A LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PAPAL DOCUMENTS
As you know, on April 12, Pope Francis issued a motu proprio, the 61st of his pontificate according to the vatican.va website. That document made changes to the penal legislation and judicial system of Vatican City State. These papal documents are often referred to “executive orders,” those issued by U.S presidents
There are a number of papal documents.
The name given to certain papal rescripts on account of the clause motu proprio (of his own accord) used in the document. The words signify that the provisions of the rescript were decided on by the pope personally, that is, not on the advice of the cardinals or others, but for reasons which he himself deemed sufficient. The document has generally the form of a decree: in style it resembles a Brief rather than a Bull, but differs from both especially in not being sealed or countersigned. It is usually written in Italian or Latin. It begins by stating the reason inducing the sovereign pontiff to act, after which is stated the law or regulation made, or the favour granted, It is signed personally by the pope, his name and the date being always in Latin. A Motu Proprio was first issued by Innocent VIII in 1484. (www.newadvent,com)
What are the different papal documents?
Encyclical Letters, the most solemn documents of the ordinary and universal pontifical magisterium, are usually addressed to all the bishops and faithful of the Catholic Church, but frequently are also addressed to include “all people of good will.” Encyclical comes from a Greek term used to indicate letters that princes and magistrates sent to the widest possible number of people in order to make known laws, rules, regulations, etc. Encyclical today has come to be associated solely with the Church.
Encyclical Epistles are addressed to a specific group of bishops – for example those of a specific country or region – and touch upon less important matters.
Encyclicals may deal with doctrinal matters, exhort or call the faithful to public prayer for a specific reason, or be commemorative of an important Church anniversary. They are always signed by the Pope, usually in Latin, and are published in the “Acta Apostolicae Sedis” and in individual books in diverse languages.
The official Latin text is prepared by the Secretariat of State and normally five copies of the Latin-language document are signed by the Holy Father. The text, in various languages, is sent to bishops’ conferences worldwide through the pontifical representatives.
For many centuries, the office that prepared these documents was called the Chancery of Apostolic Letters. Dating back to the 4th century, the chancery was suppressed by Pope Paul VI in 1973.
Apostolic Exhortations are documents of a universal character and slightly less solemn than encyclicals. Distinguished by the ample length with which they treat the principal theme, these pontifical documents are exhortative or admonishing in nature. They are always signed by the Pope, in Latin. An Apostolic exhortation is usually issued after a synod and is often called a Post-synod Apostolic exhortation.
An Apostolic constitution is the highest form of ecclesiastical legislative document by which a Pope enacts or promulgates laws or establishes or modifies something important for the life of the Church. Such documents in the past have dealt with the reorganization of the Roman Curia, special faculties for the apostolic penitentiary during a holy year, the restructuring of the institution of cloistered nuns, new penitential norms, and new norms for a conclave. Written in Latin, they start: “(Name of Pope) Episcopus, Servus servorum Dei, ad perpetuam rei memoriam,” and conclude with the papal signature in Latin. Apostolic constitutions, as all other pontifical documents, bear a Latin-language title, usually two or three words, taken from the first words of the document. When they are translated into other languages for publication, the Latin title remains.
Apostolic letters are writings used for the proclamation of blesseds, to record “in scriptis” the nomination of cardinals, to name patron saints of a country, or to erect nunciatures and apostolic delegations. Many of these acts habitually take on the solemn form of a papal bull. There are also apostolic letters “motu proprio datae” with which norms are emanated, new institutes founded, and circumscriptions reorganized. Finally, there are letters that the Pope writes for an anniversary or a specific celebration to a particular person or group.
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