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Curia (religion)
A curia is an official body that governs an entity within the Catholic Church. These curias range from the relatively simple diocesan curia; to the larger patriarchal curias; to the curia of various Catholic particular churches; to the Roman Curia, which is the central government of the Catholic Church. Other Catholic bodies, such as religious institutes, may also have curias. These curias are historically descended from the Roman Curiae, and they keep that name even though they now have very different functions. When the Roman Empire collapsed, many of the administrative functions previously done by the state were subsumed by the only solid institution left, which was the church. The Bishop and curia took the place of the government officials, often to the point of sitting at the same chair in the same building. The Curia therefore passed into religious hands, and afterwards changed functions many times but always keeping its traditional name, at least in those Christian denomina ...
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Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization.Gerald O'Collins, O'Collins, p. v (preface). The church consists of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites#Churches, ''sui iuris'' (autonomous) churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and Eparchy, eparchies List of Catholic dioceses (structured view), around the world, each overseen by one or more Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishops. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the Papal supremacy, chief pastor of the church. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The ...
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Notaries
A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distinct from an advocate in that they do not represent the person who engages their services, or act in contentious matters. Overview Documents are notarized to deter fraud and to ensure they are properly executed. An impartial witness (the notary) identifies signers to screen out impostors and to make sure they have entered into agreements knowingly and willingly. Loan documents including deeds, affidavits, contracts, and powers of attorney are very common documents needing notarization. Code of Hammurabi Law 122 (c. 1755–1750 BCE) stipulated that a depositor of gold, silver, or other chattel/movable property for safekeeping must present all articles and a signed contract of bailment to a notary before depositing the articles with a ...
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Tribunal
A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single judge could describe that judge as "their tribunal". Many governmental bodies are titled "tribunals" to emphasize that they are not courts of normal jurisdiction. For instance, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda was a body specially constituted under international law; in Great Britain, Employment Tribunal, employment tribunals are bodies set up to hear specific employment disputes. In many but not all cases, ''tribunal'' implies a judicial or Quasi-judicial body, quasi-judicial body with a lesser degree of formality than a court, in which the normal rules of evidence and procedure may not apply, and whose presiding officers are frequently neither judges nor magistrates. Private judicial bodies are also often-styled tribunals ...
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Pontifical Commission
A pontifical commission () is a committee of Catholic experts convened by the Pope for a specific purpose. The following is a list of commissions, the dates they began and the pope who established. Current commissions # Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, 6 January 1852 by Pope Pius IX. # Pontifical Biblical Commission, 30 October 1902 by Pope Leo XIII. # Pontifical Commission for Latin America, 19 April 1958 by Pope Pius XII. # International Theological Commission, 11 April 1969 by Pope Paul VI. # Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, 22 October 1974 by Pope Paul VI. # Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims, 22 October 1974 by Pope Paul VI. # Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, 26 November 2000 by Pope John Paul II. # Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, 22 March 2014 by Pope Francis. # Pontifical Commission for the Activities of Public Juridical Persons of the Church in the Healthcare Secto ...
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Pontifical Council
A pontifical council was a mid-sized department or dicastery of the Roman Curia, the central organization responsible for assisting the Pope in the governance and oversight of the Catholic Church. Such a council had a cardinal or archbishop as its president and was restricted in its activities in comparison with the larger parts of the Curia. List of pontifical councils The former pontifical councils were: * Pontifical Council for Culture (20 May 1982) * Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (19 May 1964, renamed 28 June 1988) * Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts (5 September 1917, renamed 28 June 1988) * Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (5 June 1960, renamed 28 June 1988) * Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization (28 June 2010) * Pontifical Council ''Cor Unum'', established 15 July 1971 * Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, established 6 January 1967, renamed 28 June 1988 * Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of ...
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Congregation (Roman Curia)
In the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church, a congregation () was a type of department. They were second-highest-ranking departments, ranking below the two Secretariats, and above the pontifical councils, pontifical commissions, tribunals and offices. Originally, congregations were select groups of cardinals drawn from the College of Cardinals, commissioned to take care of some field of activity that concerned the Holy See. After the Second Vatican Council, members included diocesan bishops from diverse parts of the world who are not cardinals. Each congregation also had a permanent staff. Each congregation was led by a prefect, who is usually a cardinal.René Metz, ''Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism, Vol. 80: What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960), pp. 99-101 A non-cardinal appointed to head a congregation was styled pro-prefect until made a cardinal. This practice was later abandoned. Under the reforms of Pope Francis, the congregations were each ...
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1983 Code Of Canon Law
The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of Ecclesiastical Law, ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the second and current comprehensive codification (law), codification of Canon Law (Catholic Church), canonical legislation for the Latin Church of the Catholic Church. The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' was Promulgation (Catholic canon law), promulgated on 25 January 1983 by John Paul IISacrae Disciplinae Leges
accessed Jan-11-2013
and Entry into force, took legal effect on the First Sunday of Advent (27 November) 1983. It replaced the 1917 Code of Canon Law, 1917 ''Code of Cano ...
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Pope
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of state of the Papal States, and since 1929 of the much smaller Vatican City state. From a Catholic viewpoint, the primacy of the bishop of Rome is largely derived from his role as the apostolic successor to Saint Peter, to whom Petrine primacy, primacy was conferred by Jesus, who gave Peter the Keys of Heaven and the powers of "binding and loosing", naming him as the "rock" upon which the Church would be built. The current pope is Leo XIV, who was elected on 8 May 2025 on the second day of the 2025 papal conclave. Although his office is called the papacy, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, jurisdiction of the episcopal see is called the Holy See. The word "see" comes from the Latin for 'seat' or 'chair' (, refe ...
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Holy See
The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop of the apostolic see, apostolic episcopal see of Diocese of Rome, Rome, and serves as the spiritual and administrative authority of the worldwide Catholic Church and Vatican City. Under international law, the Legal status of the Holy See, Holy See holds the status of a sovereign juridical entity. According to Sacred tradition, Catholic tradition and historical records, the Holy See was founded in the first century by Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul. By virtue of the doctrines of Primacy of Peter, Petrine and papal primacy, papal primacy, it is the focal point of full communion for Catholics around the world. The Holy See is headquartered in, operates from, and exercises "exclusive dominion" over Vatican City, an independent c ...
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Synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, synods were meetings of bishops, and the word is still used in that sense in Catholicism, Oriental Orthodoxy and Eastern Orthodoxy. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not. It is also sometimes used to refer to a church that is governed by a synod. Sometimes the phrase "general synod" or "general council" refers to an ecumenical council. The word ''synod'' also refers to the standing council of high-ranking bishops governing some of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. Similarly, the day-to-day governance of patriarchal and major archiepiscopal Eastern Catholic Churches is entrusted to a permanent synod. Usages in diffe ...
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Sui Juris
''Sui iuris'' (), also spelled ''sui juris'', is a Latin phrase that literally means "of one's own right". It is used in both the Catholic Church's canon law and secular law. The term church ''sui iuris'' is used in the Catholic ''Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'' (CCEO) to denote the autonomous churches in Catholic communion. The Catholic Church consists of 24 churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic churches. Etymology and spelling The Latin ''sui iuris'' (the individual words meaning 'self' and 'law') corresponds to the Greek 'αὐτόνομος', from which the English word autonomy is derived. The spelling in Classical Latin is ''sui iuris'', and in Medieval Latin ''sui juris''. English Law gets the term from Medieval Latin, and so spells it ''sui juris''. Catholic canon law Church documents such as the ''Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'' apply the Latin term ''sui iuris'' to the particular Churches that are together the Catholic Chu ...
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Major Archbishop
In the Eastern Catholic Churches, major archbishop (sometimes also styled as major archeparch) is a title for the chief hierarch ("Father and Head") of an autonomous ('' sui juris'') particular Church that has not been "endowed with the patriarchal title". Major archbishops generally have the same rights, privileges, and jurisdiction as Eastern Catholic patriarchs, except where expressly provided otherwise, and rank immediately after them in precedence of honor. In addition to their role governing their particular Church, major archbishops, like Eastern Catholic patriarchs, are ''ex officio'' members of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in the Roman Curia. They are required to attend the annual general meeting of this congregation, as well as other sessions if they are visiting Rome or are otherwise able. There are currently four major archbishops each leading a major archiepiscopal autonomous Church. Terminology There was a strong movement within and after the Sec ...
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