The dogmatic constitution "deals with faith, reason, and their interrelations" The document begins by observing that "God, the principle and end of all things, can be known with certainty by the natural light of human reason from created things". However, it then explains that there are other divine truths, the knowledge of which is necessary for salvation, that are beyond the power of natural reason and can only be known through divine revelation. It also decreed: "If any one shall not receive as sacred and canonical the books of Holy Scripture, entire with all their parts, as the holy Synod of Trent has enumerated them, or shall deny that they have been divinely inspired: let him be anathema."
The draft presented to the council on 8 March 1870 drew no serious criticism. But a group of 35 English-speaking bishops, who feared that the opening phrase "Sancta Romana Catholica Ecclesia" might be construed as favouring the Anglicanbranch theory, raised objections to this expression, "Holy Roman Catholic Church". They proposed that the word "Roman" be omitted out of concern that use of the term "Roman Catholic" would lend support to proponents of branch theory. While the council overwhelmingly rejected this proposal, the text was finally modified to read "The Holy Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church". The words "Sancta Romana Catholica Ecclesia" were voted on three separate dates. On the first occasion, when this chapter alone was considered, two votes concerned the opening words. The first was on a proposal by a few English-speaking bishops to delete the word "Romana", thus changing "Sancta Romana Catholica Ecclesia" to "Sancta Catholica Ecclesia". This was overwhelmingly defeated. The second vote, held immediately afterwards, was on a proposal to insert a comma, so that "Sancta Romana Catholica Ecclesia" would become "Sancta Romana, Catholica Ecclesia". This too was defeated, though not as overwhelmingly as the first proposal. In a later vote, held on 12 April 1870, the text as a whole, which preserved the same opening words, was approved with 515 affirmative votes and no opposing votes ; but there were 83 placet iuxta modum votes, asking for retouches, many of them regarding the opening words of chapter I. In view of the reservations thus expressed, the text presented for a final vote and approved unanimously on 24 April changed the order of the words and added "Apostolica", so that "Sancta Romana Catholica Ecclesia" became "Sancta Catholica Apostolica Romana Ecclesia".
