WHEN, having entrusted to you [our] concern for Germany, it reached our ears  that some religious [. . .], with regard to the Indulgences customarily granted granted by Us and Our predecessors the Roman Pontiffs, [. . .] had through their public preaching imprinted errors in the hearts of many

Cum, postquam circumspectio tua Germaniam applicuerat, ad aures nostras pervenisset quod nonnulli Religiosi [. . .] super Indulgentiis a nobis et Romanis Pontificibus, praedecessoribus nostris [. . .] concedi solitis, publice praedicando multorum cordibus imprimerent errores,

And as we understand this [matter] to be very grave and troublesome [. . .] other letters we [have received confirming] your concern, 

idque nobis intelligere nimis grave et molestum esset, aliis nostris Uteris eidem circumspectioni tuae [. . .]

We commit Ourselves in virtue of our authority to approve what deserves approval concerning those things that have indeed not been properly explained

commisimus ut auctoritate nostra approbatione digna approbares, ea vero quae minus recte dicta essent,

So that even those who assert themselves ready to follow Church doctrine, may be treated as reprobate and condemned,

etiam per eos qui Romanae Ecclesiae doctrinam se sequi paratos assererent, reprobare et damnare curares.

... so that in the future no one can allege ignorance of the doctrine of the Roman Church concerning indulgences and their efficacy, or excuse themselves under the pretext of such ignorance, or excuse themselves through a fictitious explanation,

Et ne de caetero quisquam ignorantiam doctrinae Romanae Ecclesiae circa huiusmodi Indulgentias et illarum efficaciam allegare, aut ignorantiae huiusmodi praetextu se excusare, aut protestatione conficta se iuvare,

Rather, so that they may be convicted of a notorious lie as guilty and deserving of condemnation,

sed ut ipsi de notorio mendacio ut culpabiles convinci et merito damnari, possint,

We believed that we should inform you by this [letter] what the Roman Church, to whom all others must adhere as Mother has handed on:

per praesentes tibi significandum duximus Romanam Ecclesiam, quam reliquae tanquam matrem sequi tenentur, tradidisse:

THE Roman bishop, the successor of the Custodian of the Keys, Peter, and representative (vicar) of Jesus Christ on earth, can, in virtue of the power of the keys - which is to open the kingdom of heaven by removing these obstacles from the Christian faithful -

Romanam Pontificem, Petri Clavigeri successorem et Iesu Christi in terris Vicarium, potestate clavium quarum est aperire regnum caelorum tollendo illius in Christi fidelibus impedimenta,

which are the guilt and punishment they incur for actual sins:

culpam scilicet et poenam pro actualibus peccatis debitam,

the guilt [being remitted] by means of the sacrament of penance,

culpam quidem mediante sacramento poenitentiae,

the temporal punishment owed for actual sins according to divine justice [being remitted] by means of ecclesiastical indulgences),

poenam vero temporalem pro actualibus peccatis secundum divinam iustitiam debitam, mediante ecclesiastica Indulgentia)

it is possible for reasonable causes for reasonable reasons to grant to those same Christian believers who are members of Christ through the bond of love - whether in this life or in purgatory – [to grant] indulgences from the abundance of the merits of Christ and the saints;

posse pro rationabilibus causis concedere eisdem Christi fidelibus, qui, caritate iungente, membra sunt Christi, sive in hac vita sint sive in Purgatorio, Indulgentias ex superabundantia meritorum Christi et sanctorum;

and, in virtue of [his] apostolic authority, granting indulgences both to the living and the deceased, he dispenses the treasure of the merits of Jesus Christ and the saints, granting indulgences in the form of absolution, or conferring them in the form of intercession

ac tam pro vivis quam pro defunctis Apostolica auctoritate Indulgentiam concedendo, thesaurum meritorum lesu Christi et Sanctorum dispensare, per modum absolutionis Indulgentiam ipsam conferre, vel per modum suffragii illam transferre consuevisse.

And for this reason all those, whether living or dead, who have properly obtained all these indulgences, will be freed from that debt of temporal punishment they owe according to Divine justice for their present sins, as the equivalent of the indulgences granted and acquired .

Ac propterea omnes tam vivos quam defunctos, qui veraciter omnes Indulgentias huiusmodi consecuti fuerint, a tanta temporali poena secundum divinam iustitiam pro peccatis suis actualibus debita liberari, quanta concessae et acquisitae Indulgentiae aequivalet.

And we decide by virtue of the Apostolic Authority on the basis of this very present [letter] that it must be so accepted and proclaimed by all under penalty of excommunication, according to which it is impossible to obtain the benefits of absolution from any but the Roman Pontif unless [one is] in imminent danger of death.

Et ita ab omnibus teneri, et praedicari debere sub excommunicationis latae sententiae poena, a qua illam incurrentes ab alio quam a Romano Pontifice, nisi in mortis articulo, nequeant absolutionis beneficium obtinere, auctoritate apostolica, earundem tenore praesentium decernimus […]