From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For a history and broad definition of the
term, see
Modernism.
For the period in sociology beginning with the
industrialization, see
Modernity.
Modernism refers to theological opinions
expressed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but with
influence reaching into the 21st century, which are characterized
by a break with the past. Catholic modernists form an amorphous
group. The term "modernist" appears in Pope Pius X's 1907 encyclical Pascendi Dominici
gregis. Modernists, and what are now termed
"Neo-Modernists," generally, do not openly use this label in
describing themselves.
Modernists came to prominence in French and British intellectual
circles and, to a lesser extent, in Italy.[1] The
Modernist movement was influenced by Protestant theologians
and clergy, starting with the Tübingen school in
the mid-19th century. Some modernists, however, such as George Tyrrell,
would disagree with this analogy; Tyrrell saw himself as loyal to
the unity of the Church, and disliked liberal Protestantism (Hales
1958).
Forms of Modernism in the
Church
Modernism in the Catholic Church might be described under the
following broad headings:
- Rationalist approach to the Bible. The rationalism that was
characteristic of the Enlightenment took a proto-materialistic view
of miracles and the historicity of biblical narratives. This
approach sought to interpret the Bible by focusing on the text
while simultaneously ignoring what the Church fathers had
traditionally taught about it. This method was readily accepted by
Protestants and Anglicans. It was an expected offshoot of Martin
Luther's sola
scriptura, which asserts that scripture is the highest
authority, and that one can rely on it alone regarding all things
pertaining to salvation and a Christian life.
- Secularism
and other Enlightenment ideals. The
ideal of secularism can be briefly summarised as holding that the
best course of action in politics and other civic fields is that
which flows from disparate groups’ and religions’ common
understanding of the “good”. By implication, Church and State
should be separated, and the laws of the state should generally
only cover the “common ground” of beliefs between the various
religious groups that might be present — for example the
prohibition of murder, etc. From the secularists’ point of view, it
was possible to distinguish between political ideas and structures
that were religious and those that were not. Catholic theologians
in the mainstream argued that such a distinction was not possible,
that all aspects of society had to be organized with the final goal
of heaven in mind. This was a
direct counter to the thread of Humanism that had been in the forefront of
intellectual thought since the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution.
- Modern philosophical systems. Philosophers
such as Kant and
Henri Bergson
inspired the mainstream of Modernist thought. One of the main
currents was the attempt to synthesize the vocabularies/epistemologies/metaphysics and other features of certain
modern systems of philosophy with Catholicism, in much the same way
the Scholastics earlier attempted to synthesize Platonic and Aristotlean philosophy with Catholicism.
As more naturalistic or scientific studies of history appeared,
a sense of historicism suggested that ideas are
generally so conditioned by the age in which they are expressed;
thus modernists generally believed that most dogmas or teachings of
the Church were novelties which arose because of specific
historical circumstances throughout the history of the Church.
Rationalism and textual criticism downplayed the possible role of
the miraculous, and the philosophical systems in vogue at the time
taught that the existence of God and
other things could never be known (see Agnosticism). Theology, formerly the “queen of the sciences”
was dethroned. (Wilkinson 2002) So it was argued that religion must
be primarily caused by and centered on the feelings of believers.
This bolsters the claims of secularism in weakening any position
that supported favoring one religion over the other in the state
(since, if there isn’t a scientific and reasonable assumption that
one's religion is right, it would be a much easier to organize
society based on the assumption that no particular religion is
right).
Evolution of
dogmas
The final overall teaching of Modernism, is that dogmas (what is
taught by the Church and what its members are required to believe)
can evolve over time, rather than being the same for all time. This
aspect of thought was what made Modernism unique in the history of
heresies in the Church.
Previously, a heretic (someone who believed and taught something
different from what the rest of the church believed) would either
claim that he was right and the rest of the church was wrong
because he had received a new revelation from God, or that he had
understood the true teaching of God which was previously understood
but then lost. Both of those scenarios almost necessarily led to an
organizational separation away from the Church (schism) or
the offender being ejected from the Church (excommunication). With this new idea
that doctrines evolve, it was possible for the modernist to believe
that the old teachings of the Church and his new seemingly
contradictory teachings were both correct — each had their time and
place. This system allows almost any type of new belief that the
modernist might want to introduce, and for this reason Modernism
was labelled the "synthesis of all heresies" by Pope Pius X.
Social/anthropological
causes of Modernism
Catholic historians and theologians have social explanations as
to why Modernism developed as it did and became so popular:
- Working with the modern philosophical systems was popular. It
allowed theologians to work with non-Catholic philosopher
contemporaries, and not to be looked down upon as "ancient" for
their frequently exclusively Scholastic philosophy.
- In the Americas, especially in the United States, priests, bishops and
theologians were surrounded by a culture and laity committed to the
concept of secularism. Anti-Catholic uprisings during the colonial
period and later caused a desire for priests and bishops to “fit
in” and to “prove their loyalty to the American way”. Documents
such as the Syllabus of Errors (which
condemned freedom of religion and separation of church and state)
were largely ignored by these priests and bishops. The modernistic
trend of injecting secular values into Catholicism itself would
allow for a much smoother relationship in these areas. Also, some
argue, the downplaying of the doctrines taught by the Church
contrary to American culture led them to be virtually unknown by
succeeding generations of Catholics, causing newly ordained priests
and bishops almost automatically to have secularist beliefs.
- The "evolution of dogmas" theory (see Development of doctrine), much
like certain interpretations of being saved sola fide (“by
faith alone”), allows for a constant updating of standards of
morality. As moral standards shifted heavily during the 20th
century, previously a Catholic would have had to deny his faith to
engage in some of the actions of his contemporaries. Now, by citing
the theory that dogmas can change, it was possible to “update”
Catholic morality while
not being concerned with possible contradictions.
Official Church response
In 1893, Pope Leo
XIII’s encyclical Providentissimus Deus
affirmed in principle the legitimacy of Biblical criticism only
insofar as it was pursued in a spirit of faith. In 1903 Leo
established a Pontifical Biblical Commission to oversee those
studies and ensure that they were conducted with respect for the
Catholic doctrines on the inspiration and interpretation of
scripture.
Pope Pius X, who succeeded Leo, was the first to identify
Modernism as a movement. He frequently condemned both its aims and
ideas, and was deeply concerned by the ability of Modernism to
allow its adherents to believe themselves strict Catholics while
having a markedly different belief as to what that meant (a
consequence of the notion of evolution of dogma). In July 1907 the
Holy Office published the document Lamentabili Sane Exitu, a
sweeping condemnation which distinguished sixty-five propositions
as a Modernist Heresy. In September of the same year, Pius X
promulgated an encyclical Pascendi dominici gregis which
enjoined a compulsory Oath Against Modernism on all
Catholic bishops, priests and teachers. The oath was abolished by
Pope Paul VI in 1967.
To ensure enforcement of these decisions, Monsignor Umberto Benigni
organized, through his personal contacts with theologians, an
unofficial group of censors who would report to him those thought
to be teaching condemned doctrine. This group was called the Sodalitium
Pianum, i.e. Fellowship of Pius (X), which in France was known
as La Sapinière. Its frequently overzealous and
clandestine methods hindered rather than helped the Church's combat
against Modernism.[2]
Since Pope Paul
VI, most church authorities have largely dropped the term
"modernism", perhaps because it is inherently ambiguous and can
possibly be confused with the modernist movement
in art, instead preferring to identify more precise errors, such as
secularism, liberalism or relativism. The term has
however enjoyed a revival amongst Traditionalists and
Conservative critics within the Catholic Church.
Some
Catholic Modernists
Major
figures
Early
modernists
Other, less public
modernists
Suspected
of Modernism
See also
Notes
External
links
- Providentissimus Deus, Leo
XIII, 18 November 1893
- Lamentabili sane, Pius X,
3 July 1907
- Pascendi Dominici gregis,
Pius X, 8 September 1907
- International Catholic
University: James Hitchcock, Introduction to Modernism: 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.”
- Fr. Michael Morton, “Catholic
Modernism (1896-1914)”
- A. Vermeersch, “Modernism”
in the Catholic Encyclopedia (1911)
References
- Acton, Lord, The History of Freedom and Other Essays
An outsider’s criticism.
- Ilaria Biagioli, Alfonso Botti, Rocco Cerrato (eds), Romolo
Murri e i murrismi in Italia e in Europa cent'anni dopo,
Urbino, QuattroVenti, 2005
- Alfonso Botti, Rocco Cerrato (eds), Il modernismo tra
cristianità e secolarizzazione, Urbino, QuattroVenti,
2001
- Poulat, É. 1979. Histoire, dogme et critique dans la crise
moderniste. Tournai. Casterman.
- Altholz, Josef L. 1962.
The Liberal Catholic Movement in England
- Hales, E.E.Y., 1954. Pio Nono: A Study
in European Politics and Religion in the Nineteenth Century
(Doubleday)
- Gauthier, P. 1988. Newman et Blondel. Tradition et
développement du dogme. Paris. Le Cerf.
- Hales, 1958. The Catholic Church in the Modern World
(Doubleday)
- Izquierdo, C. 1990. Blondel y la crisis modernista.
Análisis de « Historia y dogma ». Pamplona. Ed.
Univ. De Navarra.
- Jodock, Darrell, editor, 2002. Catholicism Contending with
Modernity (Cambridge University Press)
- Loome, Thomas Michael Liberal Catholicism, Reform
Catholicism, Modernism: A Contribution to a New Orientation in
Modernist Research[1].
- O’Connell, Marvin, Critics on Trial : An Introduction
to the Catholic Modernist Crisis, Catholic University of
America Press, Washington DC, 1994.
- Virgoulay, R. 1980. Blondel et le modernisme. La
philosophie de l’action et les sciences religieuses
(1896-1913). Paris. Le Cerf.
- Reviewed by Fr. John
Parsons
- Sinke Guimarães, Atila (1997) (in
English). In the Murky Waters of Vatican II. Metairie:
MAETA. ISBN
1889168068.
- Amerio, Romano (1996) (in English).
Iota Unum. Kansas City: Sarto House. ISBN
0963903217.
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