A Bombshell Document at the Vatican Synod
the Pope had puckishly tweaked Cardinal Müller, the Vatican’s keeper of doctrinal orthodoxy, telling the assembled bishops, “Speak clearly, don’t think that Cardinal Müller is going to pounce on you!”
.. Pius IX, in his infamous “Syllabus of Errors,” published in 1864, listed a series of mistaken ideas held by the contemporary Church, ending with what he considered the greatest error of them all: “The Roman Pontiff can, and ought to, reconcile himself, and come to terms with progress, liberalism, and modern civilization.” The principles he held onto included a defense of the institution of slavery and a rejection of democracy and freedom of speech.