OUR LORD

ers, health

Ly with the us while it ‘ies behind in renew - /-five years ninds, and aimed. The | VON iS rou pi iVlbee small and has bey id all en cleansed f Christian that from s derived a » world.

ors on such urther the nore ample aven. We thful in all s of next | has been n the reach

of the faithful in Rome during the last twelve months,

for this design will, we think, serve greatly for the revival of Christian morality, for knitting men's hearts

more closely to the Holy See, and for obtaining for the eople at large those other bles f which we spoke it leng ‘hen we first procla the Great Jubilee. [t will also be a fitting dedicatic for the opening of the new century, for we know of no better way in which

mankind can initiate a new century than by availin themselves abundantly of the merits of the redemption of Christ.

We have not the least doubt but that all the children of the Church will welcome this unusual means of salvation in the same spirit in which we offer it. We are sure that our venerable brothers, the bishops, and all the clergy, will, with th vigilance and diligence, duly exert themselves fullest fruition to the desires of all the faithfu

We do, therefore, by t uthority of Almighty God, of the Blessed Apostles | eter and Paul. and by our own, extend and prorogue, for a period of six months, the Great Jubilee which has just been celebrated in the Holy City.

Wherefore, to all the faithful of both sexes, in all parts of the earth, including even those that have come to Rome during the past year and there or elsewhere gained the Jubilee under any conditions, we grant and accord mercifully in the Lord, for once, the rullest indulgence, remission and pardon of their sins, the annual Paschal confession and communion being, however, not valid as conditions for gaining the Jubilee, provided that within six months from the date of the publication in each diocese of this letter, they visit the cathedral in the episcopal city or the principal church in other parts of the different dioceses, together with three other churehes in the same place, as appointed by the Ordinary either directly or through his officials, the parish priests or Vicars Foran, at least once a day for fifteen continuous or interrupted days, natural or ecclesiastical

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(the ecclesiastical day being that which commences with the first vespers of one day and ends with the dusk of the day following), and pray devoutly to God for the exaltation of the Church, the extirpation of heresy, the concord of Catholic princes and the salvation of the Christian people.

In places where there are not four ehurches power is granted in the same way to the Ordinaries to #x a smaller number of churches, or even one ehureh where there is only one, in whieh the faithful may make the full number of visits, separate and distinet, on the same natural or ecclesiastical day, in such a way that the sixty visits be distributed through fifteen continuous or interrupted days.

In consideration of the special conditions in which certain classes of persons are situated, we make the following provisions :

I. Persons at sea or traveling who, after the said six months, return to their homes or reach some fixed sta: tion, and there earry out the prescribed conditions, paying fifteen visits to the eathedral or the parish or prineipal chureh of their domicile or fixed station, may gain the same indulgence,

Ul. We grant the Ordinaries power to dispense from the preseribed visits nuns and oblate sisters, as well as girls and women living in religious communities; as also anchorites and hermits, and all persons in prison or captivity, and those prevented from making the appointed visits by reason of sickness or any other cause whatsoever; and of commut ing for them, alland severally, through their regular superiors or through their confessors, and this even outside sacramental confession, the prescribed visits, appointing in their stead other devout exercises, and in like manner of substituting other devout exercises for children who have not made their first communion, and of reducing the number of visits for chapters, congregations of seculars and regulars, Sodalities, confraternities, universities and colleges, as well as fov the faithful who visit the appointed churches pro-

nences with

he dusk of

God for the heresy, the ation of the

'Ss power is ries to fix a ich where y make the n the same y that the ntinuous or

in which e make the

ie said six e fixed sta:

itions, payhh or prinemay gain

P)nse from , as well as unities ; as n prison or g the apther cause d severally, elr confesession, the her devout her devout their first [ visits for ws, Sodalias well as rches pro-

cessionnally with their parish priest or with another priest designated by him.

With regard to Jubilee confessors we grant the following privileges :

I. Nuns and their novices may choose for their confessor any priest approved of by the Ordinary for hiearine the confessions of nuns.

if. All the rest of the faithful of both sexes, that is to say the laity and ecelesiasties—seculars and regulars belonging to any of the orders, even those of which special mention should ordinarily be made—may to the same end choose as confessors any priests or religious of any order or institute, even different from their own, provided in the ease of the laity they be approved by the Ordinary of the diocese for hearing the confessions of seculars, and in the ease of regulars provided they be approved for hearing the confessions of regulars by their superiors.

III. To confessors thus selected and approved for the purpose of gaining the Jubilee we grant power for this occasion to absolve, during the said period of six months, and in the form of conscience only, from exeommunieation, suspension and other ecclesiastical sentences inflieted either by the law of the Chureh or by individuals for any cause, ineluding those reserved to the Ordinaries or to us and the Apostolic See, even those special en: which are reserved in any special way whatsoever to u and the A postolie See and which would not be understood HE) granted in any other coneession, however ample, as well as from all sins and excesses, however great and enormous, even those reserved as above to the Ordinaries or to ourself and the Apostolic See, after preseribing a salutary penance und the other conditions laid down in

the eanons. An exception is made for the erime of absolutio eomplieis committed three times or oftener, He must, however, be careful not to absolve heretics who have publiely dogmatized against the faith until they have abjured their heresy and mace due reparation for the seandal they have given; nor must he absolve

those who have without permission acquired eeclesiastical rights or property until they have either restored these, or arranged with the Or linary, or promised that they will as soon as possible arrange with him or the Holy See.

IV. So also all vows reserved to the Apostolie See (excepting those of chastity and religion and those binding obligations which depend on a third person, or in which the solution would cause a third person to incur injury, and of those penal obligations which are known as preservatives against sin, unless the solution of such be deemed to be of as much efficaey in the prevention of sin as the previous obligation) may be commuted to other devout and salutary acts. And such penitents as are in sacred orders, including regulars, may be absolved from hidden irregularities concerning the exercise of their orders and referable to their superiors, provided that such irregularities have not been brought before the ecclesiastical courts, and are not likely to be so brought.

V. In like manner in the case of those who wittingly or unwittingly have contracted matri;aony with the impediment of the second and third degree, or of the third only, or of the third and fourth, or of the fourth ouly of consanguinity, or of affinity even derived from lawful connection, he may grant a dispensation, in the forum of conscience only to continue in. m: itl mon y, provided such impediment continues secret.

VI. So, too, he may grant a dispensation, in the forum of conscience only from a secret diriment impediment, as well of the first and second, av? of the first only, and of the second only, degree of aft from an unlawful connection and affecting à eontrac.»d marriage, and even for contracting mS, provi led there be grave reasons canonically considered sufficient—in such wise, however, that if such affinity be derived from a conriection with the mother of the woman espoused or to be espoused, the hirth of the latter must have preceded the connection, and not otherwise,

ired eeclesiher restored 'omised that him or the

pustolic See | those bindargon, or in on to ineur h are known tion of such prevention commuted to penitents as ' be absolved exercise of ors, provided ught before ly to be so

ho wittingly iy with the ree, or of the ' the fourth ven derived pensation, in minatzimon y,

in the forum impediment, rst only, and an unlawful age, and even re be grave n such wise, om a conr;eced or to be preceded the

VIL. To dispense likewise, in the same forum from the impediment of spiritual relationship, contracted or to be contracted, and also from a secret. impedimentum eriminis, neither party, however, acting deliberately, that is, only when adultery is combined with a promise of matrimony after the death of a husband or wife.

VII. Dispensare ad petendum debitum possit in casu affinitatis incestuosae matrimonio supervenientis,

IX. Ad petendum pariter debitum eum illis qui voto simpliei castitatis obstrieti matrimonium contraxerunt, dispensare valeat, illos monendos facturos contra id votum, si extra usum matrimonialem delinquant, ac remansuros eodem prorsus ac antea voto obstrietos, si conjugi supervixerint.

X, But we do not intend by these letters to dispense from any other irregularity, publie or private, or from any defect or note, or from any incapacity or inhability contracted in any way whatever, nor do we grant any faculties from dispensing in such cases, or of rehabilitating or restoring anybody to hi; or her former state, even in the forum of conseience ; we do not grant facultics to any confessor to absolve an accomplice in any indecent sin against the sixth commandment ; nor do we grant liberty to an accomplice to select a confessor of this kind by reason of these presents, as lias been set forth in the Constitution of Benediet XIV., which begins with the words Sacramentum Poenitentiae; nor do We derogate in anything from this and other Pontificul Constitutions concerning the denunciation of aecomplices: and these letters cannot and must not be of avail to those who have been nominatim excommunicated, suspended or interdicted by Us and the Apostolie See or by any Prelate or ecclesiastical judge, or who have been declared to have incurred or publicly denounced as having incurred other sentences or censures, unless they shall within the six months have made reparation, and, when need is, made arrangements with the parties affected,

In the case of those who, after beginning the preseribed exereises with the intention of gaining the Jubilee are hindered from completing the full number of visits through sickness, We, desiring to favor the piety and zeal of their good intentions, deere e that they may become sharers in the aforesaid Indulgence and remission, provided that they are truly penitent, eonfess their sins and ree^ive Holy Communion, Should any after obtaining avsolution from eensures, commutations of vows or any of the above-mentioned dispensations, with the serious intention otherwise required for the gaining of the Indulgence and of fulfilling the other necessary works, change their dispositions > even though they ean hardly be deemed as bei ing free from sin in so doing: vet We declare and decree that such absolutions, commutations and dispensations obtained by them with the said dispositions remain in v igor.

We wish and deeree that the Present Letters are to be in all respects valid and efficacious in their plenary effects, wherever they are published and executed, and to be available for all the faithful of €! arist abiding in the favor of the Apostolie See.

We wish also that the same eredenee be shown to transeripts or copies of these Letters, authenticated by the seal of a notary or of a properly constituted ecclesiastical authority, as would be given to these our orig’ inal Letters.

Let no one en to rashly add to or take from this A postolie decree or to misinte js its spirit or purpose, Should any one so presume let him fully understand that he will draw down upon himself the wrath of the Almighty God and the displeasure of the Apostles Peter and Paul.

ne the presining the Ju- Il] number of vor the piety at they may ce and remisconfess their d any after mutations of lispensations, ired for the ing the other even though rom sin in so such absoluined by them

ters are to be

plenary efcuted, and to iding in the

e shown to ientieated by ituted eecle-

'S6 Our OF

e from this tor purpose, / understand vrath of the . ) postles Peter

zi ,

Given at Rome at St. Peter's on Christmas Day in the . à i12 cH vear of our Lord 1900 and the twenty-third of our Pon-

tifienu À

Vised.