It is important to note that this critique does not stem from a desire to incite sterile controversies or, worse, to delegitimize an authority that is already heavily weakened by the doctrinal and moral disorders of recent years. Rather, it aims for constructive discernment that helps the faithful grasp the deeper meaning of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Indeed, the encyclical contains numerous positive aspects, starting with the reaffirmation of veneration for the Sacred Heart, an ancient and precious devotion that has inspired generations of saints; furthermore, the encyclical emphasizes the necessity of reparation and the importance of Eucharistic adoration, particularly through the Holy Hour, as fundamental moments of personal encounter with Christ.

A careful analysis of the encyclical reveals dissonant notes that, as we shall see, can be associated with the neomodernist theology already denounced by the perennial Magisterium of the Church.

However, it is necessary to emphasize that the interpretation offered by Pope Francis of this devotion and the meaning attributed to the concept of "heart" diverge from the traditional view of the Church. In fact, a careful analysis of the encyclical reveals dissonant notes that, as we shall see, can be associated with the neomodernist theology already denounced by the perennial Magisterium of the Church.

Let us begin with definitions: what is referred to when speaking of the "heart"? Pope Francis states that today "we need to recover the importance of the heart," as opposed to a life lived "on the surface" and "in a hurry," enslaved "to the mechanisms of a market that cares nothing for the meaning of our existence." This note of reproach seems partial to us: the market is not, in itself, something intrinsically evil, but rather a neutral tool, a set of economic relationships that can promote good or evil depending on how it is used. However, we are used to this: the pope's social critique often limits itself to the so-called "market economy," without ever addressing the growing interference of modern states and super-states, which cyclically create economic crises and injustices. In this regard, the encyclical reflects the usual view closely aligned with certain Marxist sociology, in contrast to the more balanced view of the Church’s social doctrine.

But let us return to the theme of the encyclical. Let us start with definitions. What does the word "heart" mean? According to the definition provided by Pope Francis, drawing from a philosophical tradition that reaches back to Homer and Plato, the heart signifies "what is most inner in humans, animals, and plants." From the outset, therefore, it seems to allude to something that pertains not only to the human being and his unique spiritual dimension but also to a sort of "synthesizing function" not only among the various human faculties but even horizontally among all creatures, including the irrational ones. Finally, we are told that the heart is "the place of sincerity, where one cannot deceive or conceal," a point that "coordinates" reason and emotions and "unifies" the person, the seat of our deepest identity.

This interpretation of the idea of "heart" dangerously approaches the sentimentalist approach typical of modernist and neomodernist theology, according to which feeling (rather than doctrine) constitutes the principle of spiritual life, an idea denounced by St. Pius X in the encyclical Pascendi.

But is this really the heart as understood by Catholic Tradition? In the biblical and theological view, the heart represents the will, ordered by the intellect enlightened by God through the theological virtue of faith, and is not simply a "place of synthesis" between the rational and irrational parts of man. The heart is therefore not a sort of "affective field," but the seat of the will, rightly oriented by an intellect instructed by God, which ultimately controls, influences, and directs the passions towards God.

The pope then writes that throughout the history of thought, "other concepts such as reason, will, or freedom have been preferred." Furthermore, he states: "When the specific nature of the heart is not appreciated, we lose the answers that the intellect alone cannot provide; we lose the encounter with others; we lose poetry." He continues: "Everything is unified in the heart, which can be the seat of love with all its spiritual, psychic, and even physical components. Ultimately, if love reigns in it, the person reaches their identity fully and brightly, because every human being has been created primarily for love; they are made in their deepest fibers to love and to be loved."

This interpretation of the idea of "heart" dangerously approaches the sentimentalist approach typical of modernist and neomodernist theology, according to which feeling (rather than doctrine) constitutes the principle of spiritual life. As denounced by St. Pius X in the encyclical Pascendi, in the modernist view, the origin of religion is precisely feeling: "[according to modernists,] is it not perhaps revelation, or at least the beginning of revelation, that religious feeling which suddenly manifests in consciousness? Is it not perhaps an unclear appearance that God makes to souls through that religious feeling? [...] Hence arises the confusion between consciousness and revelation."

Today, we do not need a sentimental heart, but doctrine, that is, the light that forms the intellect and directs the will, what the Fathers and Sacred Scripture intended as the true "heart" of man. It is doctrine that gives man the strength to master his passions and orient his love towards what truly matters: God and neighbor in truth.

It should be noted that, similarly to other words in the Christian traditional lexicon, the word "heart" was appropriated by modernist theologians, stripped of its classical meaning, and filled with a new significance. St. Pius X further denounces: "Religious feeling must be considered [according to the modernist theologian] almost as a sort of intuition of the heart, which puts man in immediate contact with the very reality of God. This intuition infuses in the believer a conviction of the existence of God and His action both within and outside of man, far surpassing any scientific conviction. Therefore, they claim to have a true experience, superior to any rational experience." In the modernist perspective, there is thus a movement that goes from feeling to reason, contrary to what the eternal Doctrine teaches us, namely that the movement must proceed from God to reason, then to the will, and only finally reach the feelings, educating them.

It is not a coincidence, then, that the encyclical cites a Jesuit who, while not condemned for modernism, was certainly close to it in many respects, namely Michel de Certeau (1925-1986), an anthropologist, linguist, and psychoanalysis scholar, who sought to interpret the Ignatian Exercises "in a modern key." Pope Francis writes: "Michel de Certeau highlights how the motions that St. Ignatius speaks of are the irruptions of a divine will and a will of one's own heart that remains distinct from the manifest order. Something unexpected begins to speak in the heart of the person, something that comes from the unknowable, removes the surface of what is known, and opposes it," but this movement that proceeds from God immediately through the subconscious seat of feelings is precisely the erroneous dynamic denounced by St. Pius X. God does not speak from the subconscious, but to the intellect illuminated by faith.

Again, in the encyclical, we read: "For Heidegger, according to the interpretation provided by a contemporary thinker, philosophy does not begin with a pure concept or with certainty, but with an emotional shock: 'Thinking must have been shaken emotionally before working with concepts or while working with them. Without a profound emotion, thinking cannot begin. [...] The first thing that makes one think and question is profound emotion.'" The word of reference for Pope Francis is the German word Stimmung, meaning a mood, a subconscious motion of an unknown nature. "And here," continues the Pope, "the heart appears, which hosts moods, working as the guardian of the mood."

Pope Francis often insists that today’s world needs mercy. We can also agree, but mercy means giving the soul of man what it really needs, often disregarding demerits: today, more than ever, humanity needs to satisfy its hunger for truth, because only truth brings salvation, peace, and justice, even social justice.

Does today’s man really need the heart understood in this way? Today, we do not need a sentimental heart, but doctrine, that is, the light that forms the intellect and directs the will, what the Fathers and Sacred Scripture intended as the true "heart" of man. It is doctrine that gives man the strength to master his passions and orient his love towards what truly matters: God and neighbor in truth. Charity, then, which is the fruit of the heart, is not understood as a simple feeling of love, but as the life of grace, willing what God wills, immersing oneself in the Divine Will.

Pope Francis often insists that today’s world needs mercy. We can also agree, but mercy means giving the soul of man what it really needs, often disregarding demerits: today, more than ever, humanity needs to satisfy its hunger for truth, because only truth brings salvation, peace, and justice, even social justice. Today’s man is intoxicated by feelings, immersed in false and destructive ideologies, prey to the fashionable thoughts that blind the soul. Only the light of doctrine, which comes from God, can heal this blindness, free the heart from the darkness of worldly feelings, and reorient the soul towards true justice and charity. Only thus can the human heart, enlightened by truth, finally find the peace and stability it seeks.

Pope Francis continues: “For this reason, seeing how new wars are unfolding, with the complicity, tolerance, or indifference of other countries, or with mere power struggles around partisan interests, one begins to think that the world society is losing its heart.” If heart means, as we have seen, the “seat of love” that unifies irrationality and rationality, the unifying point of that movement which proceeds from a subconscious feeling of presumed divine origin toward the intellect, even educating the latter, then this statement must be rejected. Wars and social disorder exist not because man does not know how to love, but primarily because he does not believe and does not recognize the lordship of Christ. Today, man needs certainties, not sentimentalism. Rediscovering faith and doctrine is not a limitation, but rather the path that leads the soul to true peace and the stability that only God can offer.

Gaetano Masciullo is a Catholic philosopher and writer, and collaborator with Fede & Cultura, the leading traditional Catholic publishing house in Italy. He contributes regularly to Catholic platforms in Italy and focuses his work on analyzing theological and philosophical themes in light of Catholic tradition.

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