Contre les « erreurs modernes ». L’enseignement de Benoît XV sur la prédication (1914-1918)

This article focuses on Pope Benedict XV’s teaching on preaching during World War 1. It is based on three main sources: 1) the encyclical Humani generis redemptionem, published in 1917; the unedited drafts, which have recently been made available from the Vatican Secret Archives; 2) Pope Benedict XV’s speeches to the Lenten preachers in Rome (1914-1922); 3) Codex Iuris Canonici’s canons 1327-1351 (the Codex was also published in 1917). The analysis shows that the main concerns underlying Pope Benedict XV’s teaching on preaching contained nationalism and fought secularization.