Singulari Nos

Singulari Nos (subtitled On The Errors Of Lammenais) was an encyclical issued on June 25, 1834 by Pope Gregory XVI. Essentially a follow-up to the better-known Mirari Vos of 1832, Singulari Nos focused strongly on the views of French priest Hughes Felicité Robert de Lamennais, who did not see any contradiction between Catholicism and then-modern ideals of liberalism and the separation of Church and State.

In October 1830 Lamennais, Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire, and Charles Forbes René de Montalembert founded the newspaper, L'Avenir, which advocated an enlarged suffrage, separation of church and state, universal freedom of conscience, instruction, assembly, and the press, views were opposed by the French bishops. Despite being warned by Archbishop Quelen of Paris that their expectations were unrealistic, they sought support from Pope Gregory XVI.

Although pressured by the French government and the French hierarchy, Pope Gregory XVI would have preferred not to make an official issue of the matter.John Henry Newman described the situation in Rome at that time:

The French Revolution in July, 1830, had been followed in no long time by insurrection within the papal territories; Austria intervened to reduce the revolting cities; and France took possession of Ancona to keep Austria in check. These events placed the Sovereign Pontiff between two opposite dangers; his fears from France are intelligible enough; Austria, on the other hand, had always been supposed to covet the portion of the pontifical states on the north of the Apennines; and the suspicion had been so strong in Rome, in 1821, that the government had not allowed the Austrian forces to pass through the city on their way to Naples. Whilst then the Pope was in this unpleasant dilemma, Russia, according to M. de la Mennais, stepped in and offered her aid. She alleged that she could not possibly have any interested views as regards the Italian peninsula, either revolutionary or ambitious, and she offered to place a force at the Pope's disposal to defend him against all emergencies. In return she did but ask, that the Pope would take the part of the Autocrat against Poland, and instruct the Polish Roman bishops accordingly. The offer was accepted on the specified condition.

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