SESSION 2 - 17 May 1512
[The quasi-council of Pisa
is condemned, and everything done at it is declared null and void. The Lateran
council and whatever has been rightly done at it are confirmed]
Julius, bishop, servant of
the servants of God, with the approval of the sacred council, for an
everlasting record. We intend, with the help of the most High, to proceed with
the holding of this sacred Lateran council which has now begun for the praise
of God, the peace of the whole church, the union of the faithful the overthrow
of heresies and schisms, the reform of morals, and the campaign against the
dangerous enemies of the faith, so that the mouths of all schismatics and
enemies of peace, those howling dogs, may be silenced and Christians may be
able to keep themselves unstained from such pernicious and poisonous contagion.
Accordingly, in this second
session lawfully assembled in the holy Spirit, after mature deliberation held
by us with our venerable brothers, the cardinals of the holy Roman church, by
the advice and unanimous consent of the same brothers from sure knowledge and
by the fullness of apostolic power, we confirm approve and renew, with the
approval of the sacred council, the rejections condemnations, revocations,
quashings, invalidations and annulments of the summoning, convoking and public
utterances of that schismatical assembly, the vaunted quasi-council of Pisa,
with its aim of rending and hampering the union of the aforesaid church, and of
the citations, warnings, decrees, pardons, sentences, acts, legacies,
creations, obediences, withdrawals, enjoined censures and applications issuing
from it, and of the transfer of the said quasi-council to the cities of Milan
or Vercellae or any other place, and of each and all of the acts and decisions
of the said quasi-council, that have been expressed in our various letters
completed and issued in due order, especially those issued under the dates of
18 July in the eighth year of our pontificate, and of 3 December and 13 April
in the ninth year of our pontificate. Likewise we confirm, approve and renew
with the approval of the sacred council, the letters themselves along with
their decrees, declarations, prohibitions, commands, exhortations, warnings,
applications of ecclesiastical interdicts, and other sentences, censures and
penalties, whether by canonical sanctions or by our own act, especially those
in the letter summoning this sacred universal council, and each and all of the
other clauses contained in the said letters, the meanings of which we wish to
be considered as expressed as if they were inserted herein word for word, even
though, as being definite and valid, they require no other confirmation or
approval for a more extensive guarantee and demonstration of the truth. We
wish, decree and ordain that they be observed without alteration, and we make
good each and all of the defects in them, should there be any.
We condemn and reject the
aforesaid quasi-council and its transfer, and each and every thing done by it,
and also those taking part in it or giving support, approval or consent,
directly or indirectly, to whatever extent and in whatever manner, from the day
of the summoning of the quasi-council until the present day, whether the things
have already been done or are to be done in the future, even if they are or
have been such that special, specific, definite and separate mention should be
made about them, since we consider their meaning and characteristics as clearly
expressed. We condemn and reject it like other counterfeit councils which
diverge from the truth and whose acts have been condemned and rejected by the
law and sacred canons. We proclaim these things to be null, void and empty, as
indeed they are, to be or to have been of no force or Importance; and, so far
as is necessary, we declare them void, invalid and null, and we wish them to be
considered as void, invalid and null.
We decree and declare, with
the approval of this same sacred council, that this sacred ecumenical council,
justly, reasonably, and for true and lawful purposes duly and rightly summoned,
has begun to be celebrated, and that each and every thing which has been and
shall be done and executed in it, will be just, reasonable, settled and valid,
and that it possesses and holds the same strength, power, authority and
stability which other general councils approved by the sacred canons,
especially the Lateran council, possess and hold.
Moreover, in the
arrangement of the seasons, as the summer heats approach, in order to take
account of the convenience and health of the prelates, and so that those may be
awaited who live beyond the mountains and across the sea and who have hitherto
been unable to come to this sacred council, and for other just and reasonable
causes known to and approved by the said sacred council, we are summoning the
third session of this same council to take place on 3 November next, with the
said council likewise giving approval. And to each and every prelate and to
others present at the same council, we grant and concede the freedom and
permission to withdraw from the Roman curia and to stay wherever they wish, so
long as they are present at the aforesaid Lateran council on the said 3
November, any clearly legitimate hindrance having been removed, subject to the
infliction of the penalties indicated in the letter summoning the council and
in canonical punishments against those failing to attend to councils, the said sacred
council also approving. Let nobody therefore . . . If anyone however . . .2{2
At this session, on account of the arrival of the bishop of Gurk,
representative of the most serene emperor, a postponement of the third session
was made until 3 November.}
|