Unigenitus (named for its Latin opening words Unigenitus dei filius, or "Only-begotten son of God"), a famous papal bull or Apostolic Constitution promulgated by Pope Clement XI, opened the final phase of the Jansenist controversy in France. Unigenitus condemned 101 propositions of Pasquier Quesnel as "false, captious, ill-sounding, offensive to pious ears, scandalous, pernicious, rash, injurious to the Church and its practices, contumelious to Church and State, seditious, impious, blasphemous, suspected and savouring of heresy, favouring heretics, heresy, and schism, erroneous, bordering on heresy, often condemned, heretical, and reviving various heresies, especially those contained in the famous propositions of Jansenius". Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Papal bull of Pope Urban VIII, 1637, sealed with a leaden bulla. ... Clement XI, né Giovanni Francesco Albani (July 23, 1649 – March 19, 1721) was pope from 1700 to 1721. ... Jansenism was a branch of Christian philosophy founded by Cornelius Jansen (1585-1638), a Flemish theologian. ... Pasquier Quesnel (July 14, 1634 - December 2, 1719) was a French Jansenist theologian. ... Look up blasphemy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ... Jansenism was a branch of Christian philosophy founded by Cornelius Jansen (1585 – 1638), a Dutch theologian. ...

The controversy over the acceptance of Unigenitus in France sheds more light on the conduct of diplomacy at the court of the aged Louis XIV than it does on the essence of Jansenism itself. Louis XIV (Louis-Dieudonné) (September 5, 1638–September 1, 1715), reigned as King of France and of Navarre from May 14, 1643 until his death at the age of 77. ...

In 1671 Pasquier Quesnel had published a book entitled Abrégé de la morale de l'Evangile ("Morality of the Gospel, Abridged"). It contained the four Gospels in French, with short explanatory notes, serving as aids for meditation. The work was approved by the bishop of Châlons. Enlarged editions followed, containing an annotated French text of the complete New Testament, in 1678 and 1693-4. This last edition was highly recommended by the new bishop of Chalons, Gaston-Louis de Noailles. While the first edition of the work contained only a few Jansenist errors, its Jansenistic tendency became more apparent in the second edition, and in its complete form, as it appeared in 1693, it was "pervaded with practically all the errors of Jansenism" according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. Several bishops forbade it to be read, and Clement XI condemned it in a brief, July 13, 1708, which was, however, not accepted in France, because its wording and its manner of publication were not in harmony with the accepted prerogatives of the Gallican church. Noailles, who had become Archbishop of Paris and cardinal meanwhile, and who in 1702 discarded a relic that had long been venerated at Chalons as the umbelical cord of Jesus, was not prepared to withdraw the approbation which he had given to the book, and Jansenism again raised its head. For the genre of Christian-themed music, see gospel music. ... The term Gallican Church usually refers to the Roman Catholic Church in France from the time of the Declaration of the Clergy of France (1682) to that of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790) during the French Revolution. ...

To put an end to this situation several bishops under the aegis of Louis XIV himself, asked the pope to issue a bull in place of the unacceptable brief. The Bull would have to avoid every expression contrary to the "Gallican Liberties" and to be submitted to the French government before publication. To avoid further scandal, Clement yielded to these humiliating conditions, and in February 1712, appointed a special congregation of cardinals and theologians to cull from the work of Quesnel such propositions as were deserving of ecclesiastical censure. The most influential member of this congregation was Cardinal Fabroni.

It took the congregation eighteen months to perform its task, the result of which was the publication of the famous Bull Unigenitus at Rome, September 8, 1713. The Bull begins with Christ's warning against false prophets, especially such as "secretly spread evil doctrines under the guise of piety and introduce ruinous sects under the image of sanctity"; then it proceeds to the condemnation of 101 propositions which are taken verbatim from the last edition of Quesnel's work such as: grace works with omnipotence and is irrestible; without grace man can only commit sin; Christ died for the elect only; every love that is not supernatural is evil; without supernatural love there can be no hope in God, no obedience to His law, no good work, no prayer, no merit, no religion; the prayer of the sinner and his other good acts performed out of fear of punishment are only new sins; the Church comprises only the just and the elect; the reading of the Bible is binding on all; sacramental absolution should be postponed till after satisfaction; the chief pastors can exercise the Church's power of excommunication only with the consent, at least presumed, of the whole body of the Church; unjust excommunication does not exclude the excommunicated from union with the Church. The Bull finds fault with many other statements in the book of Quesnel, without, however, specifying them, and, in particular, with the translation of the New Testament, which, as the Bull reads, has been censurably altered (damnabiliter vitiatum) and is in many ways similar to a previously condemned French translation. September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... // Events April 11 - War of the Spanish Succession: Treaty of Utrecht June 23 - French residents of Acadia given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia Canada first Orrery built by George Graham Ongoing events Great Northern War (1700-1721) War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713...

Louis XIV received the Bull at Fontainebleau on September 24, 1713, and sent a copy to Cardinal Noailles, who revoked his approbation of the "Moral Reflections" given in 1695. The king also convoked the French clergy to convene at Paris to accept the bull. At the first session, Noailles appointed a committee presided over by Cardinal Rohan of Strasburg to decide upon the most suitable manner of accepting the Bull. Noailles' attempts to prevent an unconditional acceptance proved in vain and the papal report was accepted and officially registered. But a pastoral instruction of Noailles forbade his priests under pain of suspension to accept the Bull without his authorization; that was condemned by Rome. The bishops of France were divided. The Pope felt that his authority was threatened and intended to summon Noailles before the Curia and, if needs be, demote him from the cardinalate. But the king and his councillors, seeing in this mode of procedure a trespass upon the "Gallican Liberties", proposed the convocation of a national council instead, which should judge and pass sentence upon Noailles and his faction.

The pope did not relish the idea of convoking a national council, which might unnecessarily protract the quarrel and endanger the papal authority. He, however, drew up two briefs, the one demanding the unconditional acceptance of the bull by Noailles within fifteen days, on pain of turning in his Hat and incurring canonical punishment, the other more paternally pointing out the gravity of the cardinal's offence. Both briefs were put in the hand of the king, with the request to deliver the less severe in case there was well-founded hope of the cardinal's speedy submission. On the one hand, Noailles gave no hope of submission, while, on the other, the more severe of the Briefs was rejected by the king as subversive of the "Gallican Liberties". Louis XIV, therefore, again pressed the convocation of a national council, but died September 1, 1715 before it could be convened.

Philippe II of Orleans was now Regent of France, who favoured the opponents of the Bull. The Sorbonne quickly passed a resolution annulling its previous registration of the Bull, and twenty-two Sorbonnists who protested were removed from the faculty. The Universities of Nantes and Reims now also rejected the Bull. In consequence Clement XI withdrew from the Sorbonne all the papal privileges which it possessed and attempted to deprive it of the power of conferring academic degrees. Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, Philippe Charles (August 2, 1674 - December 2, 1723) called Duke of Chartres (1674-1701), and then Duke of Orléans (1701-1723) was Regent of France from 1715 to 1723. ...

(to be continued)

The Jansenist controversy appeared to be defunct.

External links

• JANSENISM RESOURCES: features various primary texts and discussions relating to the theology and history of Quesnel and Jansenism
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Unigenitus

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