Roman Curia

Holy See

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The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See (the central governing body of the Roman Catholic Church, comprising the Pope and the Roman Curia).^[1] It coordinates and provides the necessary central organization for the correct functioning of the Roman Catholic Church and the achievement of its goals. Curia in medieval and later Latin usage means "court" in the sense of "royal court" rather than "court of law". The Roman Curia, then, sometimes anglicized as the Court of Rome, as in the 1534 Act of the English Parliament that forbade appeals to it from England^[2] is the Papal Court, and assists the Pope in carrying out his functions. The Roman Curia can be loosely compared to cabinets in governments of countries with a Western form of governance, but only the Second Section of the Secretariat of State, known also as the Section for Relations with States, and the Congregation for Catholic Education, can be directly compared with specific ministries of a civil government. The offices in charge of the Vatican City State are not part of the Roman Curia.

Contents 1 Purpose 2 History 2.1 In the Middle Ages 2.2 The modern Roman Curia 3 Current structure 4 See also 5 Notes 6 Sources & external links

Purpose

"In exercising supreme, full, and immediate power in the universal Church, the Roman pontiff makes use of the departments of the Roman Curia which, therefore, perform their duties in his name and with his authority for the good of the churches and in the service of the sacred pastors" (Decree concerning the Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church, Christus Dominus, 9).

History

In the Middle Ages

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The modern Roman Curia

The modern Roman Curia was established in the 16th Century by Pope Sixtus V with the bull Immensa Aeterni Dei on 22 January 1588. At first, since the Pope was sovereign of the Papal States in central Italy, the Curia had both religious and civil functions, though the latter were lost in the 19th century when the expansion of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia to include the greater part of Italy seized most of the Papal States in 1860 and the city of Rome itself in 1870, thus ending the Papacy's temporal power. An agreement was reached on this issue in 1929, when the Holy See concluded the Lateran Treaty with the Italian State. By this act, the Holy See recognized the annexation by Italy of the Papal States, and Vatican City State was created. Since 1870, the Curia is dedicated in practice entirely to the Pope's ecclesiastical responsibilities. In its long and eventful history, the Roman Curia has repeatedly undergone organizational changes. Some offices ceased to exist because their former functions were abolished, as happened with the Dataria. The functions of some others were transferred to another office, as the remaining functions of the Apostolic Chancery and those of the Secretariate of Briefs were transferred to the Secretariat of State, and those of the Congregation of Ceremonies to the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household. Others were split into separate offices, as the Congregation of Rites became the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and the Congregation for Divine Worship, the latter of which later became, by fusion with another office, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Others again were simply given a new name.

Current structure

The following organs or charges, according to the official website of the Holy See, compose the Curia:^[3]

• The Secretariat of State,^[4] created in the 15th century, is now the dicastery most involved in coordination of the Holy See's activities.It is headed by the Cardinal Secretary of State.
  • Section for General Affairs
  • Section for Relations with States
• The Roman Congregations^[5]
  • The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith^[6] (once the Sacred Congregation of the Universal Inquisition, later Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office)
  • The Congregation for the Oriental Churches^[7] (once the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide pro negotiis ritus orientalis)
  • The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments^[8]
  • The Congregation for the Causes of Saints^[9]
  • The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples^[10] (once known as the Congregatio de Propaganda Fide, meaning: Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith)
  • The Congregation for the Clergy^[11] (originated in the wake of the Council of Trent as Sacra Congregatio Cardinalium Concilii Tridentini Interpretum)
  • The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life^[12]
  • The Congregation for Catholic Education (for Seminaries and Educational Institutions)^[13] (born as Congregatio pro universitate studii romani, then Congregatio de Seminariis et Studiorum Universitatibus)
  • The Congregation for Bishops (Congregatio pro Episcopis)
• The Tribunals^[14]
  • The Apostolic Penitentiary
  • The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura
  • The Tribunal of the Roman Rota
• The Pontifical Councils^[15]
  • The Pontifical Council for the Laity
  • The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
  • The Pontifical Council for the Family
  • The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
  • The Pontifical Council Cor Unum
  • The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants
  • The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers
  • The Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
  • The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
  • The Pontifical Council for Culture
  • The Pontifical Council for Social Communications
• The Synod of Bishops^[16]
• The Offices^[17]
  • The Apostolic Camera
  • The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See
  • The Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See
• The Pontifical Commissions^[18]
  • The Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church
  • The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei
  • The Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archeology
  • The Pontifical Biblical Commission
  • The International Theological Commission
  • The Interdicasterial Commission for the Catechism of the Catholic Church
  • The Pontifical Commission for Latin America
• The Swiss Guard^[19][20]
• Institutions connected with the Holy See^[21]
• The Labour Office of the Apostolic See^[22]
• The Pontifical Academies^[23]

It is normal for every Latin Catholic diocese to have its own curia for its administration. For the Diocese of Rome, these functions are not handled by the Roman Curia, but by the Vicariate General of His Holiness for the City of Rome, as provided by the Apostolic Constitution Ecclesia in Urbe. The Vicar General of Rome, traditionally a Cardinal, and his deputy the Vicegerent, who holds the personal title of Archbishop, supervise the governance of the diocese by reference to the Pope himself, but with no more dependence on the Roman Curia, as such, than other Catholic dioceses throughout the world. Until a reform by Pope Paul VI in 1969, there still existed Hereditary Officers of the Roman Curia, holding titles denominating functions that had ceased to be a reality when the Papal States were lost to the papacy.

See also

• Legal systems of the world
• Politics of the Vatican City

Notes

1. ^ The Holy See is often referred to as "the Vatican", a word of many meanings, since it can refer to the geographical area, known by that name even before Christianity, to the residence of the Pope, to the Holy See, and to the State of Vatican City, which was created in 1929
2. ^ English Reformation Sources
3. ^ The Roman Curia
4. ^ The Secretariat of State
5. ^ Congregations
6. ^ Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
7. ^ Congregation for the Oriental Churches
8. ^ Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
9. ^ Congregation for the Causes of Saints
10. ^ Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
11. ^ Congregation for the Clergy
12. ^ for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic
13. ^ Congregation for Catholic Education
14. ^ Tribunals
15. ^ Pontifical Councils
16. ^ Synod of Bishops
17. ^ Offices
18. ^ Pontifical Commissions
19. ^ one photograph
20. ^ gallery
21. ^ Institutions Connected with the Holy See
22. ^ Labour Office of the Apostolic See
23. ^ Pontifical Academies

Sources & external links

• The Roman Curia by Giga-Catholic Information
• Catholic Encyclopaedia (not yet fully exploited)