Pius, bishop, servant of the servants of God, with the approval e sacred council, for an everlasting record. The eternal shepherd and guardian of our souls, in order to render permanent the saving work of redemption, determined to build a Church in which, as in the house of the living God, all the faithful should be linked by the bond of faith and charity. Therefore, before he was glorified, he besought his Father, not for the apostles only, but also “for those who were to believe in him through their word, that they all might be one as the Son himself and the Father are one.” So then, just as he sent apostles, whom he chose out of the world, even as he had been sent by the Father, in like manner it was his will that in his Church there should be shepherds and teachers until the end of time. In order, then, that the episcopal office should be one and undivided and that, by the union of the clergy, the whole multitude of believers should be held together in the unity of faith and communion, he set blessed Peter over the rest of the apostles and instituted in him the permanent principle of both unities and their visible foundation. Upon the strength of this foundation was to be built the eternal temple, and the Church whose topmost part reaches heaven was to rise upon the firmness of this foundation. And since the gates of hell trying, if they can, to overthrow the Church, make their assault with a hatred that increases day by day against its divinely laid foundation, we judge it necessary, with the approbation of the sacred council, and for the protection, defense, and growth of the Catholic flock, to propound the doctrine concerning the institution, permanence, and nature of the sacred and apostolic primacy, upon which the strength and coherence of the whole Church depends. This doctrine is to be believed and held by all the faithful in accordance with the ancient and unchanging faith of the whole Church. Furthermore, we shall proscribe and condemn the contrary errors that are so harmful to the Lord’s flock.
Chapter 1
On the Institution of the Apostolic Primacy in Blessed Peter
We teach and declare that, according to the gospel evidence, a primacy of jurisdiction over the whole Church of God was immediately and directly promised to the blessed apostle Peter and conferred on him by Christ the Lord. It was to Simon alone, to whom he had already said, “You shall be called Cephas,” that the Lord, after his confession, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God,” spoke these words, “Blessed are you, Simon bar-Jona. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the underworld will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” And it was to Peter alone that Jesus after his resurrection confided the jurisdiction of supreme pastor and ruler of the whole flock, saying, “Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.” To this absolutely manifest teaching of the scriptures, as it has always been understood by the Catholic Church, are clearly opposed the distorted opinions of those who misrepresent the form of government that Christ the Lord established in the Church and deny that Peter, in preference to the rest of the apostles, taken singly or collectively, was endowed by Christ with true and proper primacy of jurisdiction. The same may be said of those who assert that this primacy was not conferred immediately and directly on blessed Peter himself but rather on the Church, and it was through the Church that it was transmitted to him in his capacity as her minister.
Therefore, if anyone says that the blessed apostle Peter was not appointed by Christ the Lord as prince of the apostles and visible head of the whole Church militant, or that it was a primacy of honor only and not one of true and proper jurisdiction that he directly and immediately received from our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema.
Chapter 2
On the Permanence of the Primacy of Blessed Peter
in the Roman Pontiffs
That which our Lord Jesus Christ, the prince of shepherds and the good shepherd of the sheep, established in the blessed apostle Peter, for the continual and permanent benefit of the Church, must of necessity remain forever by Christ’s authority in the Church that, founded as it is upon a rock, will stand firm until the end of time. For no one can be in doubt, indeed, it was known in every age, that the holy and most blessed Peter, prince and head of the apostles, the pillar of faith and the foundation of the Catholic Church, received the keys of the kingdom from our Lord Jesus Christ, the savior and redeemer of the human race, and that to this day and forever he lives, and presides, and exercises judgment in his successors the bishops of the Holy Roman See, which he founded and consecrated with his blood. Therefore, whoever succeeds to the chair of Peter obtains, by the institution of Christ himself, the primacy of Peter over the whole Church. So what the truth has ordained remains firm, and blessed Peter perseveres in the rock- like strength he was granted, and does not abandon that guidance of the Church that he once received. For this reason it has always been necessary for every Church—that is, the faithful throughout the world—to be in agreement with the Roman Church because of its more effective leadership. In consequence of being joined, as members to head, with that see from which the rights of sacred communion flow to all, they will grow together into the structure of a single body.
Therefore, if anybody says that it is not by the institution of Christ the Lord himself (that is to say, by divine law) that blessed Peter should have perpetual successors in the primacy over the whole Church, or that the Roman pontiff is not the successor of blessed Peter in the primacy, let him be anathema.
Chapter 3
On the Power and Character of the Primacy of the Roman Pontiff
And so, supported by the clear witness of holy scripture, and adhering to the manifest and explicit decrees of both our predecessors, the Roman pontiffs, and of general councils, we promulgate anew the definition of the ecumenical council of Florence, which must be believed by all faithful Christians, namely, that the apostolic see and the Roman pontiff hold a world-wide primacy, and that the Roman pontiff is successor of blessed Peter, the prince of the apostles, the true vicar of Christ, head of the whole Church and father and teacher of all Christian people. To him, in blessed Peter, full power has been given by our Lord Jesus Christ to tend, rule, and govern the universal Church. All this is to be found in the acts of the ecumenical councils and the sacred canons.
Wherefore, we teach and declare that, by divine ordinance, the Roman Church possesses a preeminence of ordinary power over every other Church, and that the jurisdictional power of the Roman pontiff is both episcopal and immediate. Both clergy and faithful, of whatever rite and dignity, both singly and collectively, are bound to submit to this power by the duty of hierarchical subordination and true obedience, and this not only in matters concerning faith and morals, but also in those which regard the discipline and government of the Church throughout the world. In this way, by unity with the Roman pontiff in communion and profession of the same faith, the Church of Christ becomes one flock under one shepherd. This is the teaching of the Catholic truth, and no one can depart from it without endangering his faith and salvation.
This power of the supreme pontiff by no means detracts from the ordinary and immediate power of episcopal jurisdiction, by which bishops, who have succeeded to the place of the apostles by appointment of the Holy Spirit, tend and govern individually the particular flocks that have been assigned to them. On the contrary, this power of theirs is asserted, supported, and defended by the supreme and universal pastor, for Saint Gregory the Great says, “My honor is the honor of the whole Church. My honor is the stead- fast faith of my brethren. Then do I receive my honor, when it is denied to none of those to whom it is due.”
Furthermore, it follows from that supreme power that the Roman pontiff has in governing the whole Church that he has the right in the performance of this office of his, to communicate freely with the pastors and flocks of the entire Church, so that they might be taught and guided by him in the way of salvation. And there- fore we condemn and reject the opinions of those who hold that this communication of the supreme head with the pastors and flocks may be lawfully obstructed, or that it should be dependent upon the civil power, which leads them to maintain that what is determined by the apostolic see or by its authority concerning the government of the Church has no force or effect unless it is con- firmed by the agreement of the civil authority.
Since the Roman pontiff, by the divine right of his primacy, governs the whole Church, we likewise teach and declare that he is the supreme judge of the faithful, and that in all cases that fall under ecclesiastical jurisdiction recourse may be had to his judg- ment. The sentence of the apostolic see (than which there is no higher authority) is not subject to a revision by anyone, nor may anyone lawfully pass judgment thereupon. And so they stray from the genuine path of truth who maintain that it is lawful to appeal from the judgments of the Roman pontiff to an ecu- menical council, as if this were an authority superior to the Roman pontiff.
So, then, if anyone says that the Roman pontiff has merely an office of supervision and guidance, and not the full and supreme power of jurisdiction over the whole Church, and this not only in matters of faith and morals, but also in those that concern the dis- cipline and government of the Church dispersed throughout the whole world; or that he has only the principal part but not the ab- solute fullness of this supreme power; or that this power of his is not ordinary and immediate both over all and each of the Churches and over all and each of the pastors and faithful, let him be anathema.
Chapter 4
On the Infallible Teaching Authority of the Roman Pontiff
That apostolic primacy that the Roman pontiff possesses as successor of Peter, prince of the apostles, includes also the supreme power of teaching. This holy see has always maintained this, the constant custom of the Church demonstrates it, and the ecumenical councils, particularly those in which East and West met in the union of faith and charity, have declared it. So the fathers of the Fourth Council of Constantinople, following the footsteps of their predecessors, published this solemn profession of faith: The first condition of salvation is to maintain the rule of the true faith. And since that saying of our Lord Jesus Christ, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I build my Church,” cannot fail of its effect, the words spoken are confirmed by their consequences. For in the apostolic see the Catholic religion has always been preserved unblemished and sacred doctrine held in honor. Since it is our earnest desire to be in no way separated from this faith and doctrine, we hope that we may deserve to remain in that one communion that the apostolic see preaches, for in it is the whole and true strength of the Christian religion. What is more, with the approval of the second council of Lyons, the Greeks made the following profession, “The Holy Roman Church possesses the supreme and full primacy and principality over the whole Catholic Church. She truly and humbly acknowledges that she received this from the Lord himself in blessed Peter, the prince and chief of the apostles, whose successor is the Roman pontiff, together with the fullness of power. And since, before all others, she has the duty of defending the truth of the faith, so if any questions arise concerning the faith, it is by her judgment that they must be settled.” Then there is the definition of the council of Florence: “The Roman pontiff is the true vicar of Christ, the head of the whole Church and the father and teacher of all Christians; and to him was committed in blessed Peter, by our Lord Jesus Christ, the full power of tending, ruling, and governing the whole Church.”
To satisfy this pastoral office, our predecessors strove without ever wearying that the saving teaching of Christ should be spread among all the peoples of the world and with equal care they made sure that it be kept pure and uncontaminated wherever it was received. It was for this reason that the bishops of the whole world, sometimes individually, sometimes gathered in synods, according to the long established custom of the Churches and the pattern of ancient usage, referred to this apostolic see those dangers, especially those that arise in matters concerning the faith. This was to ensure that any damage suffered by the faith should be repaired in that place above all where the faith can know no failing. The Roman pontiffs, too, as the circumstances of the time or the state of affairs suggested, sometimes by summoning ecumenical councils or consulting the opinion of the Churches scattered throughout the world, sometimes by special synods, sometimes by taking advantage of other useful means afforded by divine providence, defined as doctrines to be held those things that, by God’s help, they know to be in keeping with Sacred Scripture and the apostolic traditions. For the Holy Spirit was promised to the successors of Peter not so that they might by his revelation make known some new doctrine, but that by his assistance they might religiously guard and faithfully expound the revelation or deposit of faith transmitted by the apostles. Indeed, their apostolic teaching was embraced by all the venerable fathers and reverenced and followed by all the holy orthodox doctors, for they knew very well that this see of Saint Peter always remains unblemished by any error, in accordance with the promise of our Lord and Savior to the prince of his disciples, “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail, and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren.”
This gift of truth and never-failing faith was therefore divinely conferred on Peter and his successors in this see so that they might discharge their exalted office for the salvation of all and so that the whole flock of Christ might be kept away from the poisonous food of error and be nourished with the sustenance of holy doctrine. Thus the tendency to schism is removed and the whole Church is preserved in unity and, resting on its foundation, can stand firm against the gates of hell.
But since in this very age when the salutary effectiveness of the apostolic office is most especially needed, not a few are to be found who disparage its authority, we judge it absolutely necessary to affirm solemnly the prerogative that the only begotten Son of God was pleased to attach to the supreme pastoral office.
Therefore, faithfully adhering to the tradition received from the beginning of the Christian faith, to the glory of God our Savior, for the exaltation of the Catholic religion and for the salvation of the Christian people, with the approval of the sacred council, we teach and define as a divinely revealed dogma that when the Roman pontiff speaks ex cathedra, that is, when in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals, to be held by the whole Church, he possesses, by the divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, that infallibility that the divine Redeemer willed his Church to enjoy in defining doctrines concerning faith or morals. Therefore, such definitions are of themselves, and not by the consent of the Church, not subject to reform.
So, then, should anyone, which God forbid, have the temerity to reject this definition of ours, let him be anathema.
[Source: Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, Volume II, ed. Norman P. Tanner, Giuseppe Alberigo, et al. (London: Sheed and Ward; Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1990).]
