a document prepared at the personal initiative of the pope, without previous petition to him, and issued with a partial avoidance of the otherwise customary forms of the chancery
a legislative act-- in effect, a decree-- by which the Pontiff establishes a canonical regulation
a papal draft that is distributed by the will of the Pope and the Pope alone
Document originating from the pope himself, as opposed to an encyclical which may often be prepared by the curia and merely approved or amended by the pope.
the term to describe a rescript (cf. Can. 59 §1) which grants a favour not on the request of a petitioner, but on the sole initiative of the granting authority.
From the Latin, meaning “by his own act.” Refers to papal letters issued over the Pope's personal signature and containing some specific advice or directive. This is to be distinguished from encyclicals, which have more general teaching purposes.
A motu proprio is a papal rescript in which the clause motu proprio (Latin, "of his own motion") is used, signifying that the provisions of the rescript were decided by the Pope personally and not by a cardinal or other advisors. It is normally in the form of a decree, resembling a papal brief except that it is not sealed and countersigned. The first motu proprio was issued by Pope Innocent VIII in 1484.