Abstract

As argued through this book, studying petitions and letters enriches our understanding of institutional and religious history: it sheds light on the Church's place in society and on the contemporary understanding of disability. Indeed, the process of supplication could erase the negative institutional effects of disability by actively including the disabled cleric within the ecclesial and Christian body. With this process, the Apostolic See thus created a metaphorical place conducive to negotiation, where disabled clerics could disclose their physical and/or mental difficulties to advocate for themselves, requesting accommodations from the institutional Church.

Keywords: Inclusion; Apostolic Penitentiary; Modern Canon Law; Modern Legislation

The petitions received and the letters issued by the Papal Chancery between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries attest to the recognition of disability by the pontifical institution. They record the existence of supplicants’ physical or mental impairment and, on a case-by-case basis, authorize petitioners to adapt their duties, both as clerics and as Christians, according to their abilities. These documents are situated on the borderline between institutional edicts and lived experiences, between administrative theory and real-world practice. A petitioner's initial request set into motion an intense and complex epistolary exchange, highlighting the dynamism of all the actors involved, disabled supplicants and curial personnel alike. With the dispensation of grace, a privilege allowed only to the Pope, the Chancery established a system that allowed the Church hierarchy to govern the souls and bodies of all Christians, the clergy included. Indeed, grants of papal grace permitted the institution a greater degree of control over the clergy than ever before. Similarly, the petition process functioned as a formidable instrument by which the papacy exerted its authority throughout Christendom, increasing the Church's already considerable sway over late medieval Christian society. Every step in the construction of the dialogue served papal authority: each protagonist, from the supplicant to the scribes, contributed to strengthening the Church's power. The perception of physical or mental conditions, including old age and chronic or terminal illnesses, allowed for the recognition of disability as a condition. The Church developed extensive administrative protocols out of necessity, as a means of effectively supervising the clerics in its employ, many of whom were scattered across the Christian world.