Dictatus Papae and the Church

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I have a friend who is not Roman Catholic. He sites this document called “Dictatus Papae” for his not converting to Catholicism.

I know that this document of Papal Dictates was not written “ex cathedra”, however, how does the Church view it?

This is the document…
  1. That the Roman church was founded by God alone.
  2. That the Roman pontiff alone can with right be called universal.
  3. That he alone can depose or reinstate bishops.
  4. That, in a council his legate, even if a lower grade, is above all bishops, and can pass sentence of deposition against them.
  5. That the pope may depose the absent.
  6. That, among other things, we ought not to remain in the same house with those excommunicated by him.
  7. That for him alone is it lawful, according to the needs of the time, to make new laws, to assemble together new congregations, to make an abbey of a canonry; and, on the other hand, to divide a rich bishopric and unite the poor ones.
  8. That he alone may use the imperial insignia.
  9. That of the pope alone all princes shall kiss the feet.
  10. That his name alone shall be spoken in the churches.
  11. That this title [Pope] is unique in the world.
  12. That it may be permitted to him to depose emperors.
  13. That he may be permitted to transfer bishops if need be.
  14. That he has power to ordain a clerk of any church he may wish.
  15. That he who is ordained by him may preside over another church, but may not hold a subordinate position; and that such a one may not receive a higher grade from any bishop.
  16. That no synod shall be called a general one without his order.
  17. That no chapter and no book shall be considered canonical without his authority.
  18. That a sentence passed by him may be retracted by no one; and that he himself, alone of all, may retract it.
  19. That he himself may be judged by no one.
  20. That no one shall dare to condemn one who appeals to the apostolic chair.
  21. That to the latter should be referred the more important cases of every church.
  22. That the Roman church has never erred; nor will it err to all eternity, the Scripture bearing witness.
  23. That the Roman pontiff, if he have been canonically ordained, is undoubtedly made holy by the merits of St. Peter; St. Ennodius, bishop of Pavia, bearing witness, and many holy fathers agreeing with him. As is contained in the decrees of St. Symmachus the pope.
  24. That, by his command and consent, it may be lawful for subordinates to bring accusations.
  25. That he may depose and reinstate bishops without assembling a synod.
  26. That he who is not at peace with the Roman church shall not be considered catholic.
  27. That he may absolve subjects from their fealty to wicked men.
(Link)

This is an interesting contrast to the patriarchs of the Christian east, who were said to have been slaves to the Emperor, and cared more about keeping their emperor happy than keeping intact the faith.

What does the Church say? Do these things still apply?
 
Having done a quick search on New Advent (Catholic Encyclopedia) there does not appear to be universal historical agreement that Pope St. Gregory VII actually published it. That said, I don’t see anything objectionable in it. Historically, Gregory VII was trying to prevent secular manipulation of the Church…especially in the assignment of bishops and the selection of the pope. He also established the college of cardinals. The part about kissing the pope’s feet rings a bit odd to our ears, but then the culture of 1000 years ago was quite different than our own.
I think your friend may have a problem with Church authority. You may want to point out the biblical basis of that authority and the practical fact that it gives us certainty on what is to believed. The alternative is hopping around protestant churches looking for “true” Christianity.
 
I think you have answered your question.

The said “dictations” were not published and we can’t exactly find a papal seal of signature around it…in issues like this the church wouldn’t burden itself with an explanation.

The articles seem to be a collection of what was believed to be the true extent of the popes powers, the powers reserved to the pope and prevailing practices like kissing of the feet, the fact that it wasn’t published by the church means it won’t be regarded as a church document.
  1. That the Roman church was founded by God alone.
Ofcuz the roman church is founded by God.
  1. That the Roman pontiff alone can with right be called universal.
I thinks this is a remnant of the dispute between rome and constatinople on the use of the title “ecumenical bishop”, it seemed a council affirmed the said title for d pope and it later was used by the patriarch, the pope claim the bishop was using the title universal bishop in a way that was derogatory to other bishop.
3. That he alone can depose or reinstate bishops.

The term “alone” here, makes the statement untrue.
  1. That, in a council his legate, even if a lower grade, is above all bishops, and can pass sentence of deposition against them.
Hyperbole, the papal legate even though of a lower grade has much power as we see in d council of ephesus bt there is no grade of holy orders that is higher that a bishop. Even d pope is simply a bishop.
  1. That the pope may depose the absent.
Rightly done this is true
  1. That, among other things, we ought not to remain in the same house with those excommunicated by him.
This is a matter of practice
  1. That for him alone is it lawful, according to the needs of the time, to make new laws, to assemble together new congregations, to make an abbey of a canonry; and, on the other hand, to divide a rich bishopric and unite the poor ones.
The pope has those powers but d term alone is not necessary.
  1. That he alone may use the imperial insignia.
  2. That of the pope alone all princes shall kiss the feet.
Issues of practice.
  1. That his name alone shall be spoken in the churches.
This is rather funny because from ancient time the patriarch all spoke each other’s name in d church.
  1. That this title [Pope] is unique in the world.
    This is funny, all the patriarchs at the time had a titles meaning father, i think alexandria used such titles even before rome.
  2. That it may be permitted to him to depose emperors.
  3. That he may be permitted to transfer bishops if need be.
  4. That he has power to ordain a clerk of any church he may wish.
All within the popes power
  1. That he who is ordained by him may preside over another church, but may not hold a subordinate position; and that such a one may not receive a higher grade from any bishop.
This isn’t really true.
  1. That no synod shall be called a general one without his order.
  2. That no chapter and no book shall be considered canonical without his authority.
  3. That a sentence passed by him may be retracted by no one; and that he himself, alone of all, may retract it.
  4. That he himself may be judged by no one.
  5. That no one shall dare to condemn one who appeals to the apostolic chair.
  6. That to the latter should be referred the more important cases of every church.
  7. That the Roman church has never erred; nor will it err to all eternity, the Scripture
    bearing witness.
These seem right
  1. That the Roman pontiff, if he have been canonically ordained, is undoubtedly made holy by the merits of St. Peter; St. Ennodius, bishop of Pavia, bearing witness, and many holy fathers agreeing with him. As is contained in the decrees of St. Symmachus
    the pope.
This depends on the definition of “holy”
  1. That, by his command and consent, it may be lawful for subordinates to bring accusations.
  2. That he may depose and reinstate bishops without assembling a synod.
  3. That he who is not at peace with the Roman church shall not be considered catholic.
  4. That he may absolve subjects from their fealty to wicked men.
These seem well within the popes power.

Since this isn’t an official church document I see no reason why someone may reject the church because of its claims.
 
OP, the Wikipedia article you cite points out that this is falsely attributed to Pope Gregory. Why do you ask if “these things still apply” when it is a forgery?
 
My opinion:

As a Lutheran, we use Dictatus Papae to torment our Catholic friends about the role of the Pope - especially in the claim that the Pope can wield the two swords.

However, properly understood in it’s time, the document is a response to the civil authorities trying to usurp the Church. The document is strident and reactionary, but even if understood in the worst light, it should not preclude someone from becoming Catholic.

That a Pope went a bit mad with power is to be expected in this world under the sun - but should have no effect on the faithful as long as the ramifications are simply political and not theological - and we haven’t seen a Pope wield the two swords for quite a long time.
 
benjohnson said:
My opinion:

As a Lutheran, we use Dictatus Papae to torment our Catholic friends about the role of the Pope - especially in the claim that the Pope can wield the two swords.

However, properly understood in it’s time, the document is a response to the civil authorities trying to usurp the Church. The document is strident and reactionary, but even if understood in the worst light, it should not preclude someone from becoming Catholic.

That a Pope went a bit mad with power is to be expected in this world under the sun - but should have no effect on the faithful as long as the ramifications are simply political and not theological - and we haven’t seen a Pope wield the two swords for quite a long time.
Click to expand...
Thankfully, no religious leaders have that type of power except in Islam…and that will likely be dealt with in my lifetime.
 
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