''Ausculta Fili'' (Latin, ) is 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 ...

addressed on 5 December 1301, by

Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII (; born Benedetto Caetani; – 11 October 1303) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 until his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of baronial origin with connections t ...

to King

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. Jure uxoris, By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip&n ...

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 member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

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 from the diocese of Toulouse by the bull ''Romanus Pontifex'', made it a suffragan of the archdiocese of Narbonne and named Bernard Saisset 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 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
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The incipit is modeled on that of the

Rule of St Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by Benedict of Nursia, St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up ...

. 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

'' Unam Sanctam''.

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 Texts in Latin Philip IV of France France–Holy See relations

Background

Contents

Aftermath

References