Kruse
Kruse
Kruse
Dissertation Proposal
NAME:
John V. Kruse
OTHER READERS: James R. Ginther, Ph.D. and James Heft, S.M., Ph.D.
I. Title
Understanding Papal Authority in the Bulls of the Franciscan Poverty Controversy:
Gregory IX to John XXII
Dissertation Proposal, Page 2
In the 1970s and 1980s, a time in which a number of Catholic theologians were
the origins of the doctrine. Brian Tierney initiated the debate in 1972 with his book The
Origins of Papal Infallibility, 1150-1350. In this book Tierney argues that papal
infallibility is not a long-standing belief going back to the days of the early Church, but
rather a concept that burst onto the scene during the Franciscan poverty controversy.
comparing the definition of Vatican I with the attitudes towards papal authority of twelfth
and thirteenth century canonists.2 In contrast with the Vatican I definition, Tierney
asserts that the canonists did not present Tradition as a source of divine revelation
separate from Scripture; did not know of any magisterium conferred on Peter with the
power of the keys; believed that in matters of faith a general council was greater than
the pope; [and] did not maintain that papal pronouncements were irreformable ex
sese.3 Tierney concludes that [a]bove all the canonists did not teach that the pope was
infallible.4
also seeks to demonstrate the attitudes of medieval theologians towards the concept.
1
Of critical importance was Hans Kngs work Unfehlbar? Eine Anfrage (1970).
2
Tierney divides the 1870 definition into five main points: (1) The sphere of revealed truth within which
the popes supreme teaching authority can be exercised is comprised of sacred Scripture and apostolic
Tradition. (2) Ex cathedra definitions of the pope on faith and morals are infallible. (3) The infallible
magisterium of the pope, his teaching authority, was included in the primacy bestowed on Peter with the
power of the keys. (4) To appeal form the pope to a general council as to a higher authority is unlawful.
(5) Ex cathedra decrees are irreformable ex sese (Brian Tierney, Origins of Papal Infallibility: 1150-
1350, 2nd ed. (Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1988), 14).
Tierney holds that the notion of infallibility as defined by the First Vatican Council has had many
negative effects. Among them, according to Tierney, are the gymnastics of reason theologians are forced to
perform in order to reconcile apparently contradictory decisions among popes throughout Church history.
3
Tierney, Origins, 57.
4
Ibid.
Dissertation Proposal, Page 3
by the papacy.5 Nevertheless, Tierney holds that the roots of infallibility lie in the
thought of the Franciscan theologian Peter John Olivi (1247/8-1298), a member of the
desired to protect the Franciscan notion of poverty, as explained in Nicholas IIIs bull
Exiit qui seminat (1279), from corruption by a later pope. This lead Olivi to state that a
John XXII was the pope who eventually sought to alter the notion of Franciscan
poverty as explained by Nicholas III in Exiit qui seminat (1279). In Quorundam exigit
Conditorem (1322), John returned ownership of all the goods that the Franciscans were
using back to the Order itself.8 Most significantly, in Cum inter nonnullos (1323), John
declared that it was heretical to teach that Christ and the apostles did not own anything
and did not have the right to use anything. The teaching that John condemned was the
doctrine which the Friars believed Nicholas III had earlier taught in Exiit qui seminat
(1279). Johns pronouncement discarded the Franciscan position that their way of life (as
5
Ibid., 92.
6
Duncan Nimmo describes two primary divisions within the Franciscan Order during the poverty
controversy. The Community consisted of all those friars who stood for a development of the Order
involving more or less extensive departures from the principles and practice of their founder and his
followers (Duncan Nimmo, Reform and Division in the Medieval Franciscan Order (Rome: Capuchin
Historical Institute, 1995), 51). The Spirituals were those who more radically sought to recreate the
experience and way of life of St. Francis and his earliest followers (Nimmo, Reform and Division, 78).
7
Tierney, Origins, 122, 125-128.
8
Technically, these goods had been the property of the Holy See since Innocent IVs bull
Ordinem vestrum (1245).
Dissertation Proposal, Page 4
expressed in the Rule) was based on the perfection of apostolic poverty exemplified by
Christ. The decision, contrary to the teaching of Nicholas III, turned not only the
Spirituals but also the whole Franciscan Order against the pope. Their General Chapter
excommunicated him.9
Tierney maintains that John felt free to alter the decisions of his predecessors.
sovereignty and infallibility.10 Tierney argues that John chose sovereignty. John did not
want his authority to be limited by infallibility.11 To have chosen infallibility would have
limited Johns sovereignty in that he would have been unable to alter the infallible
decisions of his predecessors. While Tierney asserts that John XXII rejected the idea that
the decisions of his predecessors were irrevocable, and thus rejected the notion of papal
infallibility, Tierney does see Johns attitude towards papal authority as critical to the
attitude can be seen in his bull Quia quorundam mentes (1324), in which John addresses
both his earlier rulings on the Franciscan poverty controversy and his own authority as
pope. Up to the time of Quia quorundam mentes, according to Tierney, John had firmly
held that he had the right to revoke the decisions of his predecessors. In 1324, Tierney
argues, John began asserting that he had never revoked the decision of a predecessor and
9
Tierney, Origins, 171, 181-182.
10
Tierney sees sovereignty and infallibility as mutually exclusive concepts. Either a pope has the
sovereignty to rescind the decisions of his predecessors, or he is bound by the decisions of his predecessors
because they are seen as infallible. In Origins of Infallibility: 1150-1350 he states, It would be true to
suggest that the ideas they [sovereignty and infallibility] express are intrinsically incompatible with
one another. It is of the essence of sovereignty (as the concept was understood both in the nineteenth
century and in the Middle Ages) that a sovereign ruler cannot be bound by the acts of his predecessors. It
is of the essence of infallibility (as the doctrine was formulated at Vatican Council I) that the infallible
decrees of one pope are binding on all his successors since they are, by definition, irreformable (2).
Infallibility limits sovereignty.
11
Tierney, Origins, 171.
Dissertation Proposal, Page 5
refused to address the issue as to whether or not he had that right. John seems to have
changed his attitude. Tierney maintains that John was beginning to realize the
advantages that a doctrine of infallibility could have.12 Tierney holds that Johns
wavering on this issue paved the way for the eventual development of the doctrine of
evangelica.13
James Heft disagrees with Tierneys thesis. He responded to Tierney in his 1982
article John XXII and Papal Infallibility: Brian Tierneys Thesis Reconsidered and
eventually with his 1986 book John XXII and Papal Teaching Authority.14 Heft disagrees
with Tierneys thesis that the roots of papal infallibility extend only to Olivi (1247/8-
1298).15 Furthermore, Heft seeks to demonstrate that John XXIIs acceptance of a notion
of papal infallibility was present from the very beginning of his reign and was consistent
throughout.16
12
Ibid., 189-190. Tierney suggests that John may have wished to defend himself from the attacks
of conciliarists, who at that time were increasingly pointing to errors which popes had made in their
pronouncements. In 1324, the same year as John XXIIs Quia quorundam mentes, Marsilius of Padua
published his Defensor pacis, in which he held up the infallibility of the general council in contrast to the
erring nature of the papacy (Origins 190).
13
Tierney devotes two chapters to the discussion of how the doctrine developed in the first half of
the fourteenth century and how later theologians could use the notion of infallibility to limit papal authority
(William of Ockham) or to increase papal authority (Guido Terrini).
14
The debate between Tierney and Heft involved a number of exchanges. After launching the
debate with Origins of Papal Infallibility: 1150-1350 (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1972), Tierney responded to Heft
with his article Response to James Heft (Journal of Ecumenical Studies 19 (1982): 787-93) and in the
postscript to the 1988 edition of Origins of Papal Infallibility (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1988). In addition to
John XXII and Papal Infallibility: Brian Tierneys Thesis Reconsidered (Journal of Ecumenical Studies
19 (1982): 759-80) and John XXII and Papal Teaching Authority (Lewiston/Queenston, Ontario: Edwin
Mellen Press, 1986), Heft wrote Rejoinder to Professor Tierney (Journal of Ecumenical Studies 20
(1983): 111-17).
15
Heft sees the infallibility as originating in a gradual process of explicating a tradition,
elements of which can be traced back to the early centuries of the life of the Church and, indeed, even to
the New Testament itself (John XXII, 200).
16
This is the major point of dispute between the two scholars. Tierney, in order to bolster his
argument that papal infallibility burst onto the scene in the early-fourteenth century, seeks to demonstrate
that the doctrine was so novel that even the pope at the time (i.e., John XXII) rejected it. Heft, seeking to
Dissertation Proposal, Page 6
quorundam mentes.17 First of all, Tierney is wrong in assuming that sovereignty and
infallibility are mutually exclusive.18 Furthermore, Heft asserts that Tierney is wrong in
stating that Johns attitude towards infallibility changed in Quia quorundam mentes.
According to Heft, John consistently held that he was bound to his predecessors
decisions in so far as they touched upon articles of the faith but that he was not bound to
other decisions that did not touch upon articles of the faith.19 Heft asserts that John never
saw the poverty issue as revolving around matters of the faith. Rather, he saw it as a
matter of discipline.20 Thus, because the controversy did not circle around a matter of
faith, John felt free to alter the disciplinary decisions of his predecessors on the issue
while at the same time held that the decisions of his predecessors were infallible to the
demonstrate that the doctrine of infallibility does have ancient roots, wishes to disprove Tierney and to
demonstrate that John actually did accept a notion of papal infallibility.
17
While mentioning a number of the bulls related to the Franciscan poverty controversy (John
XXII, 23), Heft focuses almost exclusively on Johns Quia quorundam mentes, which he sees as
summarizing and clarifying Johns earlier bulls related to Franciscan poverty (John XXII, 2). . In
Appendix A, Heft lists what he considers the key documents of the controversy. These include Exiit qui
Seminat, numerous bulls of John XXII, and various Franciscan writings (John XXII, 227-8).
18
According to Heft, a pope can be sovereign in revoking the decrees of his predecessors that are
not related to articles of faith as revealed in Scripture. At the same time, according to Heft, a pope can be
infallible in making pronouncements that pertain to articles of the faith.
19
The problem with Tierneys analysis of Quia quorundam mentes, according to Heft, is that
Tierney wrongly assumes that John believed the poverty controversy pertained to a matter of faith. Heft
suggests that one of the reasons that Tierney comes to this conclusion is that John refers to those who
violate his commands as laid out in Cum inter nonnullos as heretics, which would seem to indicate that
John believed they were violating articles of the faith. According to Heft, this is not necessarily the case
because in the fourteenth century heretic could be applied not only to anyone who rejected a doctrinal
teaching of the Church but also to anyone who pertinaciously violated a disciplinary order of the Church
(John XXII, 120).
20
Heft acknowledges that John saw the poverty controversy partially as a matter of doctrine, but
not the kind of doctrine that could not be changed (i.e., a matter of faith).
21
Heft, John XXII, 192.
Dissertation Proposal, Page 7
Heft also disagrees with Tierneys conclusion that in Quia quorundam mentes
John began asserting that he never had contradicted the decision of a predecessor because
he was beginning to see the advantages that a doctrine of infallibility might have. Rather,
Heft suggests, John made such a statement in 1324 because that was precisely the point
when he was being accused of having contradicted the decisions of his predecessors.
Furthermore, rather than saying that after 1324 John refused to address the issue as to
whether or not he could revoke a predecessors decision, Heft argues that it would be
more accurate to state simply that he did not address this subject.22
Tierney responds to Hefts criticisms in the postscript of the second edition of his
book. Here Tierney states that John naturally thought himself infallible in regards to the
tradition of undisputed, clear matters of faith. According to Tierney, the real question is
undetermined questions of faith. Tierney argues that John did see the poverty issue as a
infallibility, both Tierney and Heft focus extensively on John XXIIs notion of authority,
particularly as it pertains to the origins of infallibility. While Tierney asserts that John
did not accept the notion of papal infallibility, he sees Johns papacy as pivotal to its
XXII and Quia quorundam mentes (1324). In this question that pertains to understanding
papal authority, in regards to the origins of infallibility, they both limit their attention to
22
Ibid., 190-1.
23
Tierney, Origins, 310.
Dissertation Proposal, Page 8
this one pope. John XXII, however, was not the only pope who appealed to his own
authority in dealing with the same issue of the Franciscan poverty controversy.
While accepting, for the purposes of my research, the conclusions of Tierney and
Heft that John XXIIs response to the Franciscan poverty controversy is important for the
development of papal authority (and, therefore, the possible origins of infallibility), I hold
that both conclusions are premature. Before any judgment on John XXIIs understanding
of papal authority can be made, it must be studied in the context of his immediate
predecessors, who successively appealed to their own authority (and the authority of their
Johns predecessors24 towards their own authority as reflected in the bulls25 that
deal with the same controversy is necessary in order to provide a more complete
historical context so that John XXIIs notion of papal authority can be more
address Johns attitudes towards the revocability of his predecessors decrees. Tierney
holds that John initially asserted that he could revoke the decrees of his predecessors but
that John eventually came to assert that he had never actually done so. Heft holds that
John believed he could revoke the decrees of his predecessors that related to matters of
discipline but not those that related to clear matters of faith. I believe that Johns
attitudes towards the revocability of a predecessors decrees becomes clearer in the more
24
Gregory IX (1227-41) Innocent IV (1243-54), Alexander IV (1254-61), Nicholas III (1277-80),
Martin IV (1281-85), and Clement V (1305-1314).
25
Among these major bulls are Quo elongati (1230), Ordinem vestrum (1245), Exiit qui seminat
(1279), Exultantes in Domino (1283), and Exivi de paradiso (1312). I will also analyze John XXIIs
Quorundam exigit (1317), Ad conditorem (1322), Cum inter nonnullos (1323), and Quia quorundam
mentes (1324).
Dissertation Proposal, Page 9
complete historical context of how his predecessors viewed their own authority. John did
not inherit the papacy in a vacuum, and his own attitudes were most likely influenced by
the prevailing understanding of papal authority at the time. A critical examination of the
bulls of the poverty controversy demonstrates that John and his predecessors greatly
respected the authority of their predecessors decrees while at the same time believing
that they could reform them. I assert that an examination of the bulls of the
what degree John believed he could revoke the decisions of his predecessors and to
differing from both Tierney and Heft, assert that John, like his predecessors,
was practically advantageous to the Church in general and the papacy in particular.
III. Bibliography
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Biblioteca apostolica vaticana, 1990.
The major primary sources for this study are the bulls of the popes from Gregory
IX to John XXII that relate to the Franciscan poverty controversy. My source for the
Latin texts of these bulls is the Bullarium Franciscanum.26 I will also work with the
English translation of these bulls as found in Francis of Assisi: Early Documents.27 I will
critically analyze nine bulls in order to determine the operative notion of papal authority
contained in them. These bulls are: Gregory IXs Quo elongati (1230),28 Innocent IVs
Ordinem vestrum (1245),29 Nicholas IIIs Exiit qui seminat (1279),30 Martin IVs
Exultantes in Domino (1283),31 Clement Vs Exivi de paradiso (1312),32 and John XXIIs
26
Bullarium Franciscanum, Romanorum Pontificum, Constitutiones, Epistolas ac Diplomata
continens Trtibus Ordinis S.P.N. Francisci spectantia, vol. I-IV, ed. H Sbaralea (Rome, 1759-1768), vol.
V-VII, ed. C. Eubel (Rome, 1898-1904).
27
Regis J. Armstrong, J. A. Wayne Hellmann, and William J. Short, ed., Francis of Assisi:
Early Documents, vols. 1-3 (New York: New City Press, 1999-2001).
28
Quo elongati, written by Gregory IX, who had been a close friend of Francis, is significant in
that it wast he first papal interpretation of the Rule. In the bull, Gregory abrogates the friars obligation to
follow the precepts of Francis Testament and effectively establishes that the Rule is not equivalent to the
Gospel. Gregory also establishes the office of nuntius, or alms-collecting agent, to handle donations
made to the friars and to conduct necessary business for them. Gregory states firmly that the friars are to
own nothing, either communally or individually.
29
In Ordinem vestrum, Innocent IV expands the role of the nuntius to the point where the later is
permitted to acquire items that are useful for the brothers. Furthermore, Innocent assumes ownership for
the Holy See of all of the buildings and properties that the friars use.
30
Nicholas IIIs Exiit qui seminat offered the interpretation of the Rule that the Friars (initially the
Spirituals and eventually the Community) most wished to protect from corruption by later popes. In this
bull, Nicholas distinguishes between right of use and simple use of fact. Nicholas states that only the
necessary use of things is allowed to the friars. It is up to the discretion of the Orders superiors to
determine what was necessary and what was not. Most importantly, Nicholas declares that Christ taught
that absolute poverty, as exemplified by the Franciscans, was the way of evangelical perfection. Nicholas
also forbids any more debate on the poverty issue. He has settled the matter once and for all.
31
In Exultantes in Domino, Martin IV places the procurator, who handled business affairs for the
friars, under the control of the friars themselves. The distinction between dominion and ownership was
effectively lost.
32
In Exivi de paradiso, Clement V attempted to close loopholes that some friars had found in
Nicholas IIIs Exiit qui seminat. Clement states that the friars are bound not only to the three vows of
Dissertation Proposal, Page 18
Quorundam exigit (1317),33 Ad conditorem (1322),34 Cum inter nonnullos (1323),35 and
In each of these bulls, the popes interpret the Franciscan Rule. Normally the
popes address the issue of how the vision of Franciscan poverty found in the Rule is to be
lived out practically by the rapidly-expanding Order in the exigencies of the real world.
In these bulls, the popes explain their operative notions of their own authority. They
explain why they are making an authoritative statement and with what authority they
make that statement. Normally, they have been asked to interpret the Rule because of
cantankerous debate within the Order regarding the interpretation of the Rule as made by
previous popes.37 They also intervened because the same debate on poverty existed
within the broader Church. The Franciscan problem was also an ecclesiastical problem.38
In these bulls, the popes indicate whom they have consulted in arriving at their
decisions.39 Most importantly for this study, as the poverty debate continues the popes
poverty, chastity, and obedience, but also to related directives stated in the Rule with varying degrees of
force. Most importantly, Clement states that the Friars are bound to usus pauper (poor use of goods and
property), with discretion as to what constitutes usus pauper being left to the Orders superiors. Clement
also forbids either party in the usus pauper debate to label the opposing party as heretical.
33
In Quorundam exigit, John XXII orders the Spirituals to return to obedience to the Orders
superiors. He states that poverty is good, unity is better, but that obedience is the greatest good of all.
34
In Ad conditorem, John XXII returns all legal ownership of the goods and property that the
friars use back to the Order itself.
35
In Cum inter nonnullos, John XXII states that it is heretical to teach the absolute poverty of
Christ.
36
In Quia quorundam, John XXII summarizes what he stated in Ad conditorem and Cum inter
nonnullos and explains why he had the authority to make such decisions.
37
For example, in Quo elongati Gregory IX states that he is interpreting the Rule because a
deputation from a Franciscan general council has been sent to him in order to clarify certain provisions of
the Rule (Regis J. Armstrong, J. A. Wayne Hellmann, and William J. Short, ed., Francis of Assisi: Early
Documents, vols. 1-3 (New York: New City Press, 1999-2001), I, 2, 570-1). Citations will follow the
pattern of volume number, article or chapter number (when applicable), paragraph or sentence number, and
then page number.
38
For example, in Exiit qui seminat Nicholas III states that one of the reasons he is issuing a
pronouncement on the Rule is because of the escalating conflict between the friars and the secular clergy
(FA:ED III, 737-8).
39
For example, in Cum inter nonnullos, John XXII states that he is ruling having obtained the
counsel of his brothers (FA:ED III, 2, 790).
Dissertation Proposal, Page 19
seek to clarify or modify rulings of their predecessors. The manner in which they go
about doing this exemplifies their operative notion of their own authority, especially in
relationship to their predecessors. Questions arise as to whether the popes could reverse
the decisions of their predecessors or, affirming their predecessors declarations, could
I will, therefore, critically analyze these nine bulls in view of finding what the
popes say about their own authority. Of course, these bulls too will need to be
contextualized. For this purpose, sufficient work has already been done. My secondary
research will be concentrated in four areas: critical analysis of papal bulls, general status
of the medieval papacy, the Franciscan poverty controversy, and the teaching office of
these nine bulls. Form criticism of these bulls is essential to this process. A number of
sources will be helpful in critically examining these bulls. These are: Harry Bresslaus
Pooles Lectures on the History of the Papal Chancery down to the Time of Innocent III,
A source that is most helpful for a general understanding papal bulls in the middle
ages is T. Frenzs Papsturkunden des Mitttelalters und der Neuzeit. Frenz discusses the
40
For example, in Ordinem vestrum Innocent IV states that he is clarifying Gregory IXs Quo
elongati (FA:ED II, 1, 775). In doing so, Innocent revises what Gregory had said in regards to the items
which the brothers were permitted to use. Whereas Gregory had ruled that the brothers could only use
necessary items, Innocent states that they may use items that are useful l(FA:ED II, 4, 776; italics mine).
This subtle distinction was important one in the contentious poverty debate.
Dissertation Proposal, Page 20
various types of papal documents in the Medieval period as well as the formulas that
were used in their composition. Furthermore, Frenz describes the workings of the
medieval papal chancery and the various steps that a papal document made on its journey
In addition to an understanding of why papal bulls were written and how they
were meant to be read, my dissertation requires that I am aware of the general status of
the papacy in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. There are a number of works that
will be helpful, including Odilio Engels article Von den Staufern zu den Anjou and
Karl Hausbergers article Die Papste in Avignon, both of which appear in Das
Papsttum. Other works that provide a basic history of the papacy in the middle ages from
the perspective of papal bulls are: Margaret Harveys Unity and Diversity: Perceptions
of the Papacy in the Later Middle Ages, Guy F. Lytles Reform and Authority in the
Medieval and Reformation Church, Christopher Ryans The Religious Roles of the
Papacy: Ideals and Realities, 1150-1300, Jane E. Sayers Law and Records in Medieval
England; Studies on the Medieval Papacy, Monasteries and Records, James R. Sweeney
and Stanley Chodorows Popes Teachers and Canon Law in the Middle Ages, and Brian
background in regards to the medieval papacy. In Saints and Sinners: A History of the
Popes, Eamon Duffy traces how the papacy slipped from its pinnacle of power and
influence with Innocent III (1198-1216) to one of its weakest moments with the Great
Schism (1378), an event which nearly destroyed the papacy. The period of the
41
T. Frenz, Papsturkunden des Mittelalters und der Neuzeit (Stuttgart: F. Steiner Verlag
Wiesbaden, 1986). A second edition of this work was published in Italian in 1998.
Dissertation Proposal, Page 21
Franciscan poverty controversy lies between Innocent III and the Great Schism. Duffy
controversy and vividly describes the political and ecclesiastical pressures that weighed
upon them as they made decisions regarding the controversy.42 Walter Ullmanns
foundational Short History of the Papacy in the Middle Ages provides a more detailed
analysis of this period, especially in regards to the papal curia and papal relationships
Franciscan poverty controversy. This provides the historical setting of my study. There
are a number of sources which many scholars consider essential in examining this period
Elias to Bonaventure, David Burrs Olivi and Franciscan Poverty: The Origins of the
Usus Pauper Controversy, Ulrich Horsts Evangelische Armut and ppstliches Lehramt:
Reform and Division in the Medieval Franciscan Order, and John R. H. Moormans A
History of the Franciscan Order from its Origins to the Year 1517. Significantly, in 1998
Malcolm D. Lambert revised and expanded his foundational work Franciscan Poverty:
The Doctrine of Absolute Poverty of Christ and the Apostles in the Franciscan Order,
1210-1323. Other recent works in this area include Ulrich Horsts Evangelische Armut
42
Eamon Duffy, Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes, 2nd ed. (New Haven; London: Yale
Univ. Press, 2001).
43
Walter Ullmann, Short History of the Papacy in the Middle Ages (New York: Barnes and Noble;
London: Methuen, 1974). A number of works will be useful in examining specific papacies most involved
in the Franciscan poverty controversy, including Malcolm D. Lamberts, The Franciscan Controversy
under John XXII, Sophia Menaches Clement V, and Thomas Turleys John XXII and the Franciscans: A
Reappraisal.
Dissertation Proposal, Page 22
(1316-1334).
One work published within the past two years is David Burrs The Spiritual
Franciscans: From Protest to Persecution in the Century after Saint Francis. In this
book, Burr examines the relationships between the Franciscans and the popes primarily
from the perspective of the friars themselves, especially the Spirituals. Burr describes
how Peter John Olivi, Angelo of Clareno, and Ubertino of Casale, three great figures
associated with the Spiritual movement, appealed to and sometimes rejected papal
importantly, Burr traces how the popes became embroiled in the Franciscan poverty
controversy and why the issue of infallibility began to surface in the context of this
particular dispute.44
controversy, an examination of how the teaching office of the papacy has been viewed
from the earliest days of the Church is essential in establishing how the popes involved in
the controversy viewed their own authority. Important sources related to the teaching
office of the papacy include Yves Congars Bref historique des formes du magistere et
de ses relations avec les docteurs, Joseph A. Fitzmeyers The Office of Teaching in the
the Faith: Community, Infallibility, and the Ordinary Magisterium of Bishops, Germain
Grisezs The Ordinary Magisteriums Infallibility, and Ian P. Weis The Masters of
44
David Burr, The Spiritual Franciscans: From Protest to Persecution in the Century After Saint
Francis (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State Univ. Press, 2001).
Dissertation Proposal, Page 23
Theology at the University of Paris in the Late Thirteenth and Early Fourteenth
Centuries.
Another important work for examining how the Church has viewed papal
authority and its teaching office is Avery Dulles The Magisterium in History: A
Theological Perspective. Dulles provides a helpful survey of how the Church viewed
the magisterial office in the New Testament (emphasis on local church), the patristic
period (emphasis on councils), and the Middle Ages (emphasis on universities and
theologians). Dulles also summarizes and offers references to other important studies
related to the magisterium.45 Another helpful work is Paul Collins more recent
Infallibility, Primacy, Magesterium and Reception, in which the author examines the
history of papal primacy in the first and second millennia and explains the relationship
V. Procedure
will begin by examining the role of papal bulls in the Medieval Church. In the bulls
themselves, I will look for indications as to why the popes felt obliged to issue decisions
and to what authorities they appealed in making these decisions. Most importantly, I will
45
Avery Dulles, The Magisterium in History: A Theological Perspective. Theological
Education 19 (Spring 1983): 7-26.
46
Paul Collins, Infallibility, Primacy, Magisterium, and Reception, in Papacy and the People
of God, ed. Gary MacEoin (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1998): 22-39. Sources relating specifically to the
history of the doctrine of infallibility also shed light on how papal authority was viewed during the
Franciscan poverty controversy. Such sources include Robert B. Enos Some Elements in the Pre-History
of Infallibility, James Hefts Papal Infallibility and the Marian Dogmas: An Introduction, Karl Rahners
Notes on the Concept of Infallibility in Catholic Ecclesiology, and Brian Tierneys Foundations of the
Conciliar Theory.
Dissertation Proposal, Page 24
examine papal attitudes towards decisions of their predecessors and any attempts to limit
regarding Johns predecessors attitudes towards their own authority to provide a fuller
historical context for better understanding Johns own understanding of papal authority.
pronounced rulings on the same specific issue within a clearly defined time period. Thus,
their attitudes towards their own authority in relation to the authority of their
predecessors and successors becomes increasingly evident in the manner in which they
interpret the Franciscan Rule. This approach has advantages over that of Tierney, who
Nicholas IIIs bull Exiit, and then moves on to John XXIIs views regarding papal
infallibility. This approach also has advantages over Heft, who looks almost exclusively
at John XXIIs bull Quia quorundam mentes. In my study, Johns own understanding of
his authority will be placed in the context of the attitudes and understanding of five of his
Significance: The current debate is not adequately grounded in sources beyond John
XXII. My research will fill that gap. Furthermore, because the issues considered in
regard to papal authority during the Franciscan poverty controversy continued to shape
the debate surrounding the development of papal infallibility during the early modern
period, my research also provides a historical context for understanding how the doctrine
historically-rooted understanding of how papal authority was viewed during the poverty
controversy may very well offer new insights into how papal authority in general and the
I. Introduction
A. Review of debate regarding John XXIIs understanding of his own authority
B. Explain necessity of providing a historical context for understanding John
XXIIs attitude towards papal authority by examining the attitudes of his
predecessors as expressed in the bulls of the Franciscan poverty controversy
II. Chapter I: Historical Background
A. Papal bulls in the Middle Ages
1. The role of papal bulls in the Middle Ages
2. Critical reading of papal bulls
B. Brief history of the Franciscan poverty controversy
C. Significance of bulls in that controversy
III. Chapter II: Examination of Gregory IXs Quo elongati and Innocent IVs Ordinem
vestrum
IV. Chapter III: Examination of Nicholas IIIs Exiit qui seminat
V. Chapter IV: Examination of Martin IVs Exultantes in domino and Clement Vs
Exivi de paradiso
VI. Chapter V: Examination of John XXIIs bulls related to the Franciscan poverty
controversy
A. Quorundam exigit
B. Ad conditorem
C. Cum inter nonnullos
D. Quia quorundam mentes
VII. Chapter VI: Reappraising Johns understanding of his own authority in light of
his predecessors understanding of their own authority
VIII. Conclusion: Summary of argumentation, application to the Tierney-Heft debate,
and suggestions for further research