Commissum divinitus

Commissum divinitus was an encyclical issued by Pope Gregory XVI on 14 May 1835, addressed to the Swiss clergy.

Gregory issued the encyclical in response to the Articles of Baden, calling them "false, rash, erroneous, prejudicial to the Holy See, destructive to the government of the Church and its divine constitution, and subjecting ecclesiastical ministry [of the] Church to secular domination".

[1] In particular, the encyclical criticizes the Swiss government for legalizing marriage between Catholics and non-Catholics, rejecting the suggestion that the secular government held the authority to regulate marriage.

[2] The encyclical continues Gregory's opposition to political liberalism.

[3] This position, as laid out in Commissum divinitus, led seven Catholic cantons of Switzerland to form the Sonderbund.