Bishop Joseph Strickland, of the Diocese of Tyler, is bringing to the fore the need for society to reject modernism in terms of Church teachings.

“Thank you, St. Pius X,” Strickland said in a March 22 tweet. “We need to reinstate the Oath Against Modernism. St. Pius, pray for us.”

Strickland's tweet came in response to another tweet he had seen that was posted by a Twitter user with the handle "Father V," who had tweeted out the Oath Against Modernism, credited to St. Piux X in 1910.

The oath reads: "I entirely reject the heretical misrepresentation that dogmas evolve and change from one meaning to another different from the one which the Church held previously."

Pope Saint Pius X served as the 258th Pope of the Catholic Church from 1903 to 1914. He opposed modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine and emphasized traditional devotional practices and orthodox theology. His significant contribution was publishing the first Code of Canon Law, according to the St. Pius X Catholic Student Center. 

Pius X defended the Catholic faith against popular 19th-century views such as indifferentism and relativism. He promoted Thomas Aquinas and Thomism as the principal philosophical method to be taught in Catholic institutions, following the example of his predecessor, Leo XIII. Pius X opposed the modernist theological school of thought, which claimed that Catholic dogma should be modernized and blended with 19th-century philosophies. He viewed modernism as a threat to Roman Catholic belief in theology, philosophy and dogma, the St. Pius X Catholic Student Center added.

Pius X was characterized by a mix of compassion, benevolence, poverty, stubbornness and stiffness. He was a pastoral pope and the only one in the 20th century to deliver Sunday sermons every week. Pius X often advocated for the poor, frequently referencing his own humble origins, according to the St. Pius X Catholic Student Center. He was considered a holy person by many, leading to an early process of beatification due to numerous petitions for his canonization.