To all our brothers, the archbishops and bishops, and to our beloved sons, the abbots, priors, deans, provosts, archdeacons, vicars, secular clergy, officials, rectors and other prelates of churches and monasteries, and their deputies, and to ecclesiastical persons, secular and regular, and also to the chapters and convents of the aforesaid churches and monasteries, exempt and non-exempt, of the Cistercian, Cluniac and Premonstratensian orders, and of all the other orders of Saint Benedict and Saint Augustine: greetings, etc.

Although we rightly detest the unbelief of the Jews, who persist in their hardness and do not care to understand the words of the prophets and the hidden meanings of their own Scriptures or to come to knowledge of the Christian faith and salvation, nevertheless, considering that our Savior deemed it worthy to choose the Jewish people, from whom, for the salvation of the human race, he took on mortal flesh, it is fitting for us, for the sake of humanity, to show favor to these same Jews.

Since they invoke the aid of our protection and the gentleness of Christian mercy, we, following in the footsteps of Roman pontiffs of happy memory, our predecessors Callixtus, Eugene, Alexander, Clement, Celestine, Innocent, Gregory, Nicholas, Honorius and Nicholas IV, have judged that the shield of our protection should be granted to them.

Among other things, we decree that no Christian may presume in any way to wound or kill any of these Jews without the judgment of the lord or official of the land or region in which they live, or to take their money from them, or to exact forced services from them, except those services that they were accustomed to perform in former times. If anyone, knowing the terms of this decree, attempts to act against it, he shall incur danger to his honor and office, or be struck by the sentence of excommunication, unless he takes care to correct his presumption by making proper satisfaction, as is more fully contained in those same letters.

Recently, however, a public outcry, or rather an evil rumor, has reached our ears: that certain Christians, deceived by the devil, falsely blame the plague with which God is afflicting the Christian people because of their sins on poisons made by the Jews. In their own impious rashness, they have killed some of these Jews, without distinction of age or sex.

And although these same Jews were ready to submit to the judgment of a competent judge concerning the falseness of such a crime, the attack of these Christians was not calmed by this. Rather, their anger was stirred up even more, since their error seemed to be approved so long as no one opposed it.

And although, if these Jews were truly guilty or aware of so great a crime, we would wish them to be struck with a sufficient, fitting and severe punishment, scarcely even imaginable, nevertheless, because in many different regions of the world, where these same Jews have not lived together with others, this plague has afflicted, and still afflicts, almost everyone by the hidden judgment of God, it is not plausible that the aforesaid Jews provided the occasion or cause of so great a crime.

Therefore, by these apostolic writings, we command all of you, each one of you who is asked about this, that in your churches during the solemnities of the Mass, when the people have gathered there for divine services, you should warn your subjects, clerics and laypeople, under penalty of excommunication, and command them more expressly, not to presume by their own authority, or rather their own rashness, to seize, strike, wound or kill these same Jews, or to force them into compulsory service.

But if they have a case against them, whether on these matters or on any other matter, they should proceed according to the rule of law before competent judges. By these present letters, we do not remove from them any power to pursue legal action against the Jews for these or other excesses, as justice requires.

These present letters shall not remain in force beyond one year.

Given at Avignon, on the sixth day before the Kalends of October, in the seventh year of our pontificate.