The

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 ...

''Quod Divina Sapientia'', issued by

Pope Leo XII Pope Leo XII (; born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiorre Girolamo Nicola della Genga; 2 August 1760 – 10 February 1829) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 28 September 1823 to his death in February 1829. ...

28 August 1824, organised all public instruction in the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

under ecclesiastical supervision. Ancient autonomies of the old universities were abolished, streamlining their hierarchies, a progressive move, but placing them under the immediate supervision of the Pontifical state by means of a congregation of cardinals that was to function in essence as a ministry of public education, with, among its duties, the prerogative of selecting professors to fill established university chairs. Cardinal Wiseman observed approvingly that to the Congregation "belongs the duty of approving, correcting, or rejecting, changes suggested by the different faculties; of filling up vacancies in chairs; and watching over the discipline, morals and principles of all the universities and other schools." Cardinal Wiseman notes that professorships were thrown open in public competition, open to "such competitors as had sent in satisfactory testimonials of character." An exception to open competition was made in the case of those who had published a work that would sufficiently attest to its author's competency. The ''

nihil obstat (Latin for 'nothing hinders' or 'nothing stands in the way') is a phrase traditionally used by Catholic Church authorities to formally declare that there is no objection to the publication of a book. It also has other uses. Publishing The ...

'' for publication served as a first control against unacceptable opinions in print, sanctioned by an ''

imprimatur An imprimatur (sometimes abbreviated as ''impr.'', from Latin, "let it be printed") is a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement. The imprimatur rule in the Catho ...

''. Cardinal Francesco Bertazzoli, examiner of bishops in theology, was immediately appointed prefect; Bartazzoli had headed the commission of cardinals examining prospects for reforming the pontifical universities. Scientific courses at the

University of Perugia The University of Perugia ( Italian ''Università degli Studi di Perugia'') is a public university in Perugia, Italy. It was founded in 1308, as attested by the Bull issued by Pope Clement V certifying the birth of the Studium Generale. The offi ...

were brought under the Faculty of Philosophy, where they could be monitored in detail. Unsupervised instruction was forbidden; at Viterbo, the courses being given at the Ospedale Grande degli Infermi were interrupted under the provisions of ''Quod Divina Sapientia'', when ecclesiastical officials forced the hospital to limit its activities to the treatment of patients.Università degli Studi della Tuscia: "Viterbo and the University of Tuscia"
. With the

Unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

, a series of decrees by Vittorio Emanuele, 1860-62 freed the universities in the former States of the Church from ecclesiastical supervision.

Notes

{{Authority control Catholic education 19th-century papal bulls 1824 documents 1824 in Christianity Documents of Pope Leo XII August 1824

See also

Notes