Papal Authority and Teaching

The growth of papal authority within the Church has been one of the most important themes of the modern epoch. Perhaps the greatest example of this is contained in the 1917 Code of Canon Law, which gives the Pope power to appoint all Latin-rite bishops, with the rights of cathedral chapters or other entities reduced to a mere concession. In areas of doctrine and policy, the Pope exercises his leadership through issuing a series of documents.

Papal documents include:

• Apostolic Constitutions
• Encyclicals
• Apostolic Exhortations
• Motu Proprio
• Apostolic Letters
• Letters
• Decretals

Papal documents have been preserved in the Vatican Secret Archives since the thirteenth century.

More information:    The Vatican   Catholic Encyclopedia   Wikipedia