1. an official papal letter or edict that establishes church law or doctrine
Usage: ecclesiastical

1. relating to or having the force of a decree
Usage: formal

Examples

• The pope issued a decretal addressing the new liturgical practices.
• Medieval canon law was largely based on papal decretals.
• The decretal collection contained important church rulings from several centuries.
• His decretal authority allowed him to make binding decisions.
• The decretal nature of the pronouncement left no room for debate.
• Scholars studied the ancient decretals to understand church history.