Working through the papal documents

[amerrychase]

Hello-

I hope this is the right place to post.

How would you fine folk advise someone trying to read through the Vatican’s archives? I thought I could start with the current encyclicals and work backwards, but that isn’t working out very well since everything is cross-referenced to death. With such a large body of work, where do you start?

Thanks!

 

[melchesidechpio]

I have read quite a few papal documents. Enough to know I will never get through them all. My advice to you is to read those done by Pope Benedict XVI and then move to some by Pope John Paul II. Fr. Mitch Pacwa on Threshold of Hope on EWTN is currently covering the Apostolic Exhortation “Vita Consecrata” This is the 3rd document I have covered with this show. I highly recommend reading Vita Consecrata as well as Pastores Dabo Vobis and Christifidelis Lacci (spelling??) Other good reading is Evangelium Vitae by Pope John Paul II, Humanae Vitae by Pope Paul VI, Providentissimus Deus by Pope Leo XIII, Divino Afflante Spiritu by Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis Christi by Pope Pius XII, and Mediator Dei by Pope Pius XII. Also you could read some of the Vatican II documents such as Dei Verbum, which the teaching of the Council on Divine Revelation, Lumen Gentium and Sacrasanctum Concillium on the Divine Liturgy. I have read most of these on the list. After you completed some of the recent Popes and Vatican II then I would suggest reading the decrees from the Council of Trent, which will take a few years to get through I am sure. Hope this helps

 

[FightingFat]

Hello-

Hello!

How would you fine folk advise someone trying to read through the Vatican’s archives?

Errr…You wont. I think if you had a lifetime, you wouldn’t be able to read everything written in two thousand years of careful study!

I thought I could start with the current encyclicals and work backwards, but that isn’t working out very well since everything is cross-referenced to death. With such a large body of work, where do you start?

Thanks!

I think you start with what interests you, areas you would like clarification on or questions you want answers for. Alternatively, enrol yourself on a good distance learning degree course in Catholic theology like the one offered at the Maryvale Institute in Birmingham and let them guide you through it!

 

[Joe_5859]

The other posters are right that one can never hope to get through them all. But we do what we can.

If you look at the Vatican website’s "Papal archive" page, you see that they only have the popes from the 20th and 21st century (starting with Leo XIII). In looking at these most recent popes, I think it helps to reduce that overwhelming sensation from having to sort through everything.

My recommendation would be to read the **Documents of Vatican II **and as many encyclicals as possible. There are many different classifications of papal documents, but encylicals are really the key documents that the popes write for the whole world. When you look at it that way, Benedict has only written 3 encyclicals thus far and JPII only wrote 14. That is a much more manageable amount and where I would recommend starting.

Second to those would be the Apostolic Exhortations. These documents are the fruit of the Synods of Bishops that convene on specific topics every three years or so. The Pope takes all the talking points from the Synod and crafts them into some wonderful documents. There are apostolic exhortations on Scripture, the Eucharist, Catechesis, Evangelization, etc. These are also very important documents.

As FightingFat said, though, start with what interests you. If you have a particular topic in mind, let me know and I can churn out a list of relevant documents. I enjoy doing that.

 

[Apollos]

As with many endeavors, you need a limit and a direction. I suggest limiting this to what is actually on the Vatican website, and only the encyclicals, and the direction chronological, so start with Inscrutabili.

So that you don’t get bogged down, ignore references to what is earlier than Leo XIII. Also, don’t spend more than one day on any given document; that means you look over longer documents quickly just to get a sense of what is being talked about without reading every word.

 

[thistle]

Hello-

I hope this is the right place to post.

How would you fine folk advise someone trying to read through the Vatican’s archives? I thought I could start with the current encyclicals and work backwards, but that isn’t working out very well since everything is cross-referenced to death. With such a large body of work, where do you start?

Thanks!

This site has all papal encyclicals going back 800 years.

papalencyclicals.net/

 

[melchesidechpio]

This site has all papal encyclicals going back 800 years.

papalencyclicals.net/

yes and it is a great site. too

 

[Rolltide]

In addition to recent ones, you might want to limit yourself to the most historically famous and important decrees of the church.

 

[Apollos]

In addition to recent ones, you might want to limit yourself to the most historically famous and important decrees of the church.

I disagree for the simple reason that some of the encyclicals are on very narrow subjects (Leo XIII’s Affari Vos) and unexpected subjects (Benedict XV’s In Praeclara).