Sacrorum antistitum

The decree Sacrorum antistitum was issued by Pope Pius X on September 1, 1910. This decree mandated that all teachers in seminaries and clerics before ordination take an oath denouncing Modernism and affirming the correctness of the church's teachings on revelation, authority, and faith. Modernism was a movement within the Roman Catholic Church that sought to reinterpret traditional teachings in light of 19th-century philosophical, historical, and psychological theories. Pope Pius X, known for his staunch conservatism, viewed Modernism as a threat to traditional Catholic doctrine and sought to extirpate it. The decree was part of a broader anti-Modernist campaign that included the condemnation of Modernist books and teachings.123