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Arturo CATTANEO (ed.), L'eredità giuridica di san Pio X, Istituto di Diritto Canonico San Pio X Studi 3, Venice, Marcianum Press, 2006, 354 p. - ISBN 88-89736-2 - euro 27,00.
These are the proceedings of a conference organized by the Saint Pius X Institute of Canon Law and held in Venice 19-20 May 2005. The occasion marked the passing of a century since the codification of canon law had been initiated by the former Patriarch of Venice and also served to highlight his promotion of canonical studies and his creation of a Faculty of Canon Law in that city. This faculty ceased to function in 1932. Re-founded as the St. Pius X Institute in 2003, it was subsequently erected as a faculty on 15 August 2008 with the right to grant the license and doctorate in Canon Law.
Elected in the conclave of 1903, Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, known to the world as Pope Pius X, ascended the throne of Peter with a wealth of pastoral experience unmatched by any pope in modern times. In his first appointment as Bishop he convened a diocesan synod in Treviso for the first time in 209 years. As Patriarch of Venice he instituted a chair of economic and social sciences and then established an Institute of Canon Law in 1902. As he said, "Without the law there is only disorder and without legal science one can only expect confusion." He also dabbled with success in civic elections in Venice which served as a lesson for the future on the usefulness of Catholic participation in politics.
For many, however, the name of Pius X is associated above all with the condemnation of Modernism. The decrees of 1907 pointed to a dangerous movement and conspiracy but those concerned agreed that it was "a caricature in which they could not recognize themselves." The suppression was eventually capped in 1910 by imposing on the clergy the taking of an oath against Modernism which brought with it harassment of...