The was bull was the most abrasive and aggressive assertion on Papal authority to its date. Its opening lines state that “the Church is one, holy, catholic, and also apostolic. We believe in her firmly and we confess with simplicity that outside of her there is neither salvation nor the remission of sins.” As a reinforcement, its closing line states, “Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff.”
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the ruler of France was the most powerful political ruler in Europe. The House of Capet had been successfully gaining land and money for a couple centuries. By Philip IV’s rule (1285-1305), he was able to exert a large amount of influence. Philip IV was extremely ambitious in his conquests and equally ambitious in his raising of money. He taxed the clergy, which prompted a response from the Pope. Boniface VIII, equally aggressive in foreign policy, issued Clericis Laicos, which forbade political rulers from taxing the clergy.
Naturally, with two pugnacious rulers, tensions between them began to rise. The conflict between Polity and Church had been intensifying for years, but diplomacy had overcome controversy. After the issuance of Clericis Laicos, Philip IV cut off all sources of export and funding to the Rome, hoping to subjugate her economically. After Philip tried a bishop for treason, Boniface issued his ultimatum. Philip refuted this assertion of Papal infallibility, after which he was excommunicated.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US:
After his excommunication, Philip IV effectively ruined the Papacy. He accused the Pope of heinous crimes, even murder, and many believed him. He also kidnapped Boniface VIII and held him prisoner for three days. France continued its domination over Rome until Pope Clement V agreed to move the Papacy to Avignon, France in 1309. During the Avignon Papacy, the Catholic church began to fight among itself, and by 1378 there were three different claims to Holy See.
This eventually forced the 16th ecumenical council (1414-1418), which ultimately reaffirmed Papal supremacy, although under much dispute from the ecumenical council.
What Unam Sanctum highlighted was a difference in legitimate power between Church and State. Boniface VIII’s brash assertion of infallibility made it easy for political rulers to contest. Philip IV’s assertion of sovereignty established a precedent that would be used for generations in attempts to remove a state from theocratic power.
After the 16th ecumenical council’s election of Martin V, papal authority was again recognized, but it was no longer seen as absolute by political rulers. It had been successfully opposed, and those who wished to defy its power in order to gain their own had a means to do so. Rulers began sending less and less money to the church, keeping it to advance their own interests. Soon, the Vatican would begin selling indulgences in order to subsidize their extravagance, which Martin Luther famously opposed by nailing his ninety-five theses on the door of Wittenberg, Germany.
