La Redazione dell’Enciclica Pascendi. Studi e documenti sull'antimodernismo di Papa Pio X

This edition of archival documents presents the preparatory material for the encyclical Pascendi (the introduction of Claus Arnold offers an overview of the development of this important papal document). It builds chiefly upon on two collections: Firstly the material on Pascendi in the Archivio Apostolico Vaticano (AAV) which was left behind by Vincenzo Sardi, the secretary of the Epistulae ad Principes. Sardi was not only the translator of Pascendi into Latin, but collaborated closely with Pope Pius X during the last phase of the redaction of the document. Secondly, the material left behind by Fr. Joseph Lémius OMI, who had already been identified by Jean Rivière and Gabriel Daly, amongst others, as the chief author of the doctrinal part of Pascendi (Fonds Lémius). Doc. 1 (AAV) is an autograph draft text by Pius X, which was used by Sardi for the introduction of the later encyclical. It invokes the situation of a diabolic threat to the church through the “false teachers”. Doc. 2 (AAV) is a letter from the famous antimodernist Albert Maria Weiss OP to Giuseppe Toniolo from January 1907, in which Weiss called for a synthetic condemnation of modern religious reformism. The letter was handed on to the pope and was already echoed in his address to the consistory of Cardinals on 17th April 1907. It may be regarded as the first i Doc. 3 (AAV) is an anonymous promemoria which can be attributed to Giuseppe Toniolo and tries to characterize the main tendencies of modern science in matters of religion, such as evolutionism, kantism and liberalism. Doc. 4 (AAV) is clearly an autograph draft text by Cardinal Vives y Tutó, a close counsellor to the Pope. The text provided the substance for the disciplinary measures of the latter encyclical Pascendi. It was clearly written in the early stages of the drafting process, before the texts from Joseph Lémius came in. Doc. 5 (AAV) is an anonymous promemoria, which can be attributed to Giuseppe Toniolo. It deals with the project of an international society for the promotion of science which was later announced in Pascendi. Cfr. on this subject also the letter from Toniolo to Pius X (August 1907) from the Archivio Particolare di Pio X (AAV) which is given in addition as doc. 11. Doc. 6 (AAV) is an autograph “summary of the doctrine of the modernists, especially of Loisy” by Joseph Lémius, who had been involved in the process of drafting Pascendi by Cardinal Merry del Val. It describes the “roles” of the modernists and is clearly an abstract of the “theoretical” part of Pascendi. The full Italian draft typoscript by Lémius for this part is presented as doc. 7 (Fonds Lémius). This text has already been studied by Gabriel Daly. In addition to the “theoretical part” Lémius also contributed the “moral part” of the encyclical. This second typoscript (doc. 8; Fonds Lémius) formed also the basis for the disciplinary part of Pascendi and integrated the ideas of Cardinal Vives y Tutó (cfr. doc. 4). Doc. 9 (AAV), three short letters of Merry del Val to Sardi, and Merry’s typewritten suggestions for correction (doc. 10, AAV) illustrate the sometimes moderating influence of Cardinal Merry del Val on the latter stages of the making of Pascendi. Our synopsis (doc. 12) of doc. 7 and 8 with the official Italian text of Pascendi published by L’Osservatore Romano reveals the fundamental importance of the Lémius’ work, but also the modifications which were made by Sardi and Pius X. in the process of translation and redaction (cfr. below the introduction of Giovanni Vian). As illustrated by the letters of Merry del Val (doc. 9), great importance was attributed to the simultaneous publication of the encyclical in Latin, Italian and French and of the corresponding summaries for the press. We therefore give the text of the official résumé in French, as published by La Croix (doc. 13).