Dominus ac Redemptor is the papal brief

Papal brief

The Papal Brief is a formal document emanating from the Pope, in a somewhat simpler and more modern form than a Papal Bull.-History:The introduction of briefs, which occurred at the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Eugenius IV , was clearly prompted for the same desire for greater simplicity...

 promulgated on 21 July 1773 by which Pope Clement XIV

Pope Clement XIV

Pope Clement XIV , born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was Pope from 1769 to 1774. At the time of his election, he was the only Franciscan friar in the College of Cardinals.-Early life:...

 suppressed the Society of Jesus

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

.

Circumstances

The Jesuits had been expelled from Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 (1754), Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 (1759), France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 (1764), Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 and its colonies (1767) and Parma

Duchy of Parma

The Duchy of Parma was created in 1545 from that part of the Duchy of Milan south of the Po River, as a fief for Pope Paul III's illegitimate son, Pier Luigi Farnese, centered on the city of Parma....

 (1768). Though he had to face strong pressure on the part of the ambassadors of the Bourbon

House of Bourbon

The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...

 courts, Pope Clement XIII

Pope Clement XIII

Pope Clement XIII , born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was Pope from 16 July 1758 to 2 February 1769....

 always refused to yield to their demands to have the Society of Jesus suppressed. The issue had reached such a crisis point, however, that the question seems to have been the main issue determining the outcome of the conclave of 1769 that was called to elect a successor to Clement XIII. Giovanni Cardinal Ganganelli, a Conventual Franciscan

Conventual Franciscans

The Order of Friars Minor Conventual , commonly known as the Conventual Franciscans, is a branch of the order of Catholic Friars founded by Francis of Assisi in 1209.-History:...

 friar, was elected and took the name of Clement XIV.

For a few years Clement XIV tried to placate the enemies of the Jesuits by treating them harshly: he refused to meet the Superior General

Superior General of the Society of Jesus

The Superior General of the Society of Jesus is the official title of the leader of the Society of Jesus—the Roman Catholic religious order, also known as the Jesuits. He is generally addressed as Father General. The position carries the nickname of Black Pope, after his simple black priest's...

, Lorenzo Ricci

Lorenzo Ricci

Lorenzo Ricci was an Italian Jesuit, elected the 18th Superior General of the Society of Jesus. He was also the last before the suppression of the Jesuits in 1773.-Early Life and career:Ricci was born in Florence, Italy...

, ordered them not to receive novices, etc., to no avail. The pressure kept building up to the point that Catholic countries were threatening to break away from the Church. Clement XIV ultimately yielded "in the name of peace of the Church and to avoid of secession in Europe" and suppressed the Society of Jesus by the brief Dominus ac Redemptor on 21 July 1773.

Content

The document is forty-five paragraphs long.

In the introductory paragraph Clement XIV gives the tone: Our Lord has come on earth as "Prince of peace". This mission of peace, transmitted to the apostles is a duty of the successors of Saint Peter

Saint Peter

Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...

, a responsibility the pope fulfils by encouraging institutions fostering peace and removing, if need be, others that impede peace. Not just if guilty, even on the broader ground of harmony and tranquillity in the Church, it may be justified to suppress a religious order.

What follows is a long section in which Clement XIV reviews the reasons which, in his judgement, are calling for the 'extinction' of the Society of Jesus

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

.

1. A long list of charges against the Society is enumerated (but no judgment is passed on the validity of the charges).
2. He recalls that, in its history, the Society encountered severe criticism (but he remains silent on whether the criticism is justified).
3. The distress occasioned to earlier popes by clashes among Catholics with regard to Jesuit doctrine is evoked (but the Society is not explicitly blamed for that).

In a final, more technical section Clement XIV pronounces the actual sentence of suppression of the Society of Jesus. Some provisions are dictated for the implementation of the brief.

In effect, the brief suppresses the Society without condemning it.

Execution of the brief

A second brief Gravissimis ex causis (16 August) established a commission of five cardinals entrusted with the task of informing the Jesuits and handling the many practical problems caused by the suppression. Two days later, a letter of the Cardinal president of the commission ordered all bishops of the Church to proclaim, and publish the brief in every Jesuit house, residence, or school, in the presence of the assembled community of Jesuits. This unusual approach created a good number of problems. Non-catholic countries such as Prussia and Russia forbade the bishops to promulgate the brief and ordered the Jesuits to carry on their academic activities just as if nothing had happened.