''Ausculta Fili'' (Latin, ) is a
papal bull addressed on 5 December 1301, by
Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of b ...
to King
Philip IV of France
Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (french: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 12 ...
.
Background
Philip, at enmity with Boniface, had aggressively expanded what he saw as
royal rights by conferring
benefices
A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
and appointing
bishops
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
to sees, regardless of papal authority. He drove from their sees bishops who were in opposition to his will and supported the Pope.
In 1295, Boniface created a see at
Pamiers
Pamiers (; oc, Pàmias ) is a commune and largest city in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the most populous commune in the Ariège department, although it ...
from the diocese of Toulouse by the bull ''Romanus Pontifex'', made it a suffragan of the archdiocese of Narbonne and named
Bernard Saisset
Bernard Saisset () was an Occitan bishop of Pamiers, in the County of Foix in the south of France, whose outspoken disrespect for Philip IV of France incurred charges of high treason in the overheated atmosphere of tension between the King and hi ...
as bishop. However, the opposition of Hughes Mascaron, Bishop of Toulouse, and the conflict between Saisset and Roger Bernard III, Count of Foix, prevented Saisset from taking immediate possession of his diocese. As an ardent Occitan aristocrat, Saisset made no secret of the fact that he despised the northern "Frankish" French.
In 1299, Boniface suspended two bishops in the south of France. Philip then attempted to exercise the
droit de regale
''Jura regalia'' is a medieval legal term which denoted rights that belonged exclusively to the king, either as essential to his sovereignty (''jura majora'', ''jura essentialia''), such as royal authority; or accidental (''jura minora'', ''jura a ...
and claimed the right to seize the revenues of the vacant sees. Boniface objected that suspension is not the same as deposition and did not render a see vacant. He sent the Bishop of Pamiers to Philip as legate to protest.
Robertson, James Craigie. ''History of the Christian Church: From the Apostolic Age to the Reformation, A.D. 64-1517'', Vol. 6, Pott, Young, 1874
/ref>
Contents
The incipit is modeled on that of the Rule of St Benedict
The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot.
The spirit of Saint Benedict's R ...
. The letter is couched in firm, paternal terms. It points out the alleged evils the king has brought to his kingdom, to church and to State and invites him to do penance and mend his ways.
Aftermath
It went unheeded by Philip and was followed by the papal bull ''Unam Sanctam
' is a papal bull that was issued by Pope Boniface VIII on 18 November 1302. It laid down dogmatic propositions on the unity of the Catholic Church, the necessity of belonging to it for eternal salvation, the position of the Pope as supreme he ...
''.
References
;Attribution
*{{Catholic, wstitle=Ausculta Fili
1301 works
History of Christianity in France
History of the papacy
14th-century papal bulls
Documents of Pope Boniface VIII
Latin texts
Philip IV of France
France–Holy See relations