Inter praecipuas machinationes

Inter praecipuas Latin for 'Among the major' Encyclical of Pope Gregory XVI
Signature date	8 May 1844
Subject	Church and state
Number	9 of 9 of the pontificate
Text	In English

Inter praecipuas machinationes, or On Biblical Societies,[1] was an encyclical issued by Pope Gregory XVI on 8 May 1844, condemning Protestant translations of the Bible.

Following the examples of Pius VII, Leo XII, and Pius VIII, Gregory condemns Bible societies for their distribution of unapproved Bible editions.[2] He accuses the Christian League, in New York, of "inciting sedition",[1] converting Catholic Italian immigrants to Protestantism by encouraging them to form their own interpretations of the Bible.[3]

Many American Protestants saw Gregory's position as conceding that Catholic doctrines were unbiblical.[4] Protestant groups like the Plymouth Brethren took the encyclical as evidence that Catholic countries were in need of their missionary labor.[5]

References

1. Noll, Mark A. (2022). America's Book: The Rise and Decline of a Bible Civilization, 1794-1911. Oxford University Press. p. 321. ISBN 978-0-19-762346-6.
2. Dievenkorn, Sabine; Levin, Shaul (26 February 2024). [Re]Gained in Translation II: Bibles, Histories, and Struggles for Identity. Frank & Timme GmbH. p. 65. ISBN 978-3-7329-0790-8.
3. Schuck, Michael Joseph (1991). That They be One: The Social Teaching of the Papal Encyclicals, 1740-1989. Georgetown University Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-87840-489-6.
4. Stanley, Christopher D. The Colonized Apostle. Fortress Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-8006-6854-9.
5. Eaton, Kent (3 June 2015). Protestant Missionaries in Spain, 1869–1936: "Shall the Papists Prevail?". Lexington Books. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-7391-9411-9.