Dictatus Papae is a historical document in Catholicism dating to 1090, consisting of 27 propositions outlining the extensive authority claimed by the Papacy. It emerged during the period of the Gregorian reforms and is a key text in understanding the historical expansion of the temporal and spiritual power of the Roman Bishop.
The Dictatus Papae is part of the tradition extending from the Gregorian reforms up until the promulgation of Unam Sanctam in 1302, a period spanning three to four centuries, which saw the continuous expansion of the temporal authority of the Roman bishop. The propositions within Dictatus Papae detail what must be believed by anyone in the world regarding the Papal office.
The Gregorian reforms were initiated during a time when German rulers appointed the Pope, leading to a period of nepotism in the 11th century. The popes appointed during this era, such as Gregory VII, were known for making outlandish claims regarding their authority. Dictatus Papae is therefore viewed as a foundational part of this tradition which developed into the doctrine of temporal papal supremacy.
Relationship to Later Dogma
The claims made in Dictatus Papae were precursors to the even stronger statement of temporal supremacy found in the papal bull Unam Sanctam (1302), issued by Pope Boniface VIII. Unam Sanctam ultimately declared that every human creature must be subject to the Roman pontiff to be saved, not just spiritually but also in a temporal sense.
The broad temporal claims asserted in Dictatus Papae and subsequent documents contradict the canons established at the Council of Chalcedon, which clearly stated that clerics cannot be involved in civil matters. The historical trajectory defined by Dictatus Papae, where the Pope acted as a world emperor with standing armies and the power to excommunicate those who would not fight for him, stands in night and day contradiction to the doctrines of the Second Vatican Council, which teach freedom of conscience and liberty of worship.
The Dictatus Papae is an outrageous document, which lives along side the historical forgeries of Donation of Constantine and the Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals, in fallen men, propping up the temporal authority of the Roman See and the Pope's claimed God Emperor status in the civil sphere.