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What theological trends did Pius XII criticize in Humani generis?
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Pius XII
Pius XII served as pope from 1939 to 1958; photograph by Yousuf Karsh.
In the 1950 encyclical Humani generis ("Of the Human Race"), Pope Pius XII issued a formal reproof of various theological trends that he believed were attempting to revive the ideas and methods of Modernism.1
Modernism, which had been formally condemned by Pope Pius X in 1907, was a movement that sought to reinterpret traditional Catholic teachings through the lens of 19th-century philosophical, historical, and psychological theories. By the time of Humani generis, Pius XII expressed concern that these earlier heterodox approaches were resurfacing within the church, threatening the integrity of established doctrine and the church's traditional understanding of revelation.12