Commissum divinitus was an encyclical issued by Pope Gregory XVI on 14 May 1835, addressed to the Swiss clergy.
| Commissum divinitus Latin for 'Divinely commissioned' Encyclical of Pope Gregory XVI | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Signature date | 14 May 1835 |
| Subject | Church and state |
| Number | 6 of 9 of the pontificate |
| Text | |
Gregory issued the encyclical in response to the Articles of Baden, calling them "false, rash, erroneous, prejudicial to the Holy See, destructive to the government of the Church and its divine constitution, and subjecting ecclesiastical ministry [of the] Church to secular domination".[1] In particular, the encyclical criticizes the Swiss government for legalizing marriage between Catholics and non-Catholics, rejecting the suggestion that the secular government held the authority to regulate marriage.[2]
The encyclical continues Gregory's opposition to political liberalism.[3] Gregory rejects the authority of secular governments to regulate the Catholic church,[4] and opposes the idea of national churches.[3] This position, as laid out in Commissum divinitus, led seven Catholic cantons of Switzerland to form the Sonderbund.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Levillain, Philippe; O'Malley, John W. (2002). The Papacy: Gaius-Proxies. Psychology Press. pp. 674–675. ISBN 978-0-415-92230-2.
- ^ Kohlhaas, Jacob M.; Roche, Mary M. Doyle (3 June 2024). Modern Catholic Family Teaching: Commentaries and Interpretations. Georgetown University Press. ISBN 978-1-64712-434-2.
- ^ a b Howard, Thomas Albert (14 April 2017). The Pope and the Professor: Pius IX, Ignaz von Döllinger, and the Quandary of the Modern Age. Oxford University Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-19-104542-4.
- ^ Holland, Joe (2003). Modern Catholic Social Teaching: The Popes Confront the Industrial Age, 1740-1958. Paulist Press. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-8091-4225-5.