Holy Relics, June 3, 1877. The text of this decree, accompanied by a translation of it, is given farther on. By this decree:—
1. All other Raccoltas, by whomsoever made or printed, or by whomsoever approved, were deprived of all authority.
2. The new Raccolta, compiled by the S. Congregation of Indulgences, and issued from the Propaganda press, Rome, 1877, was declared authentic.
3. It was decided that this new Raccolta, solely and exclusively, should be the standard, whereby to solve whatever doubts or questions might arise with regard to the existence or nature of indulgences granted by the Holy See.
The Raccolta was published in Italian. To render it available for Catholics in this country, a faithful English translation was required; and this translation, moreover, had to be approved by the S. Congregation of Indulgences, in order to secure to it the full authority of the original Italian edition. Permission to undertake the translation was, therefore, obtained from the S.
