Because of the conditions of the Middle Ages, and the temperament of the nobility, many of the funds being paid that would have been considered Church funds were necessary to fund wars between countries and kings. Therefore, several people were excommunicated from the Church because the edict was not followed. Other bulls, however, did have an impact on the political arena. These included the Super rege et regina, issued in 1297. This papal bull "bestowed on James II of Aragon the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica" ("List of Papal Bulls"). This resulted in a war between the pontifical troops and the Colonna clan. The pontifical troops were triumphant, and the rebellious Colonna clan was excommunicated and their property was confiscated ("Pope Boniface VIII "para. 10). One particular papal bull had particular religious and social significance. The Unam Sanctam was issued on November 18, 1302. This bull "declares that there is no salvation outside the Church, and that the Church must remain united" ("List of Papal Bulls"). The bull included much of the theologies of St. Bernard, Hugo of St. Victor, and St. Thomas Aquinas ("Pope Boniface VIII "para. 15). King Philip refuted the validity of the bull, and was consequently excommunicated by Pope Boniface VIII. The greatest message of the bull was that the pope would have ultimate power over all things. The Unam Sanctam declares, "one sword ought to be subordinated to the other and temporal authority, subjected to spiritual power. For since the Apostle said: 'There is no power except from God and the things that are,...

3). Again, as he had throughout his papacy, Pope Boniface VIII chose to assert the supreme authority of the pontiff. The result was social defiance and the segmentation of the religious order.
Pope Boniface VIII was widely considered to be a capable and knowledgeable choice for the papacy. However, his term as pontiff was controversial from the start because of the belief that he had unduly influence the former pontiff, Pope Celestine V, to resign from the papal throne in order for his own election and takeover. Many in the Church felt that this meant Boniface's papacy was not legal, and several political leaders and kings used this belief against Boniface in attempts to assert their own supremacy. Pope Boniface VIII was challenged at almost every step of his time as the head of the Catholic Church, and his short time as pontiff were largely ineffective with no extreme social or religious significance occurring as a result of the papal bulls issued by Pope Boniface VIII during the time between 1294 and 1302.

Works Cited

"List of Papal Bulls." Wikipedia Encyclopedia. Retrieved on March 25, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_papal_bulls. Online.

"Pope Boniface VIII." The New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved on March 25, 2010

from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02662a.htm. Online.

"Unam Sanctam." The Catholic Forum. Retrieved on March 25, 2010 from http://www.catholic-

forum.com/saints/pope0193a.htm. Online.