Cum inter nonnullos

Cum inter nonnullos is the papal bull issued by Pope John XXII in 1323 that condemned as heretical the Franciscan thesis that Christ and the apostles held no property, either individually or in common. The bull directly repudiated the Perugia Chapter of 1322, which had declared evangelical poverty a matter of Catholic faith, and it became a central document in the escalating conflict between the papacy and the Franciscan order, as well as between the Pope and the Emperor Louis the Bavarian.

Background and Context

In 1322, the general chapter of the Franciscan order, convened in Perugia under the leadership of Minister General Michael of Cesena, proclaimed as a matter of faith and doctrine the poverty of Christ, who, if he owned something with his apostles, possessed it only as usus facti—a right of use without ownership. This resolution was meant to safeguard the virtue and purity of the order, but it highly displeased Pope John XXII, who perhaps discerned in it a principle that would jeopardize the very claims that he, as head of the church, had made, denying the empire the right to elect bishops and asserting the papal throne's right to invest the emperor. The Pope had already been in conflict with the Franciscans, and the Perugia chapter's declaration provided a direct theological challenge to his authority.

The Bull's Content and Immediate Effect

Moved by these or other reasons, John condemned the Franciscan propositions in 1323 with the decretal Cum inter nonnullos. The bull declared the idea that Christ and the apostles had no property, either individually or in common, to be heretical. This was an amazing position, because there is no evident reason why a pope should consider perverse the notion that Christ was poor. The condemnation was a direct attack on the Franciscan order's core identity and its interpretation of the Rule of Saint Francis. The bull was part of a broader papal strategy to suppress the Spiritual Franciscans and the Fraticelli, who threatened the very foundation of the church's authority.

Consequences and Aftermath

The bull had far-reaching consequences. It forced the Franciscan order into a closer alliance with the Emperor Louis the Bavarian, who saw the Franciscans, now the Pope's enemies, as his potential allies. By affirming the poverty of Christ, the Franciscans were somehow strengthening the ideas of the imperial theologians, namely Marsilius of Padua and John of Jandun. The bull also emboldened the Inquisition to persecute those who held to the condemned doctrine. Many Fraticelli, who knew nothing of empire or of Perugia, were burned to death as a result. The conflict over Cum inter nonnullos became a central issue in the political and theological struggles of the early fourteenth century, leading to the failed meeting at the abbey and Michael of Cesena's eventual flight from Avignon.