was a

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

issued by

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV (; ; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Benedict X (1058–1059) is now con ...

, 23 February 1741, against secular pursuits on the part of the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. In spite of many prohibitive laws of the Catholic Church, some ecclesiastics had drifted into the habit of occupying themselves with worldly business and pursuits. The object of this papal prohibition was to check that abuse among the clergy. To that end, it recalls and confirms the statutes made by former

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

s against such abuses, and extends those proscriptions to such ecclesiastics as might, in order to evade the penalties attached, engage in worldly pursuits under the name of lay persons. It prohibits ecclesiastics from continuing business affairs begun by lay persons unless in case of necessity, and then only with the permission of the Sacred Congregation of the Council within

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and with the permission of the Diocesan Ordinary outside of Italy.

References

;Attribution * 1741 works 18th-century papal bulls Documents of Pope Benedict XIV {{RC-document-stub