page_title: Pope Pius X
section_title: Church policies towards secular governments
hierarchical_section_title: Pope Pius X / Pontificate / Church policies towards secular governments
caption_attribution_description: English: Cardinal Merry del Val and Milenko Vesnić signing the Concordat between the Holy See and Serbia on June 24, 1914 (only a few days before the outbreak of the July Crisis). Left to right: Eugenio Pacelli (at this time Secretary of the Congregation of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs and true designer of the agreement), Rafael Merry del Val (Vatican Secretary of State), Nicola Canali (his private secretary), Mons. Dionigi Cardon (1865-1928, Provost of Taggia, Liguria, Vatican's negotiator in Belgrade), Milenko Radomar Vesnić (Special Minister of Serbia). Missing on the right (cut off): Lujo Bakotić (Serbian diplomatic agent). The wall portrait shows Pope Pius X who died a few month later. Deutsch: Kardinal Merry del Val und Milenko Vesnić unterzeichnen am 24. Juni 1914 (wenige Tage vor Ausbruch der Julikrise) das Konkordat zwischen dem Heiligen Stuhl und Serbien. V.l.n.r.: Eugenio Pacelli (damals Sekretär der Kongregation für außerordentliche Aufgaben der Kirche und maßgeblicher vatikanischer Unterhändler), Rafael Merry del Val (Kardinalstaatssekretär des Vatikans), Nicola Canali (dessen Privatsekretär), Prälat Dionigi Cardon (1865-1928, Propst von Taggia, Ligurien, vatikanischer Geheimdiplomat in Belgrad), Milenko Radomar Vesnić (serbischer Botschafter in Paris und Sondergesandter Serbiens zum Konkordatsabschluss). Rechts im Bild fehlt (abgeschnitten): Lujo Bakotić (serbischer Diplomat und maßgeblicher Unterhändler). Auf dem Wandbild ist Papst Pius X. zu erkennen, der knapp zwei Monate später starb. Español: El 24 de junio de 1914 (pocos días antes del inicio de la crisis de julio de 1914), el Secretario de Estado, cardenal Merry del Val, y el Ministro especial serbio, Milenko Vesnić, firman el concordato entre la Santa Sede y Serbia. De izq. a derecha: Eugenio Pacelli (futuro Pío XII, en ese momento Secretario de la Congregación de Asuntos Eclesiásticos Extraordinarios y considerado el verdadero autor del acuerdo), Rafael Merry del Val (Secretario de Estado del Vaticano), Nicola Canali (secretario privado del anterior), Mons. Dionigi Cardon (1865-1928, prepósito eclesiástico de Taggia (Liguria), representante católico en Belgrado), Milenko Radomar Vesnić (Embajador de Serbia en París, enviado especial a la firma del concordato). A la derecha falta: Lujo Bakotić (agente diplomático serbio). El retrato en la pared muestra el papa Pío X quien a los dos meses ya estaría muerto. Italiano: Il Segretario di Stato Vaticano, cardinale Merry del Val, ed il ministro straordinario del Regno di Serbia, Milenko Vesnić, firmano il 24 giugno 1914 il concordato tra Santa Sede e Serbia, pochi giorni prima dello scoppio della crisi di luglio del 1914. Da destra a sinistra: Eugenio Pacelli (in quel momento segretario della Congregazione per gli affari ecclesiastici straordinari, principale negoziatore del Vaticano), il cardinale Rafael Merry del Val, Nicola Canali (segretario privato dello stesso cardinale), Mons. Dionigi Cardon (1865-1928, prevosto di Taggia, rappresentante vaticano a Belgrado), Milenko Radomar Vesnić (ambasciatore serbo a Parigi e delegato speciale per la firma dell'accordo). Al lato destro della foto manca: Lujo Bakotić (rappresentante diplomatico della Serbia e negoziatore effettivo dal lato serbo). Sulla parete si vede il ritratto del papa Pio X, che sarebbe morto due mesi più tardi.
context_page_description: Pope Pius X was head of the Catholic Church from August 1903 to his death in 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting liturgical reforms and scholastic philosophy and theology. He initiated the preparation of the 1917 Code of Canon Law, the first comprehensive and systemic work of its kind. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.
  Pius X was devoted to the Marian title of Our Lady of Confidence; while his papal encyclical Ad diem illum took on a sense of renewal that was reflected in the motto of his pontificate. He advanced the Liturgical Movement by formulating the principle of participatio actuosa of the faithful in his motu proprio Tra le sollecitudini, he encouraged the frequent reception of holy communion, and he lowered the age for First Communion, which became a lasting innovation of his papacy. Like his predecessors, he promoted Thomism as the principal philosophical method to be taught in Catholic institutions. As Roman pontiff, he vehemently opposed modernism and various nineteenth-century philosophies, which he viewed as an import of secular errors incompatible with Catholic dogma.
context_section_description: Pius X reversed the accommodating approach of Leo XIII towards secular governments, appointing Rafael Merry del Val as Cardinal Secretary of State (Merry del Val would later have his own cause opened for canonization in 1953, but still has not been beatified). When the French president Émile Loubet visited the Italian monarch Victor Emmanuel III (1900–1946), Pius X, still refusing to accept the annexation of the papal territories by Italy, reproached the French president for the visit and refused to meet him. That led to a diplomatic break with France, and in 1905, France issued a Law of Separation, which separated church and state, and which the Pope denounced. The effect of the separation was the church's loss of its government funding in France. Two French bishops were removed by the Vatican for recognising the Third Republic. Eventually, France expelled the Jesuits and broke off diplomatic relations with the Vatican.
  The Pope adopted a similar position toward secular governments in other parts of the world: in Portugal, Ireland, Poland, Ethiopia, and a number of other states with large Catholic populations. His actions and statements against international relations with Italy angered the secular powers of these countries, as well as a few others, like the UK and Russia. In Ulster, Protestants were increasingly worried that a proposed Home Rule Ireland run by Catholics inspired by Pius X would result in Rome Rule.
  In 1908, the papal decree Ne Temere came into effect which complicated mixed marriages. Marriages not performed by a Catholic priest were declared legal but sacramentally invalid, worrying some Protestants that the church would counsel separation for couples married in a Protestant church or by civil service. Priests were given discretion to refuse to perform mixed marriages or lay conditions upon them, commonly including a requirement that the children be raised Catholic. The decree proved particularly divisive in Ireland, which has a large Protestant minority, contributing indirectly to the subsequent political conflict there and requiring debates in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
  As secular authority challenged that of the papacy, Pius X became more aggressive. He suspended the Opera dei Congressi, which coordinated the work of Catholic associations in Italy, as well as condemning Le Sillon, a French social movement that tried to reconcile the church with liberal political views. He also opposed trade unions that were not exclusively Catholic.
  Pius X partially lifted decrees prohibiting Italian Catholics from voting, but he never recognised the Italian government.
caption: Monsignor Eugenio Pacelli at left and Cardinal Secretary Rafael Merry del Val at the signing ceremony of the Serbian concordat during the pontificate of Pius X, dated 24 June 1914
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