Unam Sanctam: One Authority Over All? What It Means for Us Today

In 1302, Pope Boniface VIII issued one of the boldest declarations in Church history: the papal bull Unam Sanctam. At first glance, it reads like a heavy medieval text, but at its core, it speaks to something we still wrestle with today: who really has authority over the lives of the nations, the land and resources?

What the Bull Said

Boniface VIII declared:

• There is only one true Church and no salvation outside it.
• The Church holds two swords of power: spiritual (faith, sacraments, salvation) and temporal (laws, kings, armies).
• The temporal sword must submit to the spiritual sword. In other words, kings and rulers only govern legitimately if the Pope permits it.
• Every human being must be subject to the Roman Pontiff to be saved.

In short, Unam Sanctam made the Pope the ultimate authority on Earth — above kings, governments, and citizens alike.

What It Meant in Daily Life (1300s) and ultimately beyond Europe.

For native people in medieval Europe, as it is today, this was not abstract theology. It touched their daily lives:

• Paying taxes to both king and Church.
• Obeying laws that were justified by religious authority.
• Living under the constant reminder that your eternal salvation depended on loyalty to Rome.

The bull was less about spirituality and more about power and control: Who do you obey if Church and king disagree? Answer: the Pope.

It is important for the abantu seeker to innerstand the various moving parts in our story as it relates to the history we face every day in our waking lives.

Why It Still Matters Today

You might find it interesting — what does a 700-year-old Church decree have to do with us now? a sh*t ton!. Unam Sanctam set the stage for how corporate institutions claim absolute authority:

• Government vs. Spirituality: Who decides what is right — the state, or the law of the land? (which informs your conscience.)
• Centralised Control: Do we need one supreme authority, or can we live with diverse traditions and multiple truths as the multiple nations of the earth?
• Institutional Demands: Just like the Church then, modern institutions (political, corporate, financial) demand obedience for access to security, services, or even identity.

Think of it this way: Unam Sanctam made the Pope the GOD of humanity, declaring that kings, governments, and ordinary people all reported upward to Rome.

According to public records, by the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Papal States were absorbed into the new Italian state. The Lateran Treaty (1929) settled relations between Italy and the Holy See: the Vatican became a small independent sovereign state (Vatican City), and the papacy’s temporal rule over large territories ended (or so they say, but we know they likely evolved into another branding.) That made the Pope a spiritual leader with a unique sovereign micro-state, not ruler of all nations. But our elders and chiefs warned us that some information would have been altered to further confuse the seeker; do take note of that.

In other words, we are led to believe that today, modern international law and politics recognise sovereign states (countries) that are legally independent entities with their own constitutions, governments, and international recognition. While the Catholic Church remains an influential global religion and the Vatican remains a sovereign entity with diplomatic relations, it does not have legal authority over other states’ governance or constitutions. (but sounds like the same two swords to me.)

Are modern countries “corporations”?

It seems as if they are, if you listen to the chiefs who are committed to bringing the truth to the people. There is a technical way in which this is possible, and we will just cover the basics and leave the in-depth analysis to the elders. It is up to the seeker to keep looking for our elders who have this information.

The system’s argument, however;

• Many municipal governments and public entities are incorporated for administrative purposes (cities, districts, public corporations), and laws sometimes use the language “incorporated” for a government unit, but that does not mean the whole country is a private business owned by someone else.
• The widely shared claim that the 1871 District of Columbia Organic Act turned the entire U.S. government into a corporation is a misunderstanding. That act reorganised the governance of Washington, D.C.; it did not convert the United States into a private corporation.

In the case of South Africa, we probably want to look at the constitution to compare

The South African Constitution gives provisions that seemingly push back against the kinds of absolutist claims in Unam Sanctam. We can page through sections of the SA Constitution, how they relate, and what they imply in regard to claims of spiritual or external authority over the State. But as you know, the spirit will have to guide you in revealing the truth behind the veil. Here are some key points that may jump out at you, and you have to ask yourself if it truly is that way;

No legal supremacy for religious/spiritual authorities
While religion is protected, no external spiritual authority has constitutional power to override the State’s law or demand legal obedience from citizens in the way Unam Sanctam claimed (i.e. “it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff”).

Religious freedom + legal equality
The Constitution requires equality among believers of different religions or none. State cannot enforce one religion as the only or correct one, or make obedience to a religious authority a condition of legal rights or citizenship.

Limits and oversight
All public institutions, laws, and government actions are bound by the Constitution. If any law or act effectively tries to impose religious supremacy, citizens or civil society can challenge it in court. The Constitutional Court has the last word.

State may allow religious observances, but must be voluntary & equitable
For example, there can be religious observances at state-aided institutions, but they must follow rules, be equitable, and attendance must be voluntary. This balances recognition of religion with protection of individuals’ rights.

A lot of these brush over the distinct difference between the natives and everyone else, the abantu, whose status is different from everyone else on the land.

So, when we ask: Is “Unam Sanctam” still in play? — In South Africa’s legal system, the answer is yes, not in its original sense; it has evolved or changed faces to something else, but the same entity. We take a look and see that the Constitution explicitly sets up a secular legal framework:

• Sovereignty resides in the Constitution and the people, not a religious authority.
• Religious belief is protected as belief, not enforced over civic obligations.
• The State is bound by law, and religious institutions do not have a constitutionally guaranteed power to override civic laws or the Constitution.

So is it still on, or off? One thing is for sure, as our great teacher brother Bobby Hemmit said, “we have a lot of information to get through.”