Decretals
a general name for the Papal decrees, comprehending the rescripts (answers to inquiries and petitions), decrees (judicial decisions by the Rota Romana), mandates (official instructions for ecclesiastical officers, courts, etc.), edicts (Papal ordinances in general) and general resolutions of the councils. The decretals form a most important portion of the Roman Catholic canon lav, the authoritative collection of them being that made by the orders of Gregory IX. and published in 1234.