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The term "Modernist" originated with Pope Pius X in his encyclical Pascendi. Though Modernism began among Protestants, around the turn of the century its' corruptions were 'blossoming' within the Catholic Church. Pope St. Pius X said of Modernism,

"can anybody . . . be surprised that We should define it as the synthesis of all heresies?"

He identified Modernism as the most dangerous threat to the Catholic Church, in part because, even as far back as 1907 (when the encyclical was written), Modernists,

"[belonged] to the Catholic laity, and, what is much more sad, to the ranks of the priesthood itself." He said that "injury [to the Church] is the more certain," because "the more intimate is their knowledge of her" as insiders.

In almost 100 years, nothing has changed. In fact, it's gotten worse, and we now contend with Modernists, not only in the laity and in the priesthood, but even amongst the bishops and "cardinals."

Among identifying marks of Modernism, taken directly from the Pope's encyclical are:

"[Infer] that God can never be the direct object of science."

"Contrive to make the transition from Agnosticism . . . to scientific and historic Atheism."

"Are found to be utterly wanting in respect for authority, even for the supreme authority."

"Both science and history must be atheistic."

"There is room for nothing but phenomena [things perceptible to the senses]."

"In the Person of Christ . . . science and history encounter nothing that is not human."

"Whatever there is in His history suggestive of the divine must be rejected."

"In every religious fact, when one takes away the divine reality and the experience of it . . . everything else, and especially the religious formulas, belongs to the sphere of phenomena and therefore falls under the control of science."

"It is therefore the right of philosophy and of science to form its knowledge concerning the idea of God, to direct it in its evolution and to purify it of any extraneous elements which may have entered into it."

"Science is to be entirely independent of faith, while on the other hand . . . faith is made subject to science."

Full list of identifying markers here: http://catholicapologetics.info/modernproblems/modernism/piusx.html

The "synthesis of all heresies" has spread into and corrupted the whole body of the Christian Church in one way or another in differing degrees of corruption.