Papal Oath - Other Oaths

Other Oaths

The Constitutio Romana included an oath of fealty taken by the Pope to the Holy Roman Emperor, beginning in 824 until no later than 884.

More closely related to the subject of this article is the "profession of the supreme pontiff" that the 23rd session (26 March 1436) of the Council at Basel decreed should be made by anyone elected Pope as a condition for his election to be valid.

By this profession, the Pope was to declare adherence to the eight "universal" councils (down to the Fourth Council of Constantinople) and the later "general" councils (down to that of Basel, to which the Pope would thereby be obliged to grant recognition).

The profession in the Liber Diurnus Romanorum Pontificum, a book that had fallen out of use four centuries before, declared acceptance only of the first six ecumenical councils.

The Council of Basel wished the newly elected Pope to read this profession again at his first public consistory, and it was to be read to him every year on the occasion of the anniversary of his election or coronation.

This "profession of the supreme pontiff" seems to be referred to as an oath in the formula that each cardinal was also called upon to swear before voting in the conclave. The cardinals were to declare: "I shall not make obeisance to anyone elected as pontiff before he takes the oath prescribed by this council of Basel." The text of the "profession of the supreme pontiff" and of the oath of the cardinals can be consulted on the Internet.

Antipope Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy, made the profession drawn up by the Council of Basel; but as none of the recognized Popes ever made it, there is no justification for calling it a papal oath, still less for referring to it as "the Papal Oath".