Research guides: Graduate Theology: Papal, Conciliar, and Curial Statements

Papal, Conciliar, and Curial Statements

Documents published by the Holy See or by a church council are often referred to by a common title, derived from the first few words of the text. Usually this will be in Latin; e.g. the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, issued at Vatican II, is commonly called Gaudium et spes. When looking for a particular document it is helpful to know this common title, the date the document was issued, and who exactly issued it (e.g. the pope, an ecumenical council, a congregation of the Roman Curia).

English translations of current papal and curial documents can usually be found on the Vatican website (www.vatican.va). Curial documents are those published by a particular department of the Roman Curia ("the Vatican"). For English translations of other church documents, use the Catholic Periodical and Literature Index (described under Finding More Resources). It indexes the contents of many journals and magazines including Origins and L'Osservatore Romano.

Older documents can often be found in one of the works listed below:

Enchiridion symbolorum definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum = Compendium of Creeds, Definitions, and Declarations on Matters of Faith and Morals.
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Originally edited by Heinrich Denzinger; Bilingual edition edited by Peter Hunermann.
43rd ed. San Francisco: Ignatius, 2012.
"Denzinger" is the appropriate tool to use when looking for the most important excerpts from papal and conciliar statements - whether the original language text (usually Greek or Latin) or an English translation. The excerpts are arranged chronologically. A similar work, The Christian Faith in the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church (online) called "Neuner-Dupuis" after its editors, arranges excerpts (in English translation only) by broad theological topic (e.g. the Trinity).
Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils. by .
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Edited by Norman J. Tanner.
Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 1990. 2 volumes.
This work includes the original text (either Greek or Latin) of the decrees of each of the 21 ecumenical councils of the Catholic Church as well as an English translation. There are numerous indexes which enable one to locate what has been taught about a particular topic.
The Documents of Vatican II.
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Abbott English-translation:
online version in Internet Archive (requires account and login),
print version in UofT Library Catalogue.
Flannery English-translation:
original version online,
inclusive language version online,
print version in UofT Library Catalogue.
The official Latin text with English, Italian, and Spanish translations is available on the Vatican website; the English translations are those prepared by the National Catholic Welfare Conference. Abbott and Flannery are the two most widely used English-translations.
Dictionary of the Council.
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Edited by J. Derentz and A. Nocent.
London: Chapman, 1968.
Paragraph-length excerpts from the documents of Vatican II arranged by subject under almost 500 headings with cross references and an index.
The online version is available on the Internet Archive, a trusted source, but one for which it is necessary to create a free account and login.
For print version locations, see the UofT Library Catalogue.
Papal Writings, Vatican Website.
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The official text of many 20th and 21st century papal statements (including most encyclicals, apostolic constitutions, and apostolic exhortations) is available on the Vatican website. For many documents the official text is in Latin. Usually an English-language translation is also available, and often translations in other languages.
The Papal Encyclicals, 1740-1981.
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Edited by Claudia Carlen.
Wilmington, NC: McGrath, 1981. 5 volumes.
This work provides English translations of the 110 encyclicals issued by the popes from Benedict XIV to the first three years of the reign of John Paul II. An encyclical is a particular type of papal letter; today it is used for letters to the entire college of bishops on important topics. This work does not include other papal documents (e.g. apostolic letters, apostolic constitutions, bulls). There is a subject index and a bibliography of articles and books commenting on each encyclical.
The online version is available on the Internet Archive, a trusted source, but one for which it is necessary to create a free account and login:
volume 1 (1740-1878),
volume 2 (1878-1903),
volume 3 (1903-1939),
volume 4 (1939-1958),
volume 5 (1958-1981).
For print version locations, see the UofT Library Catalogue.
Papal Pronouncements: A Guide, 1740-1978.
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Edited by Claudia Carlen.
Ann Arbor, MI: Pierian, 1990. 2 volumes.
This work gives brief summaries of major papal statements from Benedict XIV to John Paul I. Included are encyclicals, apostolic letters, and papal documents issued motu proprio, as well as many addresses and radio messages - but not documents published by the offices of the Roman Curia. Sources for the complete original text and for an English translation (if there is one) are listed. There is an extensive subject index. Use this work to verify the name and date of a document and to find out where an English translation is available.
Only volume 1 (1740-1968) is available on the Internet Archive, a trusted source, but one for which it is necessary to create a free account and login.
For print version locations, see the UofT Library Catalogue.