Rome 1864: In the Syllabus, Pius IX condemns 80 "errors", among them religious freedom, the separation of Church and State and the reconciliation of the pope with modern progress

On 8 December 1864 Pius IX published the encyclical "Quanta Cura" and had a list of 80 condemned propositions, the Syllabus, sent to all bishops. The list states the propositions that the Church rejects as errors, among them the free choice of religion, the separation of Church and State and the statement that the pope should reconcile himself with progress, liberalism and modern civilization. Russia, France and parts of Italy forbade its publication. In 1965 the Second Vatican Council declared that the human person has a right to religious freedom.

Period

since 8 Dec 1864 (161 years, ongoing)

Report published

8 December 1864

Country

Vatican City

Institutions

Holy See

Category

Censorship

Level of evidence

A Primary source · what does this mean?

Persons

Pius IX (Pope)
Giacomo Antonelli (Cardinal Secretary of State)

Background

Course of events

1. On 8 December 1864 Pius IX published the encyclical "Quanta Cura". On the same day Cardinal Secretary of State Antonelli, by commission of the pope, sent all bishops the list of condemned propositions. The preparation had taken twelve years.
   Evidence: Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource), Abschnitt I.A

   „by commission of the pope, the secretary of State, Cardinal Antonelli, sent, together with an official communication, to all the bishops the list of theses condemned by the Holy See“

   Evidence: Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource), Abschnitt I.A

   „With that the preparation for the Syllabus, having occupied twelve years, was brought to an end.“

   Evidence: Cambridge University Press (Wikisource), Artikel Syllabus

   „a collection of eighty condemned propositions, addressed by order of Pius IX. to all the Catholic episcopate“

Why? Justification and motives (according to the sources)

1. The Syllabus lists the following propositions as condemned errors: that every man may embrace the religion he considers true by reason (15); that the Church has no power of using force (24); that Church and State ought to be separated (55).
   Evidence: Heiliger Stuhl; Text bei Papal Encyclicals Online, Nr. 15

   „Every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true.“

   Evidence: Heiliger Stuhl; Text bei Papal Encyclicals Online, Nr. 24

   „The Church has not the power of using force, nor has she any temporal power, direct or indirect.“

   Evidence: Heiliger Stuhl; Text bei Papal Encyclicals Online, Nr. 55

   „The Church ought to be separated from the .State, and the State from the Church.“

2. Likewise condemned are the propositions that it is no longer expedient to hold the Catholic religion as the only religion of the State to the exclusion of all other forms of worship (77), and that the Roman Pontiff can and ought to reconcile himself with progress, liberalism and modern civilization (80).
   Evidence: Heiliger Stuhl; Text bei Papal Encyclicals Online, Nr. 77

   „In the present day it is no longer expedient that the Catholic religion should be held as the only religion of the State, to the exclusion of all other forms of worship.“

   Evidence: Heiliger Stuhl; Text bei Papal Encyclicals Online, Nr. 80

   „The Roman Pontiff can, and ought to, reconcile himself, and come to terms with progress, liberalism and modern civilization.“

3. In "Quanta Cura" Pius IX calls the view that liberty of conscience and worship is each man's personal right fatal and recalls that Gregory XVI had called it an insanity.
   Evidence: Heiliger Stuhl; Text bei Papal Encyclicals Online, Abschnitt zur Gewissensfreiheit

   „called by Our Predecessor, Gregory XVI, an “insanity,”“

   Evidence: Heiliger Stuhl; Text bei Papal Encyclicals Online, Abschnitt zur Gewissensfreiheit

   „liberty of conscience and worship is each man’s personal right“

See also

• 1199-1917 · 718 years

  Prohibition and restriction of the Bible in the vernacular for lay people

  • France
  • Spain
  • Vatican City
  • Censorship
• Person 1765-1846 · about 81 years old

  Pope Gregory XVI

  • Italy
  • Vatican City
  • Persecution
  • Censorship
• Person 1792-1878 · about 86 years old

  Pope Pius IX (Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti)

  • Italy
  • Vatican City
  • Anti-Judaism
  • Torture
  • Censorship
• since 1 Sep 1910 · 116 years, ongoing

  Rome 1910: Pius X obliges clergy, pastors, religious superiors and seminary professors to swear the Oath against Modernism

  • Vatican City
  • Censorship

Original documents to read

1. Church document
   Heiliger Stuhl; Text bei Papal Encyclicals Online: The Syllabus of Errors, 8. Dezember 1864 (englische Übersetzung), 8 December 1864. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
2. Church document
   Heiliger Stuhl; Text bei Papal Encyclicals Online: Pius IX, Quanta Cura, 8. Dezember 1864 (englische Übersetzung), 8 December 1864. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
3. Church document
   Heiliger Stuhl (vatican.va): Declaration on Religious Freedom, Dignitatis humanae, 7. Dezember 1965, 7 December 1965. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)

Scholarly literature and reference works

1. Reference work
   Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource): Syllabus, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1912), Bd. 14, 1 January 1912. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
2. Reference work
   Cambridge University Press (Wikisource): Syllabus, in: Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), Bd. 26, 1 January 1911. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)

Last changed on 31 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.