Fr. James Altman

(27) I reject the false religious humanism which celebrates man in himself, as though the Incarnation had revealed first and solely the image of God in the creation of man, rather than the misery of sin and the mercy of God stooping towards the sinner. Man is truly great only when he humbly receives the grace which heals and elevates him, does penance for his sins, submits to the truth, and lives as a child of God. In separating himself from God, he does not exalt himself: he destroys himself. (28) I profess that human dignity, by which God has established His creature at the summit of the material world, can never be invoked against the law of God, against the necessity of conversion, or against submission to revealed truth. This dignity is wounded by sin: it must be restored and raised to the dignity of the adoptive children of God, through grace. (34) I therefore reject modern naturalism in all its forms—whether theoretical, as it appears in philosophy and theology, or practical, as it manifests in morality, politics, and pastoral work. Every doctrine that speaks glowingly of fraternity, peace, human dignity, or progress while deliberately ignoring the reality of sin, the centrality of the Cross, and the absolute necessity of divine grace rests upon an illusory foundation. Such teaching may sound compassionate and enlightened, yet it ultimately deceives the very souls it claims to serve, offering empty consolation in place of redemption and substituting superficial optimism for the costly, life-giving truth of the Gospel. ~Excerpt from Profession of Catholic Faith of the Society of Saint Pius X to enlighten souls in the face of modern errors