Condemnation of Twelve Propositions pertaining to the Philosophy of Action

Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office

Condemnation of 12 Propositions pertaining to the Philosophy of Action

December 1, 1924

Students of apologetics will be interested in the following reply of the Holy Office to a series of questions proposed regarding the doctrinal correctness of certain propositions held by some modern teachers in philosophy and theology. The twelve propositions here censured as untenable on Catholic scholastic grounds have in substance been condemned as contrary to right faith and morals by the doctrinal authority of the [First] Vatican Council, but are here separately emphasized to meet definite errors. [underlining added – English translation follows below]

I.

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Pope Pius XII, Allocution “Magnificate Dominum” (1954)

Allocution of Pope Pius XII

Magnificate Dominum (1954)

Address of His Holiness Pope Pius XII to Cardinals, Archbishops, and Bishops on the Catholic Church and her Powers of Sanctifying and Ruling, Nov. 2, 1954

“Magnify the Lord with me; together let us extoll His name” (Ps. 33,4), for by a new favor from Heaven has Our desire been fulfilled, and at the same time We rejoice at the sight of you, beloved sons and venerable brothers, gathered before Us in such large numbers. And the consideration of the new liturgical feast of Mary, Mother of God and Queen of Heaven and Earth, which We just recently solemnly proclaimed, swells Our holy joy; for it is only fitting for her children to rejoice when they see an increase of honor accorded their mother.… READ MORE

Pope Pius VI, Decree “Super Soliditate” (1786)

Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius VI

Super Soliditate (1786)

Bull of Pope Pius VI, issued on November 28, 1786, condemning the errors of Johann Valentin Eybel (1741-1805), also known as “Febronianism”

That the Church was established by Jesus Christ on the solid foundation of the rock (cf. Mt 16:18); that Peter, above all the others, was chosen by the singular favor of Jesus Christ, so that, having the power of his Vicar on earth, he became the Prince of the Apostolic College and received, in consequence, for himself and for his successors to the end of time, the charge and the supreme authority to feed the flock (cf.… READ MORE

Pope St. Pius X, Address “Con Vera Soddisfazione” (1909)

Address of Pope Saint Pius X

Con Vera Soddisfazione (1909)

From Pope Pius X in Audience on May 10, 1909, to Youths attached to Catholic Universities, assembled after the second Convention in Rome

It is with genuine joy that I welcome the sentiments and expressions of devotion and reverence toward this Apostolic See which you have declared to me in your name and that of your companions. And these [sentiments] are all the more dear to me because they are expressed by young people who, dedicated to studying in order to attain the goal of true knowledge, declare themselves to be followers of Catholic doctrine and recognize the necessity of uniting in a holy union these two daughters of the same Father, reason and faith, by which we all live: these two suns, which shine in the sky of our souls; these two forces, which constitute the beginning and the end of our grandeur; these two wings which rise up to the knowledge of all truth: in a single word, reason, which is the eye of man who sees, aided by the eye of God, which is faith.… READ MORE

Pope St. Pius X, Allocution “Accogliamo Colla Più Viva Compiacenza” (1907)

 Allocution of Pope Saint Pius X

Accogliamo Colla Più Viva Compiacenza (1907)

Allocution which Pope Pius X delivered to newly-created Cardinals on Apr. 17, 1907, against Religious Neo-Reformism

We welcome with the most vivid delight the expressions of devotion and filial love for us and for this Apostolic See, which you have shown to us in your name and in the name of your most beloved brothers for the honor of the purple to which you were called [footnote: Card. Aristide Cavallari, Patriarch of Venice]. In accepting your gratitude, nevertheless, we have also to say that the same preeminent virtues by which you are adorned, the works of zeal which you have performed, and the other distinguished services which in different fields you have rendered to the Church, have made you worthy to be included in the register of Our Sacred Senate. … READ MORE

Pope St. Pius X, Allocution “Festivitas Dominicae Passionis” (1907)

Allocution of Pope Saint Pius X

Festivitas Dominicae Passionis (1907)

Allocution of His Holiness Pope Pius X
given to Cardinals gathered in Consistory on Apr. 15, 1907,
on the mournful condition of the Church in France

Venerable Brothers,

The liturgical remembrance of the Lord’s Passion, to which we lately attended amid transports of spiritual joys, warned us, with a repeated lesson as it were, that the Church, the Bride of Christ, in pursuing the work of mankind’s regeneration and in the struggle that she has on that account against the world of darkness, is summoned not to comfort on this earth, but to hardships and troubles.… READ MORE

Pope Pius IX, Allocution “Jamdudum Cernimus” (1861)

Allocution of Pope Pius IX

Iamdudum Cernimus (1861)

Allocution of His Holiness Pope Pius IX to Cardinals gathered in private Consistory on March 18, 1861

from which the 1864 Syllabus of Errors draws condemned propositions 37, 61, and 80

1. Now after a long time We see, Venerable Brothers, by what a truly lamentable conflict civil society is being continually disturbed, especially in this our most unfortunate age, on account of principles alternatively contending between truth and error, between virtue and vice, between light and darkness. For instance, on the one hand, some uphold certain beliefs of, as they term it, “modern civilization.”… READ MORE

The Catholic Teaching on the Papacy

The Catholic Teaching on the Papacy

A Collection of Quotes from Magisterial Documents

In our day there are a lot of people who call themselves, and mean to be, traditional Roman Catholics. Yet a great many of them do not hold to the traditional Catholic understanding of the Papacy, either because they do not know it or because they unhappily accept the “Popes” after Pius XII as valid and legitimate but know that they cannot submit to them without abandoning the traditional Catholic Faith. The tragic irony in the latter case is that by denying the Catholic teaching on the Papacy, they are abandoning the Faith just as much.… READ MORE

Pope Pius XII, Holy Office Instruction “Contra Doctrinam” (1956)

Instruction from the Holy Office under Pope Pius XII condemning “Situation Ethics”

Contra Doctrinam (1956)

Instruction on “Situation Ethics” to All Ordinaries and to Teachers in Seminaries, in Athenaeums, or those Teaching in Universities of Studies, and to Lecturers in Houses of Religious Studies
February 2, 1956

Contrary to the moral doctrine and its application that is traditional in the Catholic Church, there has begun to be spread abroad in many regions, even among Catholics, an ethical system that generally goes by the name of a certain “Situation Ethics,” and which, they claim, does not rest upon the principles of objective ethics (which ultimately is rooted in “Being” itself), rather, it is not merely subject to the same limit as objective ethics, but transcends it.

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Pope Pius XII, Address “Nous Vous Souhaitons” (1953)

Address of Pope Pius XII

Nous Vous Souhaitons (1953)

Address to the Participants of the International Congress on Psychotherapy and Clinical Psychology
April 13, 1953

1. We greet you, dear sons and daughters, who have come from all parts and are gathered together in Rome to listen to learned expositions and discuss questions of psychotherapy and clinical psychology. Your Congress has ended, and, in order to guarantee its results and the success of your research and future activities, you have come to receive the blessing of the Vicar of Christ. Very gladly do We respond to your desire and We avail Ourselves of this occasion to address to you a word of encouragement and to give you some advice.

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Pope Pius XII, Address “Soyez Les Bienvenues” (1952)

Address of Pope Pius XII

Soyez les Bienvenues (1952)

Address to the Participants in the Congress of the World Federation of Catholic Young Women
April 18, 1952

The Theme of the Congress

1. We welcome you, beloved daughters of the World Federation of Catholic Young Women. We greet you with the same pleasure, the same joy, and the same affection with which, given years ago, We received you at Castel Gandolfo, on the occasion of the great international meeting of Catholic Women.

The impetus and the wise counsels given you by this Congress, as well as the words which We addressed to you on that occasion have not remained without fruit.

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Pope Pius XII, Radio Message “La Famiglia” (1952)

Radio Message of Pope Pius XII

La Famiglia (1952)

Radio Message on the Occasion of “Family Day”
March 23, 1952

1. The family is the cradle of the birth and development of a new life, which needs to be cared for and nurtured, lest it perish,: this right and fundamental duty given and imposed immediately by God upon parents.

The content and end of education in the natural order is the development of the child to become a complete man: the content and end of Christian education is the formation of the new human being, reborn in baptism, as a perfect Christian.

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Pope Pius XII, Address “Vegliare con Sollecitudine” (1951)

Address of Pope Pius XII

Vegliare con Sollecitudine (1951)

Address to the Italian Association of Catholic Midwives
October 29, 1951

INTRODUCTION.

The midwife’s Christian duty.

BELOVED DAUGHTERS, the object of your profession, the secret of its grandeur and its beauty lies in this, that you guard with care the silent, humble cradle wherein Almighty God has infused an immortal soul into the seed provided by the parents, and this you do in order to give your professional assistance to the mother and to prepare a successful birth for the child she carried in her womb.

When you reflect on the wonderful collaboration of the parents, of nature and of God, as a result of which a new human being is born to the image and likeness of the Creator (see Genesis 1:26-27), you cannot help valuing at its proper worth the precious co-operation you contribute to an event of such importance.

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Pope Pius XII, Allocution “Quamvis Inquieti” (1946)

Allocution of Pope Pius XII

Quamvis Inquieti (1946)

Allocution of His Holiness Pope Pius XII to the Fathers of the Society of Jesus, Delegates in General Congregation XXIX, Sep. 17, 1946

Now there is nothing that calls us more urgently and pressingly than to restore the authority of religion and Christian moral discipline with due honor and vigor. Alas, into what times we have fallen because of the negligence of those immortal goods given to us by God! Wherever one looks one sees those who are totally ignorant of the Catholic faith, even the rudiments of religion itself. We see those who see nothing impious in crimes and license, those who disregard even the most elementary norms of morality and justice.… READ MORE

Pope Pius IX, Holy Office Letter to English Bishops on Christian Unity (1864)

Letter from the Holy Office under Pope Pius IX condemning false attempts to procure Christian Unity

“Apostolicae Sedi Nuntiatum”

September 16, 1864

A Letter of the Supreme Holy Roman and Universal Inquisition to all the English Bishops

It has been notified to the Apostolic See that some Catholics and even ecclesiastics have given their names to a Society established in London in the year 1857, ‘for promoting’ (as it is called) ‘the unity of Christendom;’ and that several articles have been published in the daily papers signed with the names of Catholics, in approval of this Society, or supposed to have been written by ecclesiastics in its favour.… READ MORE