What Happened to Catholicism: The Heresy Behind the Current Crisis

by Kennedy Hall

It is clear that since the Second Vatican Council, the Church has been plagued with terrible doctrinal and liturgical confusion that has contributed to the worst crisis in the Church since the Arian crisis, and perhaps the worst in history. This incisive book examines the often-overlooked wisdom of Pope St. Pius X on modernism, the synthesis of all heresies, found in his landmark encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis (On the Doctrines of the Modernists).

Although Pascendi is a momentous document that lays out virtually all the doctrinal errors we now find, it seems as if St. Pius X’s words have been ignored. Kennedy Hall translates the most salient points of this authoritative work into a readable format so that you can identify the grave problems facing us, problems that were illuminated more than one hundred years ago. In these thought-provoking pages, you will

Three ways to identify a heretic, according to moral theologiansThe Four Horsemen of the “Philosophical Apocalypse”How modernism is like a serial killer, insidiously destroying minds and heartsWhat the Church really teaches regarding scriptural interpretation and personal beliefsHow catechesis is harmed by contemporary thoughtWhy liturgy must center on God, not on manMost Catholics with orthodox faith can sense the prevailing errors but perhaps cannot put into words what they know to be true by sound Catholic intuition. This book will help clarify important concerns, from the relationship between faith and science to the dangers of relativism and subjectivism, so that you can form yourself and your family to withstand this current crisis.

By evaluating the writings of key figures, including recent pontiffs, on the struggle for (or against) orthodoxy, Hall lays out the historical background of the heresy of modernism. His analysis of the polarization in the Church along the doctrinal fault lines of our day unearths commonsense solutions for restoration and renewal.

Genres: Catholic

312 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 15, 2025

Reviews

[Alexandra Beckett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was more of a philosophical take on the history and development of modernism in the Catholic Church. It was a lot about the modernist philosophy during the time of Pope Pius X and why he penned the encyclical Pacendi Dominici Gregis. Fans of Bishop Robert Baron would do well to read this book because he’s quintessential of the intellectual modernist. There’s a reason he prefaces all points with “Vatican II taught…”. Further proving my point, he went on Tucker Carlson recently spouting philosophical quotes and Bob Dylan lyrics but when it came to reciting for Tucker the St. Michael prayer, he said he couldn’t do it because he wouldn’t get it right. And that, is the problem with modern Catholicism in a nutshell.

[Ethan D Good · Rating 3 out of 5]

Upon finishing this book, I was definitely under the impression that Pope Pius X had predicted the current "crisis" in the Catholic Church, and that the root cause is the "synthesis of all heresies", modernism. The book presents Pope Pius X's statements in a perfect synthesis with the current post-conciliar crisis in the Catholic, which has given me a lot to think about.

That said, I fail to see how much of the "modernist" additions of Vatican II actually constitute the heresy of modernism, as modern adjustments do not necessary equal the heresy of modernism, because the heresy of modernism means changing dogma to fit the times, which is different from adapting to the modern world in a sensible way. For example, nobody except the "True Orthodox schismatics of the mainline Eastern Orthodox Church would say that the Eastern Orthodox Church is "modernist" for adapting to the more accurate Gregorian calendar from the Julian calendar. In the same way, how can changing the Mass to the vernacular, for example, be modernist when nobody understands Latin in modernity today? Theres a difference between meeting the modern world where theyre at, and the heresy of modernism.

Nonetheless, this book is very well done, and gave me something to seriously consider in regards to Pope Pius X's vision of modernism subverting the Church from within. I will concede that this has happened to some degree through Vatican II, but not in the same way this book describes.

Finally, the solution the author gives to this terrible subversion is to read more traditional literature, such as Aquinas. So unless there is a miracle, the Church is conquered by the modernists. Not a good feeling.

[Marcia Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid information aggregation throughout most of the book

[Robert Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enlightenment for Our Time

Mind provoking with to the point reading. If this does not wake you up to the need for returning to the TLM Mass, nothing will.