Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith

OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, the Son of God, and Redeemer of Mankind, before returning to his heavenly Father, promised that He would be with the Church Militant on earth all days, even to the consummation of the world. Therefore, He has never ceased to be present with His beloved Spouse, to assist her when teaching, to bless her when at work, and to aid her when in danger. And this His salutary providence, which has been constantly displayed by other innumerable benefits, has been most manifestly proved by the abundant good results which Christendom has derived from (Ecumenical Councils, and particularly from that of Trent, although it was held in evil times. For, as a consequence, the sacred doctrines of the faith have been defined more closely, and set forth more fully, errors have been condemned and restrained, ecclesiatical discipline has been restored and more firmly secured, the love of learning and of piety has been promoted among the clergy, colleges have been established to educate youth for the sacred warfare, and the morals of the Christian world have been renewed by the more accurate training of the faithful, and by the more frequent use of the sacraments. Moreover, there has resulted a closer communion of the members with the visible head, an increase of vigor in the whole mystical body of Christ, the multiplication of religious congregations and of other institutions of Christian piety, and such ardor in extending the kingdom of Christ throughout the world, as constantly endures, even to the sacrifice of life itself.

But while we recall with due thankfulness these and other signal benefits which the divine mercy has bestowed on the Church, especially by the last (Ecumenical Council, we cannot restrain our bitter sorrow for the grave evils, which are principally due to the fact that the authority of that sacred Synod has been contemned, or its wise decrees neglected, by many.

No one is ignorant that the heresies proscribed by the Fathers of Trent, by which the divine magisterium of the Church was rejected, and all matters regarding religion were surrendered to the judgment of each individual, gradually became dissolved into many sects, which disagreed and contended with one another, until at length not a few lost all faith in Christ. Even the Holy Scriptures, which had previously been declared the sole source and judge of Christian doctrine, began to be held no longer as divine, but to be ranked among the fictions of mythology.

Then there arose, and too widely overspread the world, that doctrine of rationalism, or naturalism, which opposes itself in every way to the Christian religion as a supernatural institution, and works with the utmost zeal in order that, after Christ, our sole Lord and Saviour, has been excluded from &e minds of men, and from the life and moral acts of nations, the reign of what they call pure reason or nature may be established. And after forsaking and rejecting the Christian religion, and denying the true God and His Christ, the minds of many have sunk into the abyss of Pantheism, Materialism, and Atheism, until, denying rational nature itself, and every sound rule of right, they labor to destroy the deepest foundations of human society.

Unhappily, it has yet further come to pass that, while this impiety prevailed on every side, many even of the children of the Catholic Church- have strayed from the path of true piety, and by the gradual diminution of the truths they held, the Catholic sense became weakened in them. For, led away by various and strange doctrines, utterly confusing nature and grace, human science and divine faith, they are found to deprave the true sense of the doctrines which our Holy Mother Church holds and teaches, and endanger the integrity and the soundness of the faith.

Considering these things, how can the Church fail to be deeply stirred? For, even as God wills all men to be saved, and to arrive at the knowledge of the truth; even as Christ came to save what had perished, and to gather together the children of God who had been dispersed, so the Church, constituted by God the mother and teacher of nations, knows its own office as debtor to all, and is ever ready and watchful to raise the fallen, to support those who are falling, to embrace those who return, to confirm the good and to carry them on to better things. Hence, it can never forbear from witnessing to and proclaiming the truth of God, which heals all things, knowing the words addressed to it: " My Spirit that is in thee, and my words that I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, from henceforth and forevei " (Isaias lix. 21).

We, therefore, following the footsteps of our predecessors, have never ceased, as becomes our supreme Apostolic office, from teaching and defending Catholic truth, and condemning doctrines of error. And now, with the Bishops of the whole world assembled round us, and judging with us, congregated by our authority, and in the Holy Spirit, in this (Ecumenical Council, we, supported by the Word of God written and handed down as we received it from the Catholic Church, preserved with sacredness and set forth according to truth, — have determined to profess and declare the salutary teaching of Christ from this Chair of Peter, and in sight of all, proscribing and condemning, by the power given to us of God, all errors contrary thereto.

OF GOD, THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS.

THE Holy C%tholic Apostolic Roman Church believes and confesses that there is one true and living God, Creator and Lord of heaven and earth, Almighty, Eternal, Immense, Incomprehensible, Infinite in intelligence, in will, and in all perfection, who, as being one, sole, absolutely simple and immutable spiritual substance, is to be declared as really and essentially distinct from the world, of supreme beatitude in 'and from Himself, and ineffably exalted above all things which exist, or are conceivable, except Himself.

This one only true God, of His own goodness and almighty power, not for the increase or acquirement of His own happiness, but to manifest His perfection by the blessings which He bestows on creatures, and with absolute freedom of Counsel, created out of nothing, from the very first beginning of time, both the spiritual and the corporeal creature, to wit, the angelical and the mundane, and afterwards the human creature, as partaking, in a sense, of both, consisting of spirit and of body.

God pro'-ects and governs by His Providence all things which. He hath made, " reaching from end to end mightily, and ordering all things sweetly " (Wisdom viii. 1). For " all things are bare and open to His eyes " (Heb. iv. 13), even those which are yet to be by the free action of crea tares.

CHAPTEE H.

OF REVELATION.

The same Holy Mother Church holds and teaches that God, the beginning and end of all things, may be certainly known by the natural light of human reason, by means of created things; " for the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made " (Romans i. 20), but that it pleased His wisdom and bounty to reveal Himself, and the eternal decrees of His will, to mankind by another and a supernatural way: as the Apostle says, " God, having spoken on divers occasions, and many ways, in times past, to the fathers by the prophets; last of all, in these days, hath spoken to us by His Son " (Hebrews i. 1, 2).

It is to be ascribed to this divine revelation, that such truths among things divine as of themselves are not beyond human reason, can, even in the present condition of mankind, be known by every one with facility, with firm assurance, and with no admixture of error. This, however, is not the reason why revelation is to be called absolutely necessary; but because God of His infinite goodness has ordained man to a supernatural end, viz., to be a sharer of divine blessings which utterly exceed the intelligence of the human mind; for '• eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, •what things God hath prepared for them that love Him " (1 Cor. ii. 9V

Further, this supernatural revelation, according\to the universal belief of the Church, declared by the Synod of Trent, is contained in the written books and written traditions which have come down to us, having been received by the Apostles from the mouth of Christ himself, or from the Apostles themselves, by the dictation of the Holy Spirit, have been transmitted, as it were, from hand to hand.¹ And these books of the Old and New Testament are to be received as sacred and canonical, in their integrity, with all their parts, as they are enumerated in the decree of the said Council, and are contained in tha ancient Latin edition of the Vulgate. These the Church holds to be sacred and canonical, not because, having been carefully composed by mere human industry, they were afterwards approved by her authority, nor merely because they contain revelation, with no admixture of error, but because, having been written by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, they have God for their author, and have been delivered as such to the Church herself.

And as the things which the Holy Synod of Trent decreed for the good of souls concerning the interpretation of Divine Scripture, in order to curb rebellious spirits, have been wrongly explained by some, We, renewing the said decree, declare this to be their sense, that, in matters of faith and morals, appertaining to the building up of Christian doctrine, that is to be held as the true sense of Holy Scripture which our Holy Mother Church hath held and holds, to whom it belongs to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the Holy Scripture; and therefore that it is permitted to no one to interpret the Sacred Scripture contrary to this sense, nor, likewise, contrary to the unanimous consent of the Fathers.

CHAPTEE

ON FAITH.

Man being wholly dependent upon God, as upon his Creator and Lord, and created reason being absolutely subject to uncreated truth, we are bound to yield to God, by faith in His revelation, the full obedience of our intelligence and will. And the Catholic Church teaches that this faith, which is the beginning of man's salvation, is a supernatural virtue, whereby, inspired and assisted by the grace of God, we believe that the things which He has revealed are true; not because of the intrinsic truth of the things, viewed by the natural light of reason, but because of the authority of God Himself who reveals them, and Who can neither be deceived nor deceive. For faith, as the Apostle testifies, is "the substance of things hoped for, the conviction of things that appear not" (Hebrews i. ii).

Nevertheless, in order that the obedience of our faith might be in harmony with reason, God willed that to the interior help of the Holy Spirit, there should be joined exterior proofs of His revelation; to wit, divine facts, and especially miracles and prophecies, which, as they manifestly display the omnipotence and infinite knowledge of God, are most certain proofs of His divine revelation, adapted to the intelligence of all men. Wherefore, both Moses and the Prophets, and most especially, Christ our Lord Himself, showed forth many and most evident miracles and prophecies; and of the Apostles we read: "But they going forth preached everywhere, the Lord working withal, and confirming the word with signs that-followed" (Mark xvi. 20). And again, it is written: "We have the more firm prophetical word, whereunto you do well to attend, as to a light shining in a dark place " (2 St. Peter i. 19).

But though the assent of faith is by no means a blind action of the inind, still no man can assent to the Gospel teaching, as is necessary to obtain salvation, without the illumination and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who gives to all men sweetness in assenting to and believing in the truth.² Wherefore, Faith itself, even when it does not work by charity, is in itself a gift of God, and the act of faith is a work appertaining to salvation, by which man yields voluntary obedience to God Himself, by assenting to and co-operating with His grace, which he is able to resist.

Further, all those things are to be believed with divine and Catholic faith which are contained in the word of God, written or handed down, and which the Church, either by a solemn judgment, or by her ordinary and universal magisterium, proposes for belief as having been divinely revealed.

And since, without faith, it is impossible to please God, and to attain to the fellowship of His children, therefore without faith no one has ever attained justification, nor will any one obtain eternal life, unless he shall have persevered in faith unto the end. And, that we may be able to satisfy the obligation of embracing the true faith and of constantly persevering in it, God has instituted the Church through His only begotten Son, and has bestowed on it manifest notes of that institution, that it may be recognized by all men as the guardian and teacher of the revealed Word; for to the Catholic Church alone belong all those many and admirable tokens which have been divinely established for the evident credibility of the Christian Faith. Nay, more, the Church by itself, with its marvellous extension, its eminent holiness, and its inhexhaustible fruitful-ness in every good thing, with its Catholic unity and its invincible stability, is a great and perpetual motive of credibility, and an irrefutable witness of its own divine mission.

And thus, like a standard set up unto the nations (Isan>s xi. 12), it both invites to itself those who do not yet believe, and assures its children that the faith which they profess rests on the most firm foundation. And its testimony is efficaciously supported by a power from on high. For our most merciful Lord gives His grace to stir up and to aid those who are astray, that they may come to a knowledge of the truth; and to those whom He has brought out of darkness into His own admirable light He gives His grace to strengthen them to persevere in that light, deserting none who desert not Him. Therefore there is no parity between the condition of those who have adhered to the Catholic truth by the heavenly gift of faith, and of those who, led by human opinions, follow a false religion; for those who have received the faith under the magisterium of the Church can never have any just cause for changing or doubting that faith. Therefore, giving thanks to God the Father who has made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the Saints in light, let us not neglect so great salvation, but with our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our Faith, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. (Hebr. xii. 2, and x. 23.)

CHAPTEE IV.

OP FAITH AND EEASON.

The Catholic Church, with one consent has also evei field and does hold that there is a two-fold order of knowledge distinct both in principle and also in object; in principle because our knowledge in the one is by natural reason, and in the other by divine faith; in object, because, besides those things to which natural reason can attain, there are proposed to our belief mysteries hidden in God, which, unless divinely revealed, cannot be known. Wherefore the Apostle, who testifies that God is known by the gentiles through created things, still, when discoursing of the grace and truth which come by Jesus Christ (John i. 17) says: " We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, a wisdom which is hidden, which God ordained before the world unto our glory; which none of the princes of this world knew... but to us God hath revealed them by His Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God " (1 Cor. ii. 7-9). And the only-begotten Son himself gives thanks to the Father, because He has hid these things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed them to little ones (Matt. xi. 25).

Reason, indeed, enlightened by faith, when it seeks earnestly, piously, and calmly, attains by a gift from God some, and that a very fruitful, understanding of mysteries; partly fr8m the analogy of those things which it naturally knows, partly from the relations which the mysteries bear to one another and to the last end of man; but reason never becomes capable of apprehending mysteries as it does those truths which constitute its proper object. For the divine mysteries by their own nature so far transcend the created intelligence that, even when delivered by revelation and received by faith, they remain covered with the veil of faith itself, and shrouded in a certain degree of darkness, so long as we are pilgrims in this mortal life, not yet with God; " for we walk by faith and not by sight " (2 Cor. v.' 7).

But although faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason, since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, and God cannot deny Himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth.

The false appearance of such a contradiction is mainly due, either to the dogmas of faith not having been understood and expounded according to the mind of the Church, or to the inventions of opinion having been taken for the verdicts of reason. We define, therefore, that every assertion contrary to a truth of enlightened faith is utterly false.³ Further, the Church, which, together with the Apostolic office cf teaching, has received a charge to guard the deposit of faith, derives from God the right and the duty of proscribing false science, lest any should be deceived by philosophy and vain fallacy (Coloss. ii. 8), Therefore all faithful Christians are not only forbidden to defend, as legitimate conclusions of science, such opinions as are known to be contrary to the doctrines of faith, especially if they have been condemned by the Church, but are altogether bound to account them as errors which put on the fallacious appearance of truth.

And not only can faith and reason never be opposed to one another, but they are of mutual aid one to the other; for right reason demonstrates the foundations of*faith, and enlightened by its light, cultivates the science of things divine; while faith frees and guards reason from errors, and furnishes it with manifold knowledge. So far, therefore, is the Church from opposing the cultivation of human arts and sciences, that it in many ways helps and promotes it. For the Church neither ignores nor despises the benefits of human life which result from the arts and sciences, but confesses that, as they came from God, the Lord of all science, so, if they be rightly used, they lead to God by the help of His grace. Nor does the Church forbid that each of these sciences in its sphere should make use of its own principles and its own method; but, while recognizing this just liberty, it stands watchfully on guard, lest sciences,

APPENDIX. 2I/ setting themselves against the divine teaching, ^or trans-g.essing their own limits, should invade and disturb the domain of faith.

For the doctrine of faith which God hath revealed has not been proposed, like a philosophical invention, to be perfected by human ingenuity, but has been delivered as a divine deposit to the Spouse of Christ, to be faithfully kept and infallibly declared. Hence also, that meaning of the sacred dogmas is perpetually to be retained which our Holy Mother the Church has once declared; nor is that meaning ever to be departed from, under the pretence or pretext of a deeper comprehension of them. Let, then, the intelligence, science, and wisdom of each and all, of individuals and of the whole Church, in all ages and all times, increase and flourish in abundance and vigor; but simply in its own proper kind, that is to say, in one and the same doctrine, one and the same sense, one and the same judgment (Vincent, of Lerins, Common, n. 28).

CANONS.

Of God, the Creator of all things.

1. If any one shall deny One true God, Creator and Lord of things visible and invisible; let him be anathema.

2. If any one shall not be ashamed to affirm that, except matter, nothing exists; let him be anathema.

3. If any one shall say that the substance and essence of God and of all things is one and the same; let him be anathema.

4. If any one shall say that finite things, both corporeal and spirituaJ, or at least spiritual, have emanated from the divine substance; or that the divine essence by the mani-

IO festation.and evolution of itself becomes all things; or, lastly, that God is universal or indefinite being, which by determining itself constitutes the universality of things, distinct according to genera, species and individuals; let him be anathema.

5. If any one confess not that the world, and all things which are contained in it, both spiritual and material, have been, in their whole substance, produced by God out of nothing; or shall say that God created, not by His will, free from all necessity, but by a necessity equal to the necessity whereby He loves Himself; or shall deny that the world was made for the glory of God; let him be anathema.

IX

Of Revelation.

1. If any one shall say that the One true God, our Creator and Lord, cannot be certainly known by the natural light of human reason through created things; let him be anathema.

2. If any one shall say that it is impossible or inexpedient that man should be taught, by divine revelation, concerning God and the worship to be paid to Him; let him be anathema.

3. If any one shall say that man cannot be raised by divine power to a higher than natural knowledge and perfection, but can and ought, by a continuous progress, to arrive at length, of himself, to the possession of all that is true and good; let him be anathema.

4. If any one shall not receive as sacred and canonical the Books of Holy Scripture, entire with all their parts, as the Holy Synod of Trent has enumerated them, or shaL1 deny that they have been divinely inspired; let him be anathema m.

Of Faith.

1. If any one shall say that human reason is 8v '///dependent that faith cannot be enjoined upon it by GoJ; let him be anathema.

2. If any one shall say that divine faith is IL/C distinguished from natural knowledge of God and o* moral truths, and therefore that it is not requisite for diviue faith that revealed truth be believed because 'of the authority of God, Who reveals it; let him be anathema.

3. If any one shall say that divine revelation cannot be made credible by outward signs, and therefore that nar-n ought to be moved to faith solely by the internal experience of each, or by private inspiration; let him be anathema.

4. If any one shall say that miracles are impossible, and therefore that all the accounts regarding them, even those contained in Holy Scripture, are to be dismissed as fabu Jous or mythical; or that miracles can never be known with certainty, and that the divine origin of Christianity cannot be proved by them; let him be anathema.

5. If any one shall say that the assent of Christian faith is not a free act, but inevitably produced by the arguments of human reason; or that the grace of God is necessary for that living faith only which worketh by charity; let him be anathema.

6. If any one shall say that the condition of the faithful, and of those who have not yet attained to the only true faith, is on a par, so that Catholics may have just cause for doubting, with suspended assent, the faith which they have already received under the magisterium of the Church, until they shall have obtained a scientific demonstration of the credibility and truth of their faith; let him be anathema.

22O THE VATICAN COUNCIL.

rv.

Of Faith and Eeason.

1. If any one shall say that in divine revelation there are no mysteries, truly and properly so called, but that all the doctrines of faith can be understood and demonstrated from natural principles, by properly cultivated reason; let him be anathema.

2. If an}7 one shall say that human sciences are to be so freely treated, that their assertions, although opposed to revealed doctrine, are to be held as true, and cannot be condemned by the Church; let him be anathema.

3L If any one shall assert it to be possible that sometimes, according to the progress of science, a sense is to be given to doctrines propounded by the Church different from that which the Church has understood and understands; let him be anathema.

Therefore We, fulfilling the duty of our supreme pastoral office, entreat, by the mercies of Jesus Christ, and, by the authority of the same our God and Saviour, We command, all the faithful of Christ, and especially those who are set over others, or are charged witk the office of instruction, that they earnestly and diligently apply themselves to ward off, and eliminate, these errors from Holy Cliurch, and to spread the liglit of pure faith.

And since it is not sufficient to shun heretical pravity, unless those errors also be diligently avoided which more or less nearly approach it, We admonish all men of the further duty of observing those constitutions and decrees by which such erroneous opinions as are not here specifically enumerated, have been proscribed and condemned by this Holy See.

Given at Borne in public Session solemnly held in the Vatican Basilica in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and seventy, on the twenty-fourth day of April, in the twenty-fourth year of our Pontificate.

In conformity with the original.

JOSEPH, Bishop of S. Pollen, Secretary of the Vatican Council.

TEXT OF THE CONSTITUTIONS

CONSTITVTIO DOGMATICA PRIMA DE ECCLESIA CHRISTI.

PIVS EPISCOPVS SEBWS SEEVORVM DEI SACEO APPROBANTE CONCIUO AD PERPETVAM BEI MEMORIAM.

Pastor aeternus et episcopus animarum nostrarum, ut salutiferurn redemptionis opus perenne redderet, sanctam aedificare Ecclesiam decrevit, in qua veluti in donio Dei viventis fideles omnes unius fidei et charitatis vinculo continerentur. Quapropter, priusquam clarificaretur, rogavit Patrem non pro Apostolis tan turn, sed et pro eis, qui credituri erant per verhum eorum in ipsum, ut omnes unum essent, sicut ipse Filius et Pater unum sunt. Quemadmodum igitur Apostolos, quos sibi de mundo elegerat, misit sicut ipse missus erat a Patre: ita in Ecclesia sua Pastores et Doctores usque ad consummation em saeculi esse Toluit. Ut vero episcopatus ipse unus et indivisus esset, et per cohaerentes sibi invicem sacerdotes credentium multitude universa in fidei et communionis unitate conservaretur, beatum Petrum oaeteris Apostolis praeponens in ipso instituit perpetuum utriusque unitatis principium ao visihile fundamentum, super cuius fortitudinem aeternum exstrueretur templum, et Ecclesiae coelo inferenda sublimitas in huius fidei firmitate corisurgeret.* Et quoniam portae infer! ad evertendam, si fieri posset, Ecclesiam contra ems fundamentum divinitus positum maiori in dies odio undique insurgunt; Nos ad catholici gregis custodiam, incolumitatem, augmentum, necessarium esse iudicamus, sacro approbante Goncilio, doctrinam de institutione, perpetuitate, ac natura sacri Apostolici primatus, in quo totius Ecclesiae vis ac soliditas consistit, cunctis fidelibus credendam et tenendam, secundum antiquam atque consfcaiiten; universalis Ecclesiae fidem, proponere, atque contraries, dominico gregi adeo perniciosos errores proscribere et condemnare.

DE APOSTOLICI PEIMATUS IN BEATO PETEO INSTITUTIONE.

Docemus itaque et declaramus, iuxta Evangelii testimonia, primatum iurisdictionis in universam Dei Ecclesiam immediate et directe beato Petro Apostolo promissum atque collatum a Christo Domino fuisse. Unum enim Simonem, cui iam pridem dixerat: Tu vocaberis Cephas.f postquam ille suam edidit confessionem inquiens: Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi, solemnibus his verbis allocutus est Dominus: Beatus es Simon Bar-Iona: quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus, qui in coelis est: et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus earn: et tibi dabo claves regni coelorum: et quodcunique ligaveris super terrain, erit ligatum⁴ et in coelis: et quodcumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in coelis.⁵ Atque uni Sinioni Petro contulit lesus post suam resurrectionem summi pastoris et rectoris iurisdictionem in totum suum ovile, dicens: Pasce agnos nieos: Pasce oves meas.f Huic tarn manifestae sacrarum Scripturarum doctrinae, ut ab Ecclesia catholica semper intellecta est, aperte opponuntur pravae eorum sententiae, qui constitutam a Christo Domino in sua Ecclesia regiminis formam pervertentes negant, solum Petrum prae caeteris Apostolis, sive seorsum singulis sive omnibus simul, vero proprioque iurisdictionis primatu fuisse a Christo instructum; aut qui affirmant, eundem primatum non immediate, directeque ipsi beato Petro, sed Ecclesiae, et per hanc illi ut ipsius Ecclesiae ministro delatum fuisse.

Si quis igitur dixerit, beatum Petrnm Apostolum non esse a Christo Domino constitutum Apostolorum omnium principem et totius Ecclesiae militantis visibile caput; vel eundem honoris tantum, non autem verae propriaeque iurisdictionis primatum ab eodem Domino nostro lesu Christo directe et immediate accepisse; anathema sit.

CAPUT IL

DE PERPETUITATE PRIMATUS BEATI PETRI IN EOMANIS PONTIFICIBUS.

Quod autem in beato Apostolo Petro princeps pastorum et pastor magnus ovium Dominus Christ as lesus in perpetuam salutem ac perenne bonuui Ecclesiae instituit, id •eodem auctore in Ecclesiae, quae fundata super petram ad finem saeculorum usque firma stabit, iujiter durare necesse esi Nulli sane dubium, imo saeculis omnibus notum est, quod sanctus beatissinmsque Petrus, Apostolcrum princeps et caput, fideique columna et Ecclesiae catholicae fundamentum. a Domino nostro lesu Christo, Salvatore humani generis ac Kedemptore, claves regni accepit: qui ad hoc usque ternpus et semper in suis successoribus, episcopis sanctae Romanae Sedis, ab ipso fundatae, eiusque consecratae sanguine, vivet et praesidet et iudicium exercet.⁶ Unde quicumque in hac cathedra Petro succedit, is secundum Christi ipsius institution em primatum Petri in universam Ecclesium obtinet. Manet ergo dispositio veritatis, et beatus Petrus in accepta fortitudine petraea perseverans suscepta Ecclesiae gubernacula non reliquitf Hac de causa ad Romanam Ecclesiam propter potentiorem principalitatem necesse semper fuit omnem convenire Ecclesiam, hoc est, eos, qui sunt undique fideles, ut in ea Sede, e qua venerandae communionis iura in omnes dimanant, tarnquam membra in capite consociata, in unam corporis compagem coalescerent.J

Si quis ergo dixerit, non esse ex ipsius Christi Domini institutione seu iure divino, ut beatus Petrus in primatu super universain Ecclesiam habeat perpetuos successores; aut Eomanum Pontincem non esse beati Petri hi eodem primatu successorem; anathema sit.

CAPUT in.

DE VI ET RATIONE PBIMATUS EOMANI PONTinCIS.

Quapropter apertis hinixi sacraruin litterarum testimo niis, et inhaerentes turn Praedecessorum Nostroruio, Ro⁷ manorum Pontificum, turn Conciliorum generalium disertis, perspicuisque decretis, innovamus oecumenici Concilii Florentini definitionem, qua credendum ab omnibus Christi fidelibus est, sanctam Apostolicam Sedem, et Romanum Pontificem in universum orbem tenere primatum, et ipsum Pontificem Komanum successorem esse beati Petri Principis Apostolorum, et verum Christi Vicarium, totiusqne Ecclesiae caput, et omnium Christianorum patrem ac doctorem existere; et ipsi in beato Petro pascendi, regendi ac gubernandi universalem Ecclesiam a Domino nostro Icsu Christo plenam potestatem traditam esse; quern admodum etiam in gestis oecumenicorum Conciliornm et in sacris canonibus continetur.

Docemus proinde et declaramus, Ecclesiam Romanam disponente Domino super omnes alias ordinariae potestatis obtinere principatum, et hanc Romani Pontificis iurisdictionis potestatem, quae vere episcopalis est, immediatam esse: erga quam cuiuscumque ritus et dignitatis pastores atque fideles, tarn seorsum singuli quam simul omnes, officio hierarchicae subordinationis, veraeque obedientiae obstringuntur, non solum in rebus, quae ad fidem et mores, sed etiam in iis, quae ad disciplinam et regimen Ecclesiae per totum orbem diffusae pertinent; ita ut custodita cum Romano Pontifice tarn communionis, quam eiusdem fidei professionis imitate, Ecclesia Christi sit unus grex sub uno summo pastoie. Haec est catholicae veritatis doctrina, a qua deviare salva fide atque salute nemo potest.

Tantnm autem abest, ut haec Summi Pontificis potestas officiat ordinariae ac immediatae illi episcopalis iurisdictionis potestati, qua Episcopi, qui positi a Spiritu Sancto in Apostolorum locum successerunt, tamquam veri pastores assignatos sibi greges, singuU singulos, pascunt et regunt, ut eadem a supremo et universal! Pastore asseratur, roboretur ac vindicetur, secundum illud sancti Gregorii Magni: Meus honor est honor universalis Ecclesiae. Meus honor est fratrum meorum soh'dus vigor. Turn ego vere honoratus sum, cum singulis quibusque honor debit as non negatur.⁸

Pcrro ex suprema ilia Romani Pontificis pro testate gubernandi universam Ecclesiam ius eidem esse consequitur, in huius sui muneris exercitio libere communicandi cum pastoribus et gregibus totius Ecclesiae, ut iidem ab ipso in via salutus doceri ac regi possint. Quare damnamus ac reprobanms illorum sententias, qui hanc supremi capitis cum pastoribus et gregibus communicationem licite impediri posse dicunt, aut eandeni reddunt saeculari potestati obnoxiam, ita ut contendant, quae ab Apostolica Sede vel eius auctoritate ad regimen Ecclesiae constituuntur, vim ac valorem non habere, nisi potestatis saecularis placito confirmentur.

Et quoniain divino Apostolici primatus iure Romanus Pontifex universae Ecclesiae praeest, docemus etiam et declaramus, eum esse iudicem supreraum fidelium,')' et in omnibus causis ad examen eeclesiasticum spectantibiis ad ipsius posse indicium recurri; J Seclis vero Apostolicae, cuius auctoritate maior non est, iudicium a nemine fore retractandum, neque cuiquam de eius licere iudicare iudicio.⁹ Quare a recto veritatis tramite aberrant, qui affirmant, L'cere ab iudiciis Romanorum Pontificum ad Oecumenicum Concilium tamquam ad auctoritatem Romano Pontifice superiorem appellare.

Si quis itaque dixerit, Romanum Pontincem habere tantummodo officium inspectionis vel directiouis, non autem plenam et supremam potestatem iurisdictionis in universam Ecclesiam, non solum in rebus, quae ad fidem et mores, sed etiam in iis, quae ad disciplinam et regimen Ecclesiae per totum orbem diffusae pertinent; aut eum habere tantum potiores partes, son vero totam plcnitudinem huius su-

JConcil. Oecum. Lugdun. II.¹⁰

preinae potestatis; ant hanc eius potestatem non esse ordinariam et immediatam sive in omnes ac singulas ecclesias, sive in omnes et singulos pastores et fideies; anathema sit.

CAPUT IV.

DE BOMANI PONTIFICIS INFALLn3ILI MAGISTERIO.

Ipso autem Apostolico primatu, quern Romanus Pontifex tamquam Petri principis Apostoloruni successor in universam Ecclesiam obtinet, supremam quoque magisterii potestatem comprehendi, haec Sancta Sedes semper tenuit, perpetuus Ecclesiae usus comprobat, ipsaque oecumenica Concilia, ea imprimis, in quibus Oriens cum Occidente in fidei charitatisque unionem conveniebat, declaraverunt. Patres enim Concilii Constantinopolitani quarti, maiorara vestigiis inhaerentes, hanc solemnem ediderunt professionem: Prima salus est, rectae fidei regulam custodire. Et quia non potest Domini nostri lesu Christi praetermitti sententia dicentis ^ Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, haec, quae dicta sunt, rerum probantur effectibus, quia in Sede Apostolica immaculata est semper catholica reservato religio, et sancta celebrata doctrina. Ab hums ergo fide et doctrina separari minime cupientes, speramus, ut in una cummunione, quam Sedes Apostolica praedicat, esse mereamur, in qua est integra et vera Christianae rehgionis soliditas.¹¹ Approbante vero Lugdunensi Concilio secundo, Graeci professi sunt: Sanctani Romanam Ecclesiam summum et plenum primatum et principatum super universam Ecclesiam catholicam obtinere, quern se ab ipso Domino in beato Petro Apostolorum principe sive vertice, cuius Eomanus Pontifex est successor, cum potestatis plenitudine recepisse veraciter et humiliter recognoscit; et sicut prae caeteris tenetur fidei veritateni defendere, sic et, si quae de fide subortae fuerint quaestiones, suo debent iudicio definiri. Florentinum denique Concilium definivit: Pontificem Romanum, verum Cbristi Vicarium, totiusque Ecclesiae caput et omnium Christiancrum patrem ac doctorum existere; et ipsi in beato Petro pascendi, regendi ac gubernandi universalem Ecclesiam a Domino nostro Jesu Christo plenam potestatem traditam esse.

Huic pastorali muneri ut satisfacerent, Praedecessores Nostri indefessam semper operam dederunt, ut salutaria Christi doctrina apud omnes terrae populus propagaretur, parique cura vigilarunt, ut, ubi recepta esset, sincera et pura conservaretur. Quocirca totius orbis Antistites nunc singuli, nunc in Synodis congregati, loiigam ecclesiarum consuetudinem et antiquae regulae formam sequentes, ea praesertim pericula, quae in negotiis fidei emergebant ad hanc Sedeni Apostolicam retulerunt, ut ibi potissimum resarcirentur damna fidei, ubi fides non potest sentire defectum.¹² Romani autem Pontifices, prout temporum et rerum conditio suadebat, nuncconvocatis oecumenicis Conciliis aut explorata Ecclesiae per orbem dispersae sententia, nunc per Synodos particulares, nunc aliis, quae divina suppeditabat providentia, adhibitis auxiliis, ea tenenda definiverunt, quae sacris Scripturis et apostolicis Traditionibus consentanea Deo adiutore cognoverant. Neque enim Petri successoribus Spiritus Sanctus promissus est, ut eo revelante novam doctrinam patefacerent, sed ut eo assistente traditam per A.postolos revelationem seu fidei depositum sancte custodirent et fideliter exponerent. Quorum quidem apostolicam doctrinam omnes venerabiles Patres amplexi et sancti Doctores orthodox! venerati atque secuti sunt;

plenissime scientes, hanc sancti Petri Sedom ab omni semper errore illibatam permanere, secundum Domini Solvatoris nostri divinam pollicitationem discipulonun suoruin principi factam: Ego rogavi pro te, ut non deficiat fides tua, et tu aliquando conversus confirma fratres tuos.

Hoc igitur veritatis et fidei numquam deficientis charisma Petro eiusque in hac Cathedra successoribus divinitus collatum est, ut excelso suo munere in omnium salutem fungerentur, ut universus Christi grex per eos ab erroria venenosa esca aversus, coelestis doctrinae pabulo nutriretur, ut sublata schismatis occasione Ecclesia tot a una conservaretur, atque suo fundaniento innixa firma adversus inferi portas consisteret.

Atvero cum hac ipsa aetate, qua salutifera Apostoh'ci muneris efficacia vel maxime requiritur, non pauci inveniantur, qui illius auctoritati obtrectant; necessarium omnino esse censemus, praerogativam, quam unigenitus Dei Filiua cum summo pastorali officio coniungere dignatus est, solemniter asserere.

Itaque Nos traditioni a fidei Christianae exordio perceptae fideliter inhaerendo, ad Dei Salvatoris nostri gloriam, religionis Catholicae exaltationem et Christianorum populorum salutem, sacro approbante Concilio, docemus et divinitus revelatum dogma esse definimus; Romanum Pontificem, cum ex Cathedra loquitur, id est, cum omnium Christianorum Pastoris et Doctoris munere fungens, pro suprema sua Apostolica auctoritate doctrinam de fide vel moribus ab universa Ecclesia tenendam definit, per assistentiam divinam, ipsi in bsato Petro promissam, ea infallibilitate pollere, qua divinus Redemptor Ecclesiam suam in definieuda doctrina de fide vel moribus instructam esse voluit; ideoque eiusmodi Komani Pontificis definitiones ex sese, non autem ex consensu Ecclesiae irreformabiles esse.

Si quis autem hiuc Nostrae definitioni contradicere, quod Deus avertat, praesumpserit; anathema sit.

Datum Komae, in publica Sessione in Vaticana Basilica solemniter celebrata anno Incarnationis Dominicae millesimo octingentesimo septuagesimo, die decima octava lulii Pontificatus Nostri anno vigesimo quinto.

Ita est.

JOSEPHTJS,

Episcopus S. Ippolyti, Secretarius Concilii Vaticani.

TRANSLATION.

FIRST DOGMATIC CONSTITUTION ON THE CHURCH OF CHRIST.

Footnotes

1. Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, Session the Fourth, Decree concerning the Canonical Scriptures. ↩

2. Canons of the Second Council of Orange, confirmed by Pope Boniface II., A.D. 529, against the Semipelagians, can. vii. See Deuzinger'a Enckiridian Symbolarum, p. 50. Wurzbiirg, 1664. ↩

3. From the Bull of Pope Leo X * Apostolici regiminis, read in the VIII. Session of the Fifth Lateran Council, A.D. 1513. See Lahbe's Council?, vol. xix. p. 843. Venice. 1733. ↩

4. S. Leo M. Serm. iv. (al. iii.) cap. 2, in diem Natalis suL t loan. i. 42. ↩

5. Matth. xvi. 16-19 t loan. xxi. 15-17. ↩

6. Cf. Ephesini Concilii Act. iii. t S. Leo M. Serin, iii. (el. ii.) cap. 3. " ↩

7. S. Iren Adv. Haer. 1. iii. c. 3, et Cone. Aquilei. a. 381. inter epp. 8 Ambros. ep. xi. ↩

8. Ep. ad. Eulog. Alcxan drin. 1. viii. ep. xxx. ↩

9. Pii PP. VI. Breve, Super soliditate. d. 28 Nov. 1786. ↩

10. Ep. Nicolai I. ad Michaelem Imperatorem. ↩

11. Ex formula S. Hormisdae Papae, prout ab Hadriano II. Patribus Concilii Oecumenici VIII., Const antinopolitani IV., proposita et ab Usdem subscripts est. ↩

12. Cf. S. Berij. Epist. exc. ↩