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40-535: Cum nimis absurdum was a papal bull issued by Pope Paul IV dated 14 July 1555. It takes its name from its first words : Since it is absurd and utterly inconvenient that the Jews, who through their own fault were condemned by God to eternal slavery, can under the pretext that pious Christians must accept them and sustain their habitation, are so ungrateful to Christians, as, instead of thanks for gracious treatment, they return contumely, and among themselves, instead of

80-460: A full eighteen months prior to the day on which such collateral would be forfeit. At the expiration of the specified number of months, if Jews sold a security deposit, they were to remit all money in excess of the principal of the loan to the owner of the collateral. The measures were aimed at bringing about Jewish conversions. "These policies were easier to enforce in the Papal States, where

120-557: A heraldic device of the Farnese family, from which Pope Paul III descended. Since the late 18th century, the lead bulla has been replaced with a red ink stamp of Saints Peter and Paul with the reigning pope's name encircling the picture, though very formal letters, e.g. the bull of Pope John XXIII convoking the Second Vatican Council , still receive the leaden seal. Original papal bulls exist in quantity only after

160-495: A short " datum " that mentioned the place of issuance, day of the month and year of the pope's pontificate on which issued, and signatures, near which was attached the seal. For the most solemn bulls, the pope signed the document himself, in which case he used the formula " Ego N. Catholicae Ecclesiae Episcopus " ("I, N., Bishop of the Catholic Church"). Following the signature in this case would be an elaborate monogram ,

200-432: A shorter beard made of dome-shaped globetti (beads in relief). Each head was surrounded by a circle of globetti , and the rim of the seal was surrounded by an additional ring of such beads, while the heads themselves were separated by a depiction of a cross. On the reverse was the name of the issuing pope in the nominative Latin form, with the letters "PP", for Pastor Pastorum ("Shepherd of Shepherds"). This disc

240-406: A variety of activities, including the purchase and sale of real estate. Moreover, Jews who were physicians were not to attend or treat, even if summoned, any Christians, and they were not to be addressed as superiors even by poor Christians. The bull also listed restrictions on loan practices. Collateral, put up as temporary security for their money, was not to be sold unless such goods were put up

280-526: The Catholic Encyclopedia (1907–1914), and published nearly 800 articles in magazines and scholarly journals, as well a dozen books. He also re-edited Alban Butler 's Lives of the Saints (1926–1938). Many of Thurston's articles show a skeptical attitude towards popular legends about the lives of the saints and holy relics . For instance, he defended and publicized the work of

320-528: The Papal States , renewed anti-Jewish legislation and subjected Jews to various degradations and restrictions on their personal freedom. The bull established the Roman Ghetto and required the Jews of Rome, who had existed as a community since before Christian times and numbered about 2,000 at the time, to live in it. The Ghetto was a walled quarter with three gates that were locked at night. Under

360-553: The Roman Catholic Church , a member of the Jesuit order, and a prolific scholar on liturgical , literary, historical, and spiritual matters. In his day, he was regarded as an expert on spiritualism . Today he is remembered chiefly for his extensive contributions to the Catholic Encyclopedia . He also served as editor of Mother Mary Loyola , an international bestselling author of popular religious books. Herbert

400-488: The University of London where he earned a Latin exhibition in 1877 and received a bachelor's degree, along with a university prize, in 1878. From 1877 to 1880 he resided at Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall while studying scholastic philosophy . Thurston taught at Beaumont College from 1880 to 1887 and studied theology at St Beuno's College from 1887 to 1891. He was ordained as a priest on 21 September 1890. He

440-466: The obverse it depicted, originally somewhat crudely, the early Fathers of the Church of Rome , the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul , identified by the letters S anctus PA ulus and S anctus PE trus (thus, SPA •SPE or SPASPE ). St. Paul, on the left, was shown with flowing hair and a long pointed beard composed of curved lines, while St. Peter, on the right, was shown with curly hair and

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480-558: The 11th century onward, when the transition from fragile papyrus to the more durable parchment was made. None survives in entirety from before 819. Some original lead bullae , however, still survive from as early as the 6th century. In terms of content, the bull is simply the format in which a decree of the pope appears. Any subject may be treated in a bull, and many were and are, including statutory decrees, episcopal appointments, dispensations , excommunications , apostolic constitutions , canonizations , and convocations . The bull

520-532: The 15th century, when one of the offices of the Apostolic Chancery was named the "register of bulls" (" registrum bullarum "). By the accession of Pope Leo IX in 1048, a clear distinction developed between two classes of bulls of greater and less solemnity. The majority of the "great bulls" now in existence are in the nature of confirmations of property or charters of protection accorded to monasteries and religious institutions. In an era when there

560-599: The Church, or from fraternizing in any way with Christians. Jews were limited to the trade of rag-picking , and were not to trade in grain, barley, or any other commodity essential to human welfare. Nor were they to use other than Latin or Italian words in short-term account books that they held with Christians, and, if they did so, such records would not be binding on Christians in legal proceedings. In spite of these restrictions, Serena di Nepi demonstrates that Jewish bankers remained actively involved with Christian partners in

600-488: The Florentine engraver Benvenuto Cellini was paid 50 scudi to recreate the metal matrix which would be used to impress the lead bullae of Pope Paul III . Cellini retained definitive iconographic items like the faces of the two apostles, but he carved them with a much greater attention to detail and artistic sensibility than had previously been in evidence. On the reverse of the seal he added several fleurs-de-lis ,

640-622: The French priest and historian Ulysse Chevalier against the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin . On the other hand, his treatment of spiritualism and the paranormal was regarded as "too sympathetic" by some within the Catholic community. Father Thurston joined the Society for Psychical Research in 1919, and he was a friend of psychical researcher Everard Feilding . Thurston attributed

680-512: The Jews of Rome were able to hold steadfast to an identity, preserve a specificity and defend themselves against persisting attempts to convert them through active proselytism and social exclusion calculated to erode their adherence to their Jewish faith." Papal bull Papal bulls have been in use at least since the 6th century, but the phrase was not used until around the end of the 13th century, and then only internally for unofficial administrative purposes. However, it had become official by

720-436: The Jews — as those prohibiting their practising medicine among Christians, employing Christian servants, and the like — but he also restricted them in their commercial activity, forbade them to have more than one synagogue in any city, enforced the wearing of the yellow hat, refused to permit a Jew to be addressed as "signor", and finally decreed that they should live in a designated area separated from Christians. The last measure

760-627: The Pope had executive power, as well as elsewhere in Italy, where the papacy had influence. Beyond Italy, though, the provisions of the bull were largely ignored." In Poland , Church officials never proposed segregation of the Jews, as such a measure would not have been supported by the king or the nobles. Serena di Nepi argues that "in spite of the increasing implosion of the Jewish world of Rome, imposed by papal policy, which imposed exclusion and enclosure,

800-631: The bull is the only written communication in which the pope will refer to himself as " Episcopus Servus Servorum Dei " ("Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God"). While papal bulls always used to bear a metal seal, they now do so only on the most solemn occasions. A papal bull is today the most formal type of public decree or letters patent issued by the Vatican Chancery in the name of the pope. A bull's format formerly began with one line in tall, elongated letters containing three elements:

840-517: The bull, Jewish males were required to wear a pointed yellow hat, and Jewish females a yellow kerchief. Jews were required to attend compulsory Catholic sermons on the Jewish shabbat . The bull also subjected Jews to various other restrictions such as a prohibition on property ownership and practising medicine among Christians . Jews were allowed to practice only unskilled jobs, as rag men, secondhand dealers or fish mongers. They could also be pawnbrokers . Paul IV's successor, Pius IV , enforced

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880-616: The burning of the Talmud in Rome. Deutsch and Jacobs link this to part of the reaction to the Protestant Reformation that led to censorship of books deemed detrimental to Christians. Two months after becoming Pope, Paul IV issued Cum nimis absurdum . As temporal ruler of the Papal States it applied to those areas over which he had direct control. Paul IV sought to strictly enforce earlier canonical restrictions against

920-589: The case of their synagogues. Paul IV restated a canon of the Fourth Council of the Lateran of 1215 that required Jews and Muslims to wear something to distinguish them from Christians, and Paul required that Jews wear some distinguishing sign, yellow in color. They were forbidden to have Christian nurses, maids or servants, nor Christian wet-nurses . They were prohibited from working or having work done on Sundays or on other public feast days declared by

960-479: The construction of new synagogues and decreed the demolition of any others beyond the one permitted. Furthermore, Jews were not allowed to own real property and were required to sell those properties which they then owned within a set period of time. These restrictions contradicted a precedent set as early as 598, by Gregory I which clearly laid down that the Jews were to be allowed to keep their own festivals and religious practices, and their rights of property, even in

1000-482: The creation of other ghettos in most Italian towns, and his successor, Pius V , recommended them to other bordering states. The Papal States ceased to exist on 20 September 1870 when they were incorporated in the Kingdom of Italy , but the requirement that Jews live in the ghetto was formally abolished only in 1882, though this requirement was seldom, if ever enforced. Gian Pietro Carafa was seventy-nine when he assumed

1040-410: The eleventh century, after which it was rapidly superseded by a rough kind of parchment . Modern scholars have retroactively used the word "bull" to describe any elaborate papal document issued in the form of a decree or privilege , solemn or simple, and to some less elaborate ones issued in the form of a letter. Popularly, the name is used for any papal document that contains a metal seal. Today,

1080-410: The heads of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul on one side and the pope's name on the other. Papal bulls were originally issued by the pope for many kinds of communication of a public nature, but by the 13th century, papal bulls were only used for the most formal or solemn of occasions. Papyrus seems to have been used almost uniformly as the material for these documents until the early years of

1120-578: The main streets and squares, buy and hold immovable property, engage maids, nurses and other Christian servants, and commit other and numerous misdeeds with shame and contempt of the Christian name. Considering that the Church of Rome tolerates these very Jews evidence of the true Christian faith and to this end [we declare]: that they, won over by the piety and kindness of the See, should at long last recognize their erroneous ways, and should lose no time in seeing

1160-561: The papacy as Pope Paul IV , and was by all accounts austere, rigidly orthodox, and authoritarian in manner. As a cardinal, he had persuaded Pope Paul III to establish a Roman Inquisition , modelled on the Spanish Inquisition with himself as one of the Inquisitors-General. Carafa vowed, "Even if my own father were a heretic, I would gather the wood to burn him." In September 1553, Cardinal Carafa had overseen

1200-401: The phenomena of stigmata to the effects of suggestion . He criticized Spiritualism for its confidence that mediums communicate with the dead. He believed that "some ‘communications’ may originate in the medium's subconscious, while many alleged communications appear to be self-contradictory." He was also a close friend of Father George Tyrrell , a fellow Jesuit priest who was sanctioned by

1240-439: The pope's name, the papal title " Episcopus Servus Servorum Dei " ("Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God "), and its incipit , i.e., the first few Latin words from which the bull took its title for record-keeping purposes, but which might not be directly indicative of the bull's purpose. The body of the text was often very simple in layout, and it had no specific conventions for its formatting. The closing section consisted of

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1280-585: The signatures of any witnesses, and then the seal. In modern times, a member of the Roman Curia signs the document on behalf of the pope, usually the Cardinal Secretary of State , and thus the monogram is omitted. The most distinctive characteristic of a bull was the metal seal ( bulla ), which was usually made of lead , but on very solemn occasions was made of gold , as those on Byzantine imperial instruments often were (see Golden Bull ). On

1320-412: The slavery, which they deserve, they manage to claim superiority: we, who newly learned that these very Jews have insolently invaded our City Rome and a number of the Papal States, territories and domains their impudence increased so much that they dare not only to live amongst the Christian people, but also in the vicinity of the churches without any difference of dressing, and even that they rent houses in

1360-434: The true light of the catholic faith, and thus to agree that while they persist in their errors, realizing that they are slaves because of their deeds, whereas Christians have been freed through our Lord God Jesus Christ, and that it is iniquitous for it to appear that the sons of free women serve the sons of maids. The bull revoked all the rights of the Jewish community and placed religious and economic restrictions on Jews in

1400-531: Was appointed as prefect of studies of Wimbledon College , a Jesuit secondary school, where he was also headmaster for a single term in 1893–4. After that he resided at Farm Street , the Jesuit house in Mayfair , for the next forty-five years. Thurston's writing career spanned over sixty years. As a liturgical scholar, he first became known for his writings on rubrics . Thurston wrote more than 150 articles for

1440-525: Was carried out in Rome with unrelenting cruelty. According to Herbert Thurston , "[E]dicts issued at various times for the destruction of copies of the Talmud, the Bull 'Cum nimis absurdum' of Paul IV constraining the Jews of Rome to live segregated in a Ghetto and subject to other harassing disabilities, represent ... the prejudices of individual pontiffs ..." There was to be no more than one synagogue in each state, territory and domain. The bull forbade

1480-399: Was much fabrication of such documents, those who procured bulls from Rome wished to ensure that the authenticity of their bull was above suspicion. A papal confirmation, under certain conditions, could be pleaded as itself constituting sufficient evidence of title in cases where the original deed had been lost or destroyed. Since the 12th century, papal bulls have carried a leaden seal with

1520-576: Was the exclusive letter format from the Vatican until the 14th century, when the papal brief appeared. The brief is the less formal form of papal communication and was authenticated with a wax impression, now a red ink impression, of the Ring of the Fisherman . Herbert Thurston Herbert Henry Charles Thurston SJ (15 November 1856 – 3 November 1939) was an English priest of

1560-756: Was the only son of George Henry Thurston, a surgeon, and his wife Theresa Ellen née Tuck. He was born in London and educated at the minor seminary of Saint-Malo (1868–9), at Mount St Mary's Jesuit school in Derbyshire (1869–71), and at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire (1871–4). Having decided to join the Jesuits, he underwent the usual noviciate training at Manresa House in Roehampton (1874–6), after which he took his first vows. He also studied at

1600-508: Was then attached to the document either by cords of hemp , in the case of letters of justice and executory letters, or by red and yellow silk , in the case of letters of grace, that was looped through slits in the vellum of the document. The term " bulla " derives from the Latin " bullire " ("to boil"), and alludes to the fact that, whether of wax, lead, or gold, the material making the seal had to be melted to soften it for impression. In 1535,

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