dioceses were frequently done based on the influence of a Roman patron, a clear violation of the canon law then in place which required the input of local clergy and other bishops. The most prominent such case was that of William Henry O’Connell who got himself named Bishop of Portland in 1901 and then as coadjutor archbishop of Boston in 1906. He would be named a cardinal in 1911 along with James Farley of New York, giving America three cardinals. When Gibbons heard of the honor accorded to O’Connell, he wept. Archbishop Riordan of San Francisco said O’Connell’s promotion was the worst thing to happen to religion in a century.
The hierarchy often seems to
The hierarchy often seems to confuse fanaticism with piety. They all too often seem to believe that the greatest "virtue" is blind obedience, and that the most fanatical and most obedient are the most faithful. They are not.
God gave us a mind to think with. The Rad-Trads of today seem to think that they can turn back the clock, erase Vatican II and go back to the "good old days" of the early 20th century. They cannot. We will get another John XXIII and we will finally enter the 21st century.
Modernity is and has always
Modernity is and has always been, that slippery slope to atheism. Thank God for Pope Pius X.
I hate to tell you, but Paul
I hate to tell you, but Paul Vi expressly reaffirmed the condemnations of modernism as did John Paul II in Fides et ratio. Modernism is a technical term for a real collection of theological errors...it does not mean modern theology or being modern. I suggest you check out Pascendi,the holy fathers actual encycylical on the topic. It is much more complicated than what appears here.
I have not read Randy Engel's
I have not read Randy Engel's THE RITE OF SODOMY,but I understand it identifies Cardinal O'Connell as the founder of a homosexual underground that has infested the American hierarchy with hypocrisy ever since.Was that what made Cardinal Gibbons weep,or was there some other issue?...and who was the 'Roman patron" who set O'Connell's career on its way?(Note that the Portland appointment would have been made by Leo XIII).
The history of the American
The history of the American Catholic hierarchy, with few exceptions, is just one long list of impieties and stories of hidden scandals. While Rome looks away in indifference, or gives it's unstinting support.
A breakup of the hierarchical stranglehold on the life of the Church and a turning to the "royal priesthood" of the People of God to remedy the Church's current ills is urgently needed now.
Very informative article Mr.
Very informative article Mr. Winters which should make many Catholics aware that the Popes and the Vatican have not always been perfect. I am afraid that the current leadership in the Vatican and in the USCCB is taking the same line of thinking about the current conservative political atmosphere today. It appears to me that some of our bishops in this country would like to see the Church in a more active parternship with the conservative republican party. In sspite of the criticism from the Vatican and Archbishop Chaput, our Constitution has allowed over the past 200 years for the growth of religion in our pluralistic society. Thanks you for many enlightening articles.
You may enjoy this St. Pius X
You may enjoy this St. Pius X Canonization time-line, as baseline reference:
http://www.popes-and-papacy.com/wordpress/?p=607
Thank you.
"Archbishop Riordan of San
"Archbishop Riordan of San Francisco said O’Connell’s promotion was the worst thing to happen to religion in a century."
How about when Bernard Law was named Archbishop of Boston and then given a seat on the Bishops committee in Rome so he could choose new American bishops.? That had to be worse.
O'Connell ranks with Raymond
O'Connell ranks with Raymond Burke and Cardinal McIntyre of Los Angeles (1950s and 60s) among the most reactionary archbishops ever in the US. I understand that O'Connell opposed suffrage for women, or restrictions on child labor.
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