Acceso usuarios
William Saraiva Borges
The purpose of this study is to elucidate the notion of freedom (libertas) developed by William of Ockham in his Opera Politica; having as research locus, specifically, the Book I of the Tract I, entitled On the power of pope and clergy, of the Third Part of the Dialogue. This freedom is, indeed, the Christian (or evangelical) freedom; which is understood, in this context, as a philosophical and theological principle: lex christiana est lex libertatis (the Christian law is a law of freedom). Through this argumentation, the Venerabilis Inceptor undertakes his incisive critique to plenitudo potestatis papalis doctrine (papal fullness of power); by which the Roman pontiffs sought to legitimize their pretended spiritual and temporal fullness of power. In fact, if the Christians are free, by force of evangelical law, then the pope cannot possess regularly such fullness of power; for if he possessed it, the faithful would be deprived of their religious and political freedom; and the pontiff, consequently, would become a heretic. Therefore, this Christian freedom must be characterized as religious and political freedom.
