Bellairs hints that Pius IX repeatedly warned against a desire for novelty when discussing the construction of the Gorboduc Cathedral [St. Fidgeta & Other Parodies, 36].
Mrs. Septa Tanquerary cites this pope's Syllabus of Errors as to why her husband has condemned the furnace, even though the family is freezing to death. Father Bunty discusses the Pope in his book [St. Fidgeta & Other Parodies, 42-3].
Reigned as the 255th pope (1846-78). Born Giovanni M. Mastai-Ferretti (1792-1878). In 1864 he issued the encyclical Quanta cura, accompanied by a list (Syllabus) of erroneous modernistic statements. In 1869 he convoked the First Vatican Council, the principal work of which was the enunciation of papal infallibility. Pius IX's pontificate - the longest in history - helped define the role of Roman Catholicism in the modern world.
Bowen believes Pius IX was thought to be relatively liberal when he became Pope, "but he morphed into a notoriously conservative pontiff. Among his accomplishments are the Syllabus of Errors, an encyclical in which he listed many modern ideas that he defined as contrary to Catholic faith and doctrine; the Oath against Modernism, a vow that all Catholic priests were required to take against teaching or condoning such errors; and the famous First Vatican Council which (infallibly) proclaimed the doctrine of papal infallibility. In the early sixties, I had several friends in a community of priests who served as campus chaplains for the secular colleges and universities in Pittsburgh, and each new priest that joined had to go down to the diocesan Chancery Office and take the Oath against Modernism before he could begin his priestly duties. This was not the local bishop's fault; it had been required ever since the days of Pio Nono (as he was called in Italy: 'Pius Nine'). For all I know it may still be required, though I have been pretty much out of touch for the past 35 years."
Myers says that he scanned the Syllabus in recent years and notes that much of it is uncontroversial, "but there's no doubt that he was against progress, or any kind of thought, in any way, shape or form. One of the millennium's greatest idiots, in my opinion. He actually had a Jewish kid kidnapped from his family living in the Papal States because a Christian serving girl allegedly baptized him. Did you know that Pius IX, or one of his immediate predecessors, refused to allow railroads to be built in the Papal States because he disapproved of trains? Even Bellairs couldn't have made this up."
(also see pope)
