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The Syllabus Of ErrorsPope BI. Pius IX - 1864 I. PANTHEISM, NATURALISM AND ABSOLUTE RATIONALISM1. 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...

June 18, 1859 -- Bl. Pius IX, beholding the inexorable march across all Italy of the anticlerical forces of the Risorgimento, addressed the Encyclical Qui Nuper to the entire hierarchy of the Catholic Church, in which we find the following, still relevant words: In the midst of such turmoil We sent you the present letter in order to seek some consolation in Our sorrow. Moreover, on this occasion We also exhort you to make it your concern to do what we read that Moses prescribed once to Aaron, the high priest of the Hebrews (Nm 16): "Take the censor, fill...

(The following is excerpted from the book "A Bishop, A Saint: The Life of Saint John Neumann," by Father James J, Galvin, CSsR, published by The Neumann Press.) "...St. Peter's [Basilica] was intensely quiet....Now, except for the sputter of candle-flames high in the arches, the only sound was one human voice reading in the singsong Latin. While Pio Nono [Blessed Pius IX] read, the basilica listened with a rapt excitement, waiting to hear expressed what all Christendom in its heart believed: that the Mother of the Redeemer has, by unique exception, entered time unbesmirched by Original Fault." "Not since...

Historian reveals how Pius IX decided to proclaim dogma of Immaculate Conception Vatican City, Feb 13, 2008 / 05:04 pm (CNA).- In an article published by L’Osservatore Romano, Italian historian Francesco Guglietta, an expert on the life of Pius IX, revealed how the Pontiff decided to consult with the bishops of the world to proclaim the dogma of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, 1854.Guglietta points out that the revolution that ended with the proclamation of the “Roman Republic” in 1848 and that forced the Pope to take up residence for nine months in Gaeta, south of Rome, had a...

(The following is taken from Dom Prosper Guéranger's entry in The Liturgical Year for July 1, in Volume XII of the 1983 Marian House edition of the English translation by the Benedictines of Stanbrook.) "John the Baptist has pointed out the Lamb, Peter has firmly established his throne, Paul has prepared the bride; their joint work, admirable in its unity, at once suggests the reason for their feasts occurring almost simultaneously in the cycle. The alliance being now secured, all three fall into shade; whilst the bride herself, raised up by them to such loftly heights, appears alone before us,...

On this day in 1846, Blessed Pope Pius IX, born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was elected Pope. He was elected on only the second day of the conclave of cardinals, on the fourth ballot. His predecessor, Pope Gregory XVI, had made him a Cardinal Priest with the title of Sts. Peter and Marcellinus in 1840. In his book on Blessed Pius IX, Italian author Roberto de Mattei, a Profesor of Modern History at the University of Cassino in Rome, recounted how a 19th century biographer of the pope described him. "'Mastai,' writes Mgr. Balan, who draws a flattering portrait of...

...It was the conclusion of one famous exorcist in Germany that "since the pontificate of Pius IX, the Church has entered into a period of severe persecutions. "The militant Church has to suffer a twofold evil: externally, through the persecution of her enemies, and interiorly, through the corruption of her members," he said, basing his ideas on what spirits were commanded to reveal. "And since Pius IX ascended the throne, this twofold tendency is constantly increasing. The cause of this heavy burden laid upon the Church is due, according to the confessions of the demons, to the unusually strong and...

Origin of the Sacred Heart Badge Our Lord revealed to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque "His wish for her to order a picture of the image of that Sacred Heart for people specifically to venerate and have in their homes and also small pictures to carry with them." She wrote this to her Superior, Mother Saumaise, on March 2, 1686. Thus was born the devotion of wearing the little Badges. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque always kept a badge with her and inspired her novices to do the same. She made many badges and often said this practice was very pleasing to...

Today 13 May is the birthday of this great Pope. (Born 1792). I think that he should be called "the Great" and made a Doctor of the Church! He's my favorite Pope! I love the Syllabus of Errors!

(On December 8, 1870, The Sacred Congregation of Rites promulgated the following decree, which communicated the decision of Pope Pius IX to declare St. Joseph Patron of the Universal Church, and which also raised St. Joseph’s feast of March 19 to the rank of double of the first class.) QUEMADMODUM DEUS Pope Pius IX As almighty God appointed Joseph, son of the patriarch Jacob, over all the land of Egypt to save grain for the people, so when the fullness of time was come and He was about to send to earth His only-begotten Son, the Savior of the world,...

"Ferocious pride is the real spirit of the Revolution. This pride has so established itself in the world that it has exiled reason. It has a horror of reason. It gags it. It hunts it. And if it can kill it, it kills it. Prove to it the divinity of Christianity, its intellectual and philosophical reality, its historical dimension, its moral and social dimension. It wants none of it. That is its 'reason,' and it is the strongest one. It has placed a blindfold of impenetrable sophisms on the face of European civilization. It cannot see the heavens or hear...

Forty years on, we are only just beginning to understand the significance of the Council, says Fr Ian Ker. And we are still a long way from implementing it It is 40 years since the opening of the Second Vatican Council. The Council was convoked by Pope John XXIII for two purposes: the renewal or aggiornamento of the Catholic Church and Christian reunion - two goals which are surely integrally related. The Pope expressed the hope that it would be the beginning of a new Pentecost for the Church. There have, indeed, been substantial achievements. A nineteenth century Catholic...