UNIGENITUS

The bull of clement xi, dated Sept. 8, 1713, that condemns 101 propositions taken from Nouveau Testament avec des réflexions morales sur chaque verset by the Oratorian Pasquier quesnel. The first version of the work, which was much shorter, had appeared in 1671; the bull alludes to a much more developed text that the Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal L. de Noailles, had caused to be published in 1699 and in which he had introduced various corrections after having consulted Bossuet. The jansenist and Gallican leanings that are expressed in the Réflexions morales had already caused their being placed on the Index by the brief Universi dominici gregis of July 13, 1708. Many of the condemned propositions correspond to formulas in which the efficacy of grace is exalted to the point of seeming to destroy liberty; others seem to limit the Church to the predestined only. However, some seem at first sight very similar to formulas accepted by the orthodox Augustinians, which explains the painful controversies that followed the publication of the bull and led France to the brink of schism.

Bibliography: h. denzinger, Enchiridion symbolorum, ed. a. schÖnmetzer, (Freiburg 1963) 2400–2502. j. f. thomas, La Querelle de l'Unigenitus (Paris 1950). l. ceyssens, "Autour de la bulle 'Unigenitus': son acceptation par l'assemblée du clergé," Revue d'Histoire Ecclesiastique 80 (1985) 369–414 (Pt. I), 732–759 (Pt. II). j. m. gres-gayer, "The Unigenitus of Clement XI : A Fresh Look at the Issues," Theological Studies 49 (1988) 259–282; Théologie et pouvoir en Sorbonne: la faculté de théologie de Paris et la bulle Unigenitus (Paris 1991). l. ceyssens, Le sort de la Bulle Unigenitus, ed. m. lamberigts (Louvain, 1992).

[l. j. cognet]