Syllabus of Errors
Pope Pius IX
Note: The following are pointed out as errors by the Holy Father. The authority he
then cites is the Magisterial teaching that is authority against that error!
I. PANTHEISM, NATURALISM AND ABSOLUTE RATIONALISM
1. There exists no Supreme, all-wise, all-provident Divine Being, distinct from the
universe, and God is identical with the nature of things, and is, therefore, subject
to changes. In effect, God is produced in man and in the world, and all things are
God and have the very substance of God, and God is one and the same thing
with the world, and, therefore, spirit with matter, necessity with liberty, good with
evil, justice with injustice.--Allocution "Maxima quidem," June 9, 1862.
2. All action of God upon man and the world is to be denied.-- Ibid.
3. Human reason, without any reference whatsoever to God, is the sole arbiter of
truth and falsehood, and of good and evil; it is law to itself, and suffices, by its
natural force, to secure the welfare of men and of nations.--Ibid.
4. All the truths of religion proceed from the innate strength of human reason;
hence reason is the ultimate standard by which man can and ought to arrive at
the knowledge of all truths of every kind.--Ibid. and Encyclical "Qui pluribus," Nov.
9, 1846, etc.
5. Divine revelation is imperfect, and therefore subject to a continual and indefinite
progress, corresponding with the advancement of human reason.--Ibid.
6. The faith of Christ is in opposition to human reason and divine revelation not
only is not useful, but is even hurtful to the perfection of man.--Ibid.
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.
II. MODERATE RATIONALISM
8. As human reason is placed on a level with religion itself, so theological must
be treated in the same manner as philosophical sciences.--Allocution "Singulari
quadam," Dec. 9, 1854.
9. All the dogmas of the Christian religion are indiscriminately the object of
natural science or philosophy, and human reason, enlightened solely in an
historical way, is able, by its own natural strength and principles, to attain to the
true science of even the most abstruse dogmas; provided only that such dogmas
be proposed to reason itself as its object.--Letters to the Archbishop of Munich,
"Gravissimas inter," Dec. 11, 1862, and "Tuas libenter," Dec. 21, 1863.
10. As the philosopher is one thing, and philosophy another, so it is the right and
duty of the philosopher to subject himself to the authority which he shall have
proved to be true; but philosophy neither can nor ought to submit to any such
authority.--Ibid., Dec. 11, 1862.
11. The Church not only ought never to pass judgment on philosophy, but ought
to tolerate the errors of philosophy, leaving it to correct itself.--Ibid., Dec. 21,
1863.
12. The decrees of the Apostolic See and of the Roman congregations impede
the true progress of science.--Ibid.
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.--Ibid.
14. Philosophy is to be treated without taking any account of supernatural
revelation.--Ibid.
III. INDIFFERENTISM, LATITUDINARIANISM
15. Every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the
light of reason, he shall consider true.-- Allocution "Maxima quidem," June 9,
1862; Damnatio "Multiplices inter," June 10, 1851.
16. Man may, in the observance of any religion whatever, find the way of eternal
salvation, and arrive at eternal salvation.-- Encyclical "Qui pluribus," Nov. 9, 1846.
17. Good hope at least is to be entertained of the eternal salvation of all those
who are not at all in the true Church of Christ.--Encyclical "Quanto conficiamur,"
Aug. 10, 1863, etc.
18. Protestantism is nothing more than another form of the same true Christian
religion, in which form it is given to please God equally as in the Catholic
Church.--Encyclical "Noscitis," Dec. 8, 1849.
IV. SOCIALISM, COMMUNISM, SECRET SOCIETIES, BIBLICAL
SOCIETIES, CLERICO-LIBERAL SOCIETIES
Pests of this kind are frequently reprobated in the severest terms in the
Encyclical "Qui pluribus," Nov. 9, 1846, Allocution "Quibus quantisque," April 20,
1849, Encyclical "Noscitis et nobiscum," Dec. 8, 1849, Allocution "Singulari
quadam," Dec. 9, 1854, Encyclical "Quanto conficiamur," Aug. 10, 1863.
V. ERRORS CONCERNING THE CHURCH AND HER RIGHTS
19. The Church is not a true and perfect society, entirely free- nor is she
endowed with proper and perpetual rights of her own, conferred upon her by her
Divine Founder; but it appertains to the civil power to define what are the rights of
the Church, and the limits within which she may exercise those rights.--
Allocution "Singulari quadam," Dec. 9, 1854, etc.
20. The ecclesiastical power ought not to exercise its authority without the
permission and assent of the civil government.-- Allocution "Meminit
unusquisque," Sept. 30, 1861.
21. The Church has not the power of defining dogmatically that the religion of the
Catholic Church is the only true religion.-- Damnatio "Multiplices inter," June 10,
1851.
22. The obligation by which Catholic teachers and authors are strictly bound is
confined to those things only which are proposed to universal belief as dogmas of
faith by the infallible judgment of the Church.--Letter to the Archbishop of Munich,
"Tuas libenter," Dec. 21, 1863.
23. Roman pontiffs and ecumenical councils have wandered outside the limits of
their powers, have usurped the rights of princes, and have even erred in defining
matters of faith and morals.--Damnatio "Multiplices inter," June 10, 1851.
24. The Church has not the power of using force, nor has she any temporal
power, direct or indirect.--Apostolic Letter "Ad Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851.
25. Besides the power inherent in the episcopate, other temporal power has been
attributed to it by the civil authority granted either explicitly or tacitly, which on
that account is revocable by the civil authority whenever it thinks fit.--Ibid.
26. The Church has no innate and legitimate right of acquiring and possessing
property.--Allocution "Nunquam fore," Dec. 15, 1856; Encyclical "Incredibili,"
Sept. 7, 1863.
27. The sacred ministers of the Church and the Roman pontiff are to be
absolutely excluded from every charge and dominion over temporal affairs.--
Allocution "Maxima quidem," June 9, 1862.
28. It is not lawful for bishops to publish even letters Apostolic without the
permission of Government.--Allocution "Nunquam fore," Dec. 15, 1856.
29. Favours granted by the Roman pontiff ought to be considered null, unless
they have been sought for through the civil government.--Ibid.
30. The immunity of the Church and of ecclesiastical persons derived its origin
from civil law.--Damnatio "Multiplices inter," June 10, 1851.
31. The ecclesiastical forum or tribunal for the temporal causes, whether civil or
criminal, of clerics, ought by all means to be abolished, even without consulting
and against the protest of the Holy See.--Allocution "Nunquam fore," Dec. 15,
1856; Allocution "Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852.
32. The personal immunity by which clerics are exonerated from military
conscription and service in the army may be abolished without violation either of
natural right or equity. Its abolition is called for by civil progress, especially in a
society framed on the model of a liberal government.--Letter to the Bishop of
Monreale "Singularis nobisque," Sept. 29, 1864.
33. It does not appertain exclusively to the power of ecclesiastical jurisdiction by
right, proper and innate, to direct the teaching of theological questions.--Letter to
the Archbishop of Munich, "Tuas libenter," Dec. 21, 1863.
34. The teaching of those who compare the Sovereign Pontiff to a prince, free and
acting in the universal Church, is a doctrine which prevailed in the Middle Ages.--
Apostolic Letter "Ad Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851.
35. There is nothing to prevent the decree of a general council, or the act of all
peoples, from transferring the supreme pontificate from the bishop and city of
Rome to another bishop and another city.--Ibid.
36. The definition of a national council does not admit of any subsequent
discussion, and the civil authority car assume this principle as the basis of its
acts.--Ibid.
37. National churches, withdrawn from the authority of the Roman pontiff and
altogether separated, can be established.-- Allocution "Multis gravibusque," Dec.
17, 1860.
38. The Roman pontiffs have, by their too arbitrary conduct, contributed to the
division of the Church into Eastern and Western.--Apostolic Letter "Ad
Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851.
VI. ERRORS ABOUT CIVIL SOCIETY, CONSIDERED BOTH IN
ITSELF AND IN ITS RELATION TO THE CHURCH
39. The State, as being the origin and source of all rights, is endowed with a
certain right not circumscribed by any limits.-- Allocution "Maxima quidem," June
9, 1862.
40. The teaching of the Catholic Church is hostile to the well- being and interests
of society.--Encyclical "Qui pluribus," Nov. 9, 1846; Allocution "Quibus
quantisque," April 20, 1849.
41. The civil government, even when in the hands of an infidel sovereign, has a
right to an indirect negative power over religious affairs. It therefore possesses not
only the right called that of "exsequatur," but also that of appeal, called
"appellatio ab abusu."--Apostolic Letter "Ad Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851
42. In the case of conflicting laws enacted by the two powers, the civil law
prevails.--Ibid.
43. The secular Dower has authority to rescind, declare and render null, solemn
conventions, commonly called concordats, entered into with the Apostolic See,
regarding the use of rights appertaining to ecclesiastical immunity, without the
consent of the Apostolic See, and even in spite of its protest.--Allocution "Multis
gravibusque," Dec. 17, 1860; Allocution "In consistoriali," Nov. 1, 1850.
44. The civil authority may interfere in matters relating to religion, morality and
spiritual government: hence, it can pass judgment on the instructions issued for
the guidance of consciences, conformably with their mission, by the pastors of
the Church. Further, it has the right to make enactments regarding the
administration of the divine sacraments, and the dispositions necessary for
receiving them.--Allocutions "In consistoriali," Nov. 1, 1850, and "Maxima
quidem," June 9, 1862.
45. The entire government of public schools in which the youth- of a Christian
state is educated, except (to a certain extent) in the case of episcopal
seminaries, may and ought to appertain to the civil power, and belong to it so far
that no other authority whatsoever shall be recognized as having any right to
interfere in the discipline of the schools, the arrangement of the studies, the
conferring of degrees, in the choice or approval of the teachers.-- Allocutions
"Quibus luctuosissimis," Sept. 5, 1851, and "In consistoriali," Nov. 1, 1850.
46. Moreover, even in ecclesiastical seminaries, the method of studies to be
adopted is subject to the civil authority.--Allocution "Nunquam fore," Dec. 15,
1856.
47. The best theory of civil society requires that popular schools open to children
of every class of the people, and, generally, all public institutes intended for
instruction in letters and philosophical sciences and for carrying on the education
of youth, should be freed from all ecclesiastical authority, control and
interference, and should be fully subjected to the civil and political power at the
pleasure of the rulers, and according to the standard of the prevalent opinions of
the age.--Epistle to the Archbishop of Freiburg, "Cum non sine," July 14, 1864.
48. Catholics may approve of the system of educating youth unconnected with
Catholic faith and the power of the Church, and which regards the knowledge of
merely natural things, and only, or at least primarily, the ends of earthly social
life.--Ibid.
49. The civil power may prevent the prelates of the Church and the faithful from
communicating freely and mutually with the Roman pontiff.--Allocution "Maxima
quidem," June 9, 1862.
50. Lay authority possesses of itself the right of presenting bishops, and may
require of them to undertake the administration of the diocese before they receive
canonical institution, and the Letters Apostolic from the Holy See.-- Allocution
"Nunquam fore," Dec. 15, 1856.
51. And, further, the lay government has the right of deposing bishops from their
pastoral functions, and is not bound to obey the Roman pontiff in those things
which relate to the institution of bishoprics and the appointment of bishops.--
Allocution "Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852, Damnatio "Multiplices inter," June
10, 1851.
52. Government can, by its own right, alter the age prescribed by the Church for
the religious profession of women and men; and may require of all religious
orders to admit no person to take solemn vows without its permission.--Allocution
"Nunquam fore," Dec. 15, 1856.
53. The laws enacted for the protection of religious orders and regarding their
rights and duties ought to be abolished; nay, more, civil Government may lend its
assistance to all who desire to renounce the obligation which they have
undertaken of a religious life, and to break their vows. Government may also
suppress the said religious orders, as likewise collegiate churches and simple
benefices, even those of advowson and subject their property and revenues to the
administration and pleasure of the civil power.--Allocutions "Acerbissimum,"
Sept. 27, 1852; "Probe memineritis," Jan. 22, 1855; "Cum saepe," July 26, 1855.
54. Kings and princes are not only exempt from the jurisdiction of the Church, but
are superior to the Church in deciding questions of jurisdiction.--Damnatio
"Multiplices inter," June 10, 1851.
55. The Church ought to be separated from the .State, and the State from the
Church.--Allocution "Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852.
VII. ERRORS CONCERNING NATURAL AND CHRISTIAN
ETHICS
56. Moral laws do not stand in need of the divine sanction, and it is not at all
necessary that human laws should be made conformable to the laws of nature
and receive their power of binding from God.--Allocution "Maxima quidem," June
9, 1862.
57. The science of philosophical things and morals and also civil laws may and
ought to keep aloof from divine and ecclesiastical authority.--Ibid.
58. No other forces are to be recognized except those which reside in matter,
and all the rectitude and excellence of morality ought to be placed in the
accumulation and increase of riches by every possible means, and the
gratification of pleasure.--Ibid.; Encyclical "Quanto conficiamur," Aug. 10, 1863.
59. Right consists in the material fact. All human duties are an empty word, and
all human facts have the force of right.-- Allocution "Maxima quidem," June 9,
1862.
60. Authority is nothing else but numbers and the sum total of material forces.--
Ibid.
61. The injustice of an act when successful inflicts no injury on the sanctity of
right.--Allocution "Jamdudum cernimus," March 18, 1861.
62. The principle of non-intervention, as it is called, ought to be proclaimed and
observed.--Allocution "Novos et ante," Sept. 28, 1860.
63. It is lawful to refuse obedience to legitimate princes, and even to rebel against
them.--Encyclical "Qui pluribus," Nov. 9, 1864; Allocution "Quibusque vestrum,"
Oct. 4, 1847; "Noscitis et Nobiscum," Dec. 8, 1849; Apostolic Letter "Cum
Catholica."
64. The violation of any solemn oath, as well as any wicked and flagitious action
repugnant to the eternal law, is not only not blamable but is altogether lawful and
worthy of the highest praise when done through love of country.--Allocution
"Quibus quantisque," April 20, 1849.
VIII. ERRORS CONCERNING CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE
65. The doctrine that Christ has raised marriage to the dignity of a sacrament
cannot be at all tolerated.--Apostolic Letter "Ad Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851.
66. The Sacrament of Marriage is only a something accessory to the contract
and separate from it, and the sacrament itself consists in the nuptial benediction
alone.--Ibid.
67. By the law of nature, the marriage tie is not indissoluble, and in many cases
divorce properly so called may be decreed by the civil authority.--Ibid.; Allocution
"Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852.
68. The Church has not the power of establishing diriment impediments of
marriage, but such a power belongs to the civil authority by which existing
impediments are to be removed.-- Damnatio "Multiplices inter," June 10, 1851.
69. In the dark ages the Church began to establish diriment impediments, not by
her own right, but by using a power borrowed from the State.--Apostolic Letter
"Ad Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851.
70. The canons of the Council of Trent, which anathematize those who dare to
deny to the Church the right of establishing diriment impediments, either are not
dogmatic or must be understood as referring to such borrowed power.--Ibid.
71. The form of solemnizing marriage prescribed by the Council of Trent, under
pain of nullity, does not bind in cases where the civil law lays down another form,
and declares that when this new form is used the marriage shall be valid.
72. Boniface VIII was the first who declared that the vow of chastity taken at
ordination renders marriage void.--Ibid.
73. In force of a merely civil contract there may exist between Christians a real
marriage, and it is false to say either that the marriage contract between
Christians is always a sacrament, or that there is no contract if the sacrament be
excluded.--Ibid.; Letter to the King of Sardinia, Sept. 9, 1852; Allocutions
"Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852, "Multis gravibusque," Dec. 17, 1860.
74. Matrimonial causes and espousals belong by their nature to civil tribunals.--
Encyclical "Qui pluribus," Nov. 9 1846; Damnatio "Multiplices inter," June 10,
1851, "Ad Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851; Allocution "Acerbissimum," Sept. 27,
1852.
IX. ERRORS REGARDING THE CIVIL POWER OF THE
SOVEREIGN PONTIFF
75. The children of the Christian and Catholic Church are divided amongst
themselves about the compatibility of the temporal with the spiritual power.--"Ad
Apostolicae," Aug. 22, 1851.
76. The abolition of the temporal power of which the Apostolic See is possessed
would contribute in the greatest degree to the liberty and prosperity of the
Church.--Allocutions "Quibus quantisque," April 20, 1849, "Si semper antea,"
May 20, 1850.
X. ERRORS HAVING REFERENCE TO MODERN LIBERALISM
77. In the present day it is no longer expedient that the Catholic religion should
be held as the only religion of the State, to the exclusion of all other forms of
worship.--Allocution "Nemo vestrum," July 26, 1855.
78. Hence it has been wisely decided by law, in some Catholic countries, that
persons coming to reside therein shall enjoy the public exercise of their own
peculiar worship.--Allocution "Acerbissimum," Sept. 27, 1852.
79. Moreover, it is false that the civil liberty of every form of worship, and the full
power, given to all, of overtly and publicly manifesting any opinions whatsoever
and thoughts, conduce more easily to corrupt the morals and minds of the
people, and to propagate the pest of indifferentism.--Allocution "Nunquam fore,"
Dec. 15, 1856.
80. The Roman Pontiff can, and ought to, reconcile himself, and come to terms
with progress, liberalism and modern civilization.- -Allocution "Jamdudum
cernimus," March 18, 1861.
The faith teaches us and human reason demonstrates that a double order of
things exists, and that we must therefore distinguish between the two earthly
powers, the one of natural origin which provides for secular affairs and the
tranquillity of human society, the other of supernatural origin, which presides over
the City of God, that is to say the Church of Christ, which has been divinely
instituted for the sake of souls and of eternal salvation.... The duties of this
twofold power are most wisely ordered in such a way that to God is given what is
God's (Matt. 22:21), and because of God to Caesar what is Caesar's, who is
great because he is smaller than heaven. Certainly the Church has never
disobeyed this divine command, the Church which always and everywhere
instructs the faithful to show the respect which they should inviolably have for the
supreme authority and its secular rights....
. . . Venerable Brethren, you see clearly enough how sad and full of perils is the
condition of Catholics in the regions of Europe which We have mentioned. Nor
are things any better or circumstances calmer in America, where some regions
are so hostile to Catholics that their governments seem to deny by their actions
the Catholic faith they claim to profess. In fact, there, for the last few years, a
ferocious war on the Church, its institutions and the rights of the Apostolic See
has been raging.... Venerable Brothers, it is surprising that in our time such a
great war is being waged against the Catholic Church. But anyone who knows
the nature, desires and intentions of the sects, whether they be called masonic
or bear another name, and compares them with the nature the systems and the
vastness of the obstacles by which the Church has been assailed almost
everywhere, cannot doubt that the present misfortune must mainly be imputed to
the frauds and machinations of these sects. It is from them that the synagogue of
Satan, which gathers its troops against the Church of Christ, takes its strength.
In the past Our predecessors, vigilant even from the beginning in Israel, had
already denounced them to the kings and the nations, and had condemned them
time and time again, and even We have not failed in this duty. If those who would
have been able to avert such a deadly scourge had only had more faith in the
supreme Pastors of the Church! But this scourge, winding through sinuous
caverns, . . . deceiving many with astute frauds, finally has arrived at the point
where it comes forth impetuously from its hiding places and triumphs as a
powerful master. Since the throng of its propagandists has grown enormously,
these wicked groups think that they have already become masters of the world
and that they have almost reached their pre-established goal. Having sometimes
obtained what they desired, and that is power, in several countries, they boldly
turn the help of powers and authorities which they have secured to trying to
submit the Church of God to the most cruel servitude, to undermine the
foundations on which it rests, to contaminate its splendid qualities; and,
moreover, to strike it with frequent blows, to shake it, to overthrow it, and, if
possible, to make it disappear completely from the earth. Things being thus,
Venerable Brothers, make every effort to defend the faithful which are entrusted to
you against the insidious contagion of these sects and to save from perdition
those who unfortunately have inscribed themselves in such sects. Make known
and attack those who, whether suffering from, or planning, deception, are not
afraid to affirm that these shady congregations aim only at the profit of society, at
progress and mutual benefit. Explain to them often and impress deeply on their
souls the Papal constitutions on this subject and teach, them that the masonic
associations are anathematized by them not only in Europe but also in America
and wherever they may be in the whole world.
To the Archbishops and Bishops of Prussia concerning the situation of the
Catholic Church faced with persecution by that Government....
But although they (the bishops resisting persecution) should be praised rather
than pitied, the scorn of episcopal dignity, the violation of the liberty and the
rights of the Church, the ill treatment which does not only oppress those
dioceses, but also the others of the Kingdom of Prussia, demand that We, owing
to the Apostolic office with which God has entrusted us in spite of Our insufficient
merit, protest against laws which have produced such great evils and make one
fear even greater ones; and as far as we are able to do so with the sacred
authority of divine law, We vindicate for the Church the freedom which has been
trodden underfoot with sacrilegious violence. That is why by this letter we intend
to do Our duty by announcing openly to all those whom this matter concerns and
to the whole Catholic world, that these laws are null and void because they are
absolutely contrary to the divine constitution of the Church. In fact, with respect
to matters which concern the holy ministry, Our Lord did not put the mighty of
this century in charge, but Saint Peter, whom he entrusted not only with feeding
his sheep, but also the goats; therefore no power in the world, however great it
may be, can deprive of the pastoral office those whom the Holy Ghost has made
Bishops in order to feed the Church of God.
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