Syllabus of Errors - Format

Format

The Syllabus was made up of phrases and paraphrases from earlier papal documents, along with index references to them, and presented as a list of "condemned propositions". For instance, in condemning proposition 14, "Philosophy is to be treated without taking any account of supernatural revelation", the Syllabus asserts the truth of the contrary proposition — that philosophy should take account of supernatural revelation. The Syllabus does not explain why each particular proposition is wrong, but it cites earlier documents to which the reader can refer for the Pope's reasons for saying each proposition is false. With the exception of some propositions drawn from Pius' encyclical Qui pluribus of November 9, 1846, all the propositions were based on documents that postdated the shocks to the Pope and the papacy of the Revolutions of 1848 (see Italian unification).

The Syllabus was divided into ten sections which condemned as false various statements about these topics:

• pantheism, naturalism, and absolute rationalism, Propositions 1-7;
• moderate rationalism, Propositions 8-14;
• indifferentism and latitudinarianism, Propositions 15-18;
• socialism, communism, secret societies, Bible societies, and liberal clerical societies, a general condemnation;
• the church and its rights, Propositions 19-38 (defending temporal power in the Papal States, which were overthrown six years later;
• civil society and its relationship to the church, Propositions 39-55;
• natural and Christian ethics, Propositions 56-64;
• Christian marriage, Propositions 65-74;
• the civil power of the sovereign Pontiff in the Papal States, Propositions 75-76 and
• modern liberalism, Propositions 77-80.