The Bull 'Decet Romanum': the Condemnation and Excommunication of Martin Luther, the Heretic, and his Followers, January 1521.
The Bull "Decet Romanum"
Preamble
Through the power given him from God, the Roman Pontiff has been appointed to ad-minister spiritual and temporal punishments as each case severally deserves. The purpose of this is the repression of the wicked designs of misguided men, who have been so captivated by the debased impulse of their evil purposes as to forget the fear of the Lord, to set aside with contempt canonical decrees and apostolic commandments, and to dare to formulate new and false dogmas and to introduce the evil of schism into the Church of God—or to support, help and adhere to such schismatics, who make it their business to cleave asunder the seamless robe of our Redeemer and the unity of the orthodox faith. Hence it befits the Pontiff, lest the vessel of Peter appear to sail without pilot or oarsman, to take severe measures against such men and their followers, and by multiplying punitive measures and by other suitable remedies to see to it that these same overbearing men, devoted as they are to purposes of evil, along with their adherents, should not deceive the multitude of the sim-ple by their lies and their deceitful devices, nor drag them along to share their own error and ruination, contaminating them with what amounts to a contagious disease. It also befits the Pontiff, having condemned the schismatics, to ensure their still greater confounding by pub-licly showing and openly declaring to all faithful Christians how formidable are the cen-sures and punishments to which such guilt can lead; to the end that by such public declara-tion they themselves may return, in confusion and remorse, to their true selves, making an unqualified withdrawal from the prohibited conversation, fellowship and (above all) obedi-ence to such accursed excommunicates; by this means they may escape divine vengeance and any degree of participation in their damnation.
I [Here the Pope recounts his previous Bull Exsurge Domine and continues]
II We have been informed that after this previous missive had been exhibited in public and the interval or intervals it prescribed had elapsed [60 days]—and we hereby give sol-emn notice to all faithful Christians that these intervals have and are elapsed—many of those who had followed the errors of Martin took cognisance of our missive and its warn-ings and injunctions; the spirit of a saner counsel brought them back to themselves, they confessed their errors and abjured the heresy at our instance, and by returning to the true Catholic faith obtained the blessing of absolution with which the self-same messengers had been empowered; and in several states and localities of the said Germany the books and writings of the said Martin were publicly burned, as we had enjoined.
Nevertheless Martin himself—and it gives us grievous sorrow and perplexity to say this—the slave of a depraved mind, has scorned to revoke his errors within the prescribed interval and to send us word of such revocation, or to come to us himself; nay, like a stone of stumbling, he has feared not to write and preach worse things than before against us and this Holy See and the Catholic faith, and to lead others on to do the same.
He has now been declared a heretic; and so also others, whatever their authority and rank, who have cared nought of their own salvation but publicly and in all men's eyes be-come followers of Martin's pernicious and heretical sect, and given him openly and publicly their help, counsel and favour, encouraging him in their midst in his disobedience and ob-stinacy, or hindering the publication of our said missive: such men have incurred the pun-ishments set out in that missive, and are to be treated rightfully as heretics and avoided by all faithful Christians, as the Apostle says (Titus iii. 10-11).
III. Our purpose is that such men should rightfully be ranked with Martin and other ac-cursed heretics and excommunicates, and that even as they have ranged themselves with the obstinacy in sinning of the said Martin, they shall likewise share his punishments and his name, by bearing with them everywhere the title "Lutheran" and the punishments it incurs.
Our previous instructions were so clear and so effectively publicised and we shall adhere so strictly to our present decrees and declarations, that they will lack no proof, warning or citation.
Our decrees which follow are passed against Martin and others who follow him in the obstinacy of his depraved and damnable purpose, as also against those who defend and protect him with a military bodyguard, and do not fear to support him with their own re-sources or in any other way, and have and do presume to offer and afford help, counsel and favour toward him. All their names, surnames and rank—however lofty and dazzling their dignity may be—we wish to be taken as included in these decrees with the same effect as if they were individually listed and could be so listed in their publication, which must be fur-thered with an energy to match their contents.
On all these we decree the sentences of excommunication, of anathema, of our perpetual condemnation and interdict; of privation of dignities, honours and property on them and their descendants, and of declared unfitness for such possessions; of the confiscation of their goods and of the crime of treason; and these and the other sentences, censures and punishments which are inflicted by canon law on heretics and are set out in our aforesaid missive, we decree to have fallen on all these men to their damnation.
IV We add to our present declaration, by our Apostolic authority, that states, territories, camps, towns and places in which these men have temporarily lived or chanced to visit, along with their possessions—cities which house cathedrals and metropolitans, monasteries and other religious and sacred places, privileged or unprivileged—one and all are placed under our ecclesiastical interdict, while this interdict lasts, no pretext of Apostolic Indul-gence (except in cases the law allows, and even there, as it were, with the doors shut and those under excommunication and interdict excluded) shall avail to allow the celebration of mass and the other divine offices. We prescribe and enjoin that the men in question are eve-rywhere to be denounced publicly as excommunicated, accursed, condemned, interdicted, deprived of possessions and incapable of owning them. They are to be strictly shunned by all faithful Christians.
V We would make known to all the small store that Martin, his followers and the other rebels have set on God and his Church by their obstinate and shameless temerity. We would protect the herd from one infectious animal, lest its infection spread to the healthy ones. Hence we lay the following injunction on each and every patriarch, archbishop, bishop, on the prelates of patriarchal, metropolitan, cathedral and collegiate churches, and on the reli-gious of every Order—even the mendicants—privileged or unprivileged, wherever they may be stationed: that in the strength of their vow of obedience and on pain of the sentence of excommunication, they shall, if so required in the execution of these presents, publicly announce and cause to be announced by others in their churches, that this same Martin and the rest are excommunicate, accursed, condemned, heretics, hardened, interdicted, deprived of possessions and incapable of owning them, and so listed in the enforcement of these pre-sents. Three days will be given: we pronounce canonical warning and allow one day's notice on the first, another on the second, but on the third peremptory and final execution of our order. This shall take place on a Sunday or some other festival, when a large congregation assembles for worship. The banner of the cross shall be raised, the bells rung, the candles lit and after a time extinguished, cast on the ground and trampled under foot, and the stones shall be cast forth three times, and the other ceremonies observed which are usual in such cases. The faithful Christians, one and all, shall be enjoined strictly to shun these men.
We would occasion still greater confounding on the said Martin and the other heretics we have mentioned, and on their adherents, followers and partisans: hence, on the strength of their vow of obedience we enjoin each and every patriarch, archbishop and all other prel-ates, that even as they were appointed on the authority of Jerome to allay schisms, so now in the present crisis, as their office obliges them, they shall make themselves a wall of de-fence for their Christian people. They shall not keep silence like dumb dogs that cannot bark, but incessantly cry and lift up their voice, preaching and causing to be preached the word of God and the truth of the Catholic faith against the damnable articles and heretics aforesaid.
VI To each and every rector of the parish churches, to the rectors of all the Orders, even the mendicants, privileged or unprivileged, we enjoin in the same terms, on the strength of their vow of obedience, that appointed by the Lord as they are to be like clouds, they shall sprinkle spiritual showers on the people of God, and have no fear in giving the widest pub-licity to the condemnation of the aforesaid articles, as their office obliges them. It is written that perfect love casteth out fear. Let each and every one of you take up the burden of such a meritorious duty with complete devotion; show yourselves so punctilious in its execution, so zealous and eager in word and deed, that from your labours, by the favour of divine grace, the hoped-for harvest will come in, and that through your devotion you will not only earn that crown of glory which is the due recompense of all who promote religious causes, but also attain from us and the said Holy See the unbounded commendation that your proved diligence will deserve.
VII However, since it would be difficult to deliver the present missive, with its declara-tions and announcements, to Martin and the other declared excommunicates in person, be-cause of the strength of their faction, our wish is that the public nailing of this missive on the doors of two cathedrals—either both metropolitan, or one cathedral and one metropoli-tan of the churches in the said Germany—by a messenger of ours in those places, shall have such binding force that Martin and the others we have declared shall be shown to be con-demned at every point as decisively as if the missive had been personally made known and presented to them.
VIII It would also be difficult to transmit this missive to every single place where its publication might be necessary. Hence our wish and authoritative decree is that copies of it, sealed by some ecclesiastical prelate or by one of our aforesaid messengers, and counter-signed by the hand of some public notary, should everywhere bear the same authority as the production and exhibition of the original itself.
IX No obstacle is afforded to our wishes by the Apostolic constitutions and orders, or by anything in our aforesaid earlier missive which we do not wish to stand in the way, or by any other pronouncements to the contrary.
X No one whatsoever may infringe this our written decision, declaration, precept, in-junction, assignation, will, decree; or rashly contravene it. Should anyone dare to attempt such a thing, let him know that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul.
Written at St. Peter's, Rome, on the 3rd January 1521,
during the eighth year of our pontificate.
Grâce au pouvoir donné par Dieu, le pontife romain a été établi comme ministre des châtiments spirituels et temporels etc.......
« A Dieu sois-tu mon ami. Que dit-on de cette dévotion ? Y vient-il beaucoup de monde ? »
« Il vient assez de monde par-delà »
« S'y fait-il beaucoup de miracles ? »
« Oh, des miracles ! »
Mr Port-Combet cherche alors à partir mais il en est empêché.
« Arrête tes boeufs. Et cet huguenot qui a coupé l'osier, où demeure-t-il ? Ne se veut-il pas convertir ? »
« Je ne sais pas, il demeure bien par-delà ... »
« Ah misérable, tu t'imagines que je ne sache pas que cet huguenot c'est toi »
Mr Port-Combet cherche de nouveau à fuir mais en vain. Notre Dame lui apprend alors qu'il va bientôt mourir et que « s'il ne changeait de son état il serait l'un des plus grands tisons d'enfer qui fut jamais et que s'il en changeait elle le protégerait devant Dieu ». Notre Dame lui demanda aussi de dire « au public que leurs prières n'étaient pas assez ferventes mais que s'ils les faisaient plus ferventes, ils recevraient beaucoup plus de grâces et de faveur de Dieu ».
Mr Port-Combet partit puis se ravisa. Trop tard, Notre-Dame partait, Elle était déjà loin. Il La suivit dans une longue course, puis Elle l'attendit, sans se retourner. Quand Mr Port-Combet La rejoignit Elle s'éleva dans les airs.
Finalement le 15 août suivant, Port-Combet abjurera, se convertira et recevra la communion. Il mourra quelques jours plus tard. Son fils, moins têtu s'était converti avant lui. Par ordre du père, ses cinq filles durent attendre sa conversion pour le faire, ce qu'elles firent immédiatement.
Dans son acte d’abjuration il déclare lui-même « qu’il y a bien longtemps qu’il voulait changer de religion, mais qu’il était pressé par ceux de ladite prétendue religion de ne le faire pas. »
A l'encontre de l'auteur et par la raison opposée, mais légitime en France, la plupart des textes latins ont été traduits.
Voir La Vie de sainte Thérèse, pp. 297-298 : « De là aussi, la mortelle douleur que me cause la perte de cette multitude qui se damne, en particulier de ces pauvres luthériens, que le baptême avait rendus membres de l'Eglise. De là encore, ces impétueux désirs d'être utile aux âmes. Oui, je puis le dire en toute vérité, pour en délivrer une seule de si horribles tourments, volontiers, ce me semble, j'endurerais mille fois la mort. Voici une réflexion que je fais. Ici-bas, quand nous voyons une personne sous le poids d'une épreuve ou d'une souffrance, nous sommes naturellement émus de pitié, surtout si cette personne nous est chère; et lorsque ces souffrances sont très vives, elles nous affectent très douloureusement. Que devons-nous donc éprouver en voyant une âme livrée sans fin au tourment des tourments ? Qui pourra soutenir un tel spectacle ? Quel cœur n'en sera brisé de douleur ? Nous savons très bien qu'après tout, les souffrances de ce monde auront un terme, qu'elles finiront avec la vie, et néanmoins elles excitent en nous la plus vive compassion. Ici, nous sommes en présence d'un supplice qui ne finit point. Comment, je le demande, pouvons-nous demeurer en repos à la vue de tant d'âmes que le démon entraîne tous les jours après lui ? ». Parlant des luthériens, elle écrit de même dans les Relations spirituelles : « La perte de tant d'âmes me cause une douleur profonde » (III, p. 414)