''Sodalitium Pianum'' is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "the fellowship of Pius," referring to

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...

; the

sedeprivationist Sedeprivationism is a doctrinal position within Traditionalist Catholicism which holds that the current occupant of the Holy See is a duly-elected pope, but lacks the authority and ability to teach or to govern unless he recants the changes brough ...

organization with the same name refers to Pope

Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...

. In reaction to the movement within the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

known as

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...

issued in 1907 the

encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...

'' Pascendi dominici gregis'' and the

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

Lamentabili sane exitu ''Lamentabili sane exitu'' ("with truly lamentable results") is a 1907 syllabus, prepared by the Roman Inquisition and confirmed by Pope Pius X, which condemns errors in the exegesis of Holy Scripture and in the history and interpretation of dogm ...

'', which condemned the movement as a heresy. To ensure enforcement of these decisions, Monsignor

Umberto Benigni Umberto Benigni, circa 1910 Umberto Benigni was a Catholic priest and Church historian, who was born on 30 March 1862 in Perugia, Italy and died on 27 February 1934 in Rome. Biography A lecturer in Church history from 1885, one year after his ord ...

organized, through his personal contacts with theologians, an unofficial group of censors who would report to him those thought to be teaching condemned doctrine. This group was called the ''Sodalitium Pianum'', i.e. The Society of St. Pius V, which in France was known as ''La Sapinière''. It never had more than fifty members, who sometimes employed overzealous and clandestine methods such as opening and photographing private letters, and examining the records of local bookshops to see who was buying what. Among those it investigated was the orthodox teacher of church history,

Angelo Roncalli Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

(later Pope John XXIII). Cardinal Secretary of State

Rafael Merry del Val Rafael Merry del Val y Zulueta, (10 October 1865 – 26 February 1930) was a Spanish Roman Catholic cardinal. Before becoming a cardinal, he served as the secretary of the papal conclave of 1903 that elected Pope Pius X, who is said to have ac ...

prevented the association from gaining canonical recognition, and the competent department of the Roman Curia disbanded it in 1921 on the grounds of "changed circumstances". According to

Yves Congar Yves Marie-Joseph Congar (; 13 April 1904 – 22 June 1995) was a French Dominican friar, priest, and theologian. He is perhaps best known for his influence at the Second Vatican Council and for reviving theological interest in the Holy Spiri ...

O.P., the network remained operational to some degree until the early years of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.Congar O.P., Yves, ''Mon journal du Concile (1946–1956)'', Les Editions du cerf, Paris, 2002 Researchers are divided in their opinions about the extent to which Pius X was aware of or approved Benigni's initiatives.

References

Bibliography

* Poulat, Émile, ''Intégrisme et catholicisme intégral'', Casterman, Paris, 1969 * Bavoux, Gérard, ''Le porteur de lumière - Les arcanes noirs du Vatican'', Pygmalion, Paris, 1996 * Alvarez, David, ''Spies in the Vatican'', University Press of Kansas, Lawrence-KS, 2002, * {{Authority control Private intelligence agencies Modernism in the Catholic Church