Added 2005-04-11 @ 09:19:36 PM, currently rated 0/5 (0 votes)
A Papal bull is a communiqué composed by the Vatican chancery. These letters to the rest of the Catholic Church at large can take the form of constitutions, encyclicals, decrees, decretals, or rescripts.
The document is so called because of the round metal seal traditionally attached to it, which came to be known as a bull (from 'bulla', the Latin word for 'bubble,' often used to refer to round metallic objects-- specifically, the lockets Roman children were given at birth).