Pope Benedict XIV promulgated Vix Pervenit in 1745.

Vix Pervenit: On Usury and Other Dishonest Profit was an encyclical, promulgated by Pope Benedict XIV on November 1, 1745, which condemned the practice of charging interest on loans as usury. Because the encyclical was addressed to the Bishops of Italy, it is generally not considered ex cathedra.^[1][2] The Holy Office applied the encyclical to the whole of the Roman Catholic Church on July 29, 1836, during the reign of Pope Gregory XVI.^[1][2] Download high resolution version (456x608, 25 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (456x608, 25 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Benedict XIV, born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini (Bologna, March 31, 1675 – May 3, 1758 in Rome), was Pope from 17 August 1740 to 3 May 1758. ... // Events May 11 - War of Austrian Succession: Battle of Fontenoy - At Fontenoy, French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army including the Black Watch June 4 – Frederick the Great destroys Austrian army at Hohenfriedberg August 19 - Beginning of the 45 Jacobite Rising at Glenfinnan September 12 - Francis I is elected... In the ancient Church, an encyclical was a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area. ... Benedict XIV, born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini (Bologna, March 31, 1675 – May 3, 1758 in Rome), was Pope from 17 August 1740 to 3 May 1758. ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... // Events May 11 - War of Austrian Succession: Battle of Fontenoy - At Fontenoy, French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army including the Black Watch June 4 – Frederick the Great destroys Austrian army at Hohenfriedberg August 19 - Beginning of the 45 Jacobite Rising at Glenfinnan September 12 - Francis I is elected... Interest is the rent paid to borrow money. ... A loan is a type of debt. ... Usury (//, from the Medieval Latin usuria, interest or excessive interest, from Latin usura interest) was defined originally as charging a fee for the use of money. ... A mitre is used as a symbol of the bishops ministry. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Papal infallibility. ... The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) (Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidei) is the oldest of the nine congregations of the Roman Curia. ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see Terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins and sees itself as the same Church founded by Jesus of Nazareth and maintained through Apostolic Succession from the Twelve... July 29 is the 210th day (211th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 155 days remaining. ... October 2, Charles Darwin returns from his voyage around the world. ... Pope Gregory XVI (September 18, 1765 – June 1, 1846), born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846. ...

Historical context

Main article: Usury

Medieval Christian interest payment theology began with the First Council of Nicaea (325), which forbade clergy from engaging in usury.^[3] Later ecumenical councils applied this regulation to the laity.^[4][3] Usury (//, from the Medieval Latin usuria, interest or excessive interest, from Latin usura interest) was defined originally as charging a fee for the use of money. ... Interest is the rent paid to borrow money. ... The First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicea in Bithynia (in present-day Turkey), convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325, was the first ecumenical[1] conference of bishops of the Christian Church, and most significantly resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine. ... Usury (//, from the Medieval Latin usuria, interest or excessive interest, from Latin usura interest) was defined originally as charging a fee for the use of money. ... In Christianity, an Ecumenical Council or general council is a meeting of the bishops of the whole church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice. ... In religious organizations, the laity comprises all lay persons collectively. ...

Lateran III decreed that persons who accepted interest on loans could recieve neither the sacraments nor Christian burial.^[5] Pope Clement V made the belief in the right to usury heresy in 1311, and abolished all secular legislation which allowed it.^[6][1] Pope Sixtus V condemned the practice of charging interest as "detestable to God and man, damned by the sacred canons and contrary to Christian charity."^[6] The Third Council of the Lateran met in March, 1179 as the 11th ecumenical council. ... A sacrament is a Christian rite that mediates divine grace—a holy [[Mystery The root meaning of the Latin word sacramentum is making sacred. One example of its use was as the term for the oath of dedication taken by Roman soldiers; but the ecclesiastical use of the word is... Clement V, born Bertrand de Goth (also occasionally spelled Gouth and Got) (1264 – April 20, 1314), was Pope from 1305 to his death. ... 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. ... Events Bolingbroke Castle passes to the House of Lancaster. ... Sixtus V, born Felice Peretti (December 13, 1521 -– August 27, 1590) was pope from 1585 to 1590. ...

Theological historian John Noonan aruges that "the doctrine [of usury] was enunciated by popes, expressed by three ecumenical councils, proclaimed by bishops, and taught unanimously by theologians."^[4]

The encyclical

The encyclical states:

The nature of the sin called usury has its proper place and origin in a loan contract. This financial contract between consenting parties demands, by its very nature, that one return to another only as much as he has received. The sin rests on the fact that sometimes the creditor desires more than he has given. Therefore he contends some gain is owed him beyond that which he loaned, but any gain which exceeds the amount he gave is illicit and usurious.[7]

The prohibition was rather unequivocal, rejecting even "moderate" rates of interest.^[7] The prohibition on usury did not extend only to loan contracts but also condemned those who "falsely and rashly persuade themselves" that "other just contracts exist, for which it is permissible to receive a moderate amount of interest. Should any one think like this, he will oppose not only the judgment of the Catholic Church on usury, but also common human sense and natural reason."^[7] Image File history File links Cquote1. ... Image File history File links Cquote2. ...

Extrinsic interest

The encyclical, however, did allow extrinsic interest to be charged, stating that "legitimate reasons arise to demand something over and above the amount due on the contract" as long as those reasons are "not at all intrinsic to the contract."^[7] The Holy Office would later expand upon these extrinsic justifications for interest in 1780 and 1784 to include "compensation" for the hazards and delays of repayment.^[8] The encyclical also did not prohibit profit from non-lending investment. See: Intrinsic and extrinsic properties (philosophy) Intensive and extensive properties (physics) This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... 1780 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1784 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Effects

The encyclical was published one year after an influential and controversial three-volume defense of usury by Scipione Maffei.^[9] Months after the publication of Vix Pervenit, Maffei published a second, almost identitcal editor of his treatise—which contained the full text of the encyclical and a dedication to Benedict XIV, his friend—with the imprimatur of the Catholic Church.^[10][11] Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei (June 1, 1675–February 11, 1755), Italian archaeologist and man of letters, was born at Verona. ... An Imprimatur is an official declaration from the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church that a literary or similar work is free from error in matters of Roman Catholic doctrine and morals, and hence acceptable reading for faithful Roman Catholics. ...

Papal historian John Pollard argues that the encyclical's prohibition on usury contributed to the dependence of the Holy See upon Jewish bankers like James de Rothschild.^[12]

The text of the encyclical was destroyed in several countries.^[13] In France, the ban on usury persisted until the French Revolution of 1789, the same year in which Turgot's Mémoire sur les prets d'argent, a defense of usury, was allowed to be published.^[2] The French Revolution (1789–1799/1804) was a vital period in the history of French, European and Western civilization. ... 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune, often referred to as Turgot (10 May 1727 – 18 March 1781), was a French economist and statesman. ...

Current status

No other papal encyclical deals directly and rigourously with the permissability of usury.^[14] Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum (1891) laments that usury is "still practiced by covetous and grasping men"^[15] and Pope Pius XI's Quadragesimo Anno (1931) deals generally with economic violence.^[16] By the nineteenth century, the debate over lending within the Catholic Church disappeared, as the provision of credit had become viewed as political economy issue, rather than a theological one.^[17] Usury (//, from the Medieval Latin usuria, interest or excessive interest, from Latin usura interest) was defined originally as charging a fee for the use of money. ... Pope Leo XIII (March 2, 1810 – July 20, 1903), born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, having succeeded Pope Pius IX (1846–78) on February 20, 1878 and reigning until his death in 1903. ... Rerum Novarum (Translation: Of New Things) is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on May 15, 1891. ... Pope Pius XI (Latin: ) (May 31, 1857 – February 10, 1939), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, reigned as Pope from February 6, 1922 and sovereign of Vatican City from 1929 until his death on February 10, 1939. ... Quadragesimo Anno is an encyclical by Pope Pius XI, issued 15 May 1931, 40 years after Rerum Novarum (thus the name, Latin for the fortieth year). Written as a response to the Great Depression, it calls for the establishment of a social order based on the principle of subsidiarity. ...

In 1830—following the widespread acceptance of the Napoleonic code, which allowed interest, throughout Europe^[11]— with the approval of Pope Pius VIII, the Inquisition of Rome, distinguished the doctrine of usury from the practice of usury, decreeing that confessors should no longer disturb the latter.^[10] Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix commemorates the July Revolution 1830 (MDCCCXXX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... First page of the 1804 original edition The Napoleonic Code, or Code Napoléon (originally called the Code civil des Français, or civil code of the French), was the French civil code, established at the behest of Napoléon I. It entered into force on March 21, 1804. ... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... Pope Pius VIII (November 20, 1761 – December 1, 1830), born Francesco Saverio Castiglioni, was Pope from 1829 to 1830. ... Inquisition (capitalized I) is broadly used, to refer to things related to judgment of heresy by the Catholic Church. ... The title confessor is used in the Christian Church in two separate ways. ...

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, circa 1912, "The Holy See admits practically the lawfulness of interest on loans, even for ecclesiastical property, though it has not promulgated any doctrinal decree on the subject."^[1] W. Hohoff in Die Bedeutung der Marxschen Kapitalkritik aruges that "the Church has never admitted the justice of interest whether on money or on capital, but has merely tolerated the institution, just as under the Old Dispensation, God tolerated polygamy and divorce."^[18] The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in 1913 by The Encyclopedia Press. ...

The Code of Canon Law, promulgated in 1917, allowed those responsible for the church's financial affairs at the parochial and diocesan levels to invest in interest-bearing securities "for the legal rate of interest (unless it is evident that the legal rate is exorbitant), or even for a higher rate, provided that there be a just and proportionate reason."^[19] In Western culture, canon law is the law of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Security is a type of transferable interest representing financial value. ...

References

• Carlen, C. (ed.). 1990. The Papal Encyclicals, Vol. I. Raleigh, N.C. p. 15-17.
• Moehlman, Conrad H. 1934. "The Christianization of Interest." Church History. Issue 3. p. 3-15.
• Pollard, John F. 2005. Money and the Rise of the Modern Papacy: Financing the Vatican, 1850–1950. Cambridge University Press. p. 26.

Notes

External links

• Full text available online