Pius X viewed the church as under siege, intellectually from
rationalism and
materialism, politically from
liberalism and
anti-clericalism. The pope condemned
modernism, a loose movement of Catholic biblical scholars, philosophers and theologians who believed that the church could not ignore new modernist interpretations concerning the Bible. Modernist nun
Maude Petre would later recall, "We must remember, in fairness to those who were not always fair, that the impact of historical criticism on the traditional teaching of the Church was terrifying; that it seemed a case of saving the very essence of the Christian faith from destruction".
Alfred Loisy held that only scientific
exegesis is verifiable and therefore, reliable. Interpretation based on faith, on the other hand, "is a purely subjective". and Cardinal
José de Calasanz Vives y Tutó . It condemned the proposition that religion is merely a sentiment based on a psychological need for the divine. If however, the bishop knows the relic is not authentic, it is to be withdrawn from veneration, and if authentication has been lost due to civil disturbances, no relic may be presented for public veneration before the bishop has verified it. ==References==