An abbreviator or breviator was a writer of the Papal Chancery who adumbrated and prepared in correct form Papal bulls, briefs, and consistorial decrees before these were written out in extenso by the scriptores.
The Roman Curia comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Roman Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use of in the exercise of his supreme pastoral office and universal mission in the world. It is at the service of the Pope, successor of Peter, and of the Bishops, successors of the Apostles, according to the modalities that are proper to the nature of each one, fulfilling their function with an evangelical spirit, working for the good and at the service of communion, unity and edification of the Universal Church and attending to the demands of the world in which the Church is called to fulfill its mission.
The Apostolic Penitentiary, formerly called the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Penitentiary, is a dicastery of the Roman Curia and is one of the three ordinary tribunals of the Apostolic See. The Apostolic Penitentiary is chiefly a tribunal of mercy, responsible for issues relating to the forgiveness of sins in the Catholic Church.
An apostolic constitution is the most solemn form of legislation issued by the Pope.
The Secretariat of State is the oldest dicastery in the Roman Curia, the central papal governing bureaucracy of the Catholic Church. It is headed by the Cardinal Secretary of State and performs all the political and diplomatic functions of the Holy See. The Secretariat is divided into three sections: the Section for General Affairs, the Section for Relations with States, and, since 2017, the Section for Diplomatic Staff.
Ecclesia Dei is the document Pope John Paul II issued on 2 July 1988 in reaction to the Ecône consecrations, in which four priests of the Society of Saint Pius X were ordained as bishops despite an express prohibition by the Holy See. The consecrating bishop and the four priests consecrated were excommunicated. John Paul called for unity and established the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei to foster a dialogue with those associated with the consecrations who hoped to maintain both loyalty to the papacy and their attachment to traditional liturgical forms.
In the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church, a congregation is a type of department of the Curia. They are second-highest-ranking departments, ranking below the two Secretariats, and above the pontifical councils, pontifical commissions, tribunals and offices.
In the jurisprudence of the canon law of the Catholic Church, a dispensation is the exemption from the immediate obligation of law in certain cases. Its object is to modify the hardship often arising from the rigorous application of general laws to particular cases, and its essence is to preserve the law by suspending its operation in such cases.
Cardinal Vicar is a title commonly given to the vicar general of the Diocese of Rome for the portion of the diocese within Italy. The official title, as given in the Annuario Pontificio, is Vicar General of His Holiness.
A papal brief or breve is a formal document emanating from the Pope.
The Congregation of Bishops and Regulars was a department of the Roman Curia that, beginning in the late 16th century, managed the diocesan bishops and those individuals, both male and female, and establishments associated with religious orders. It was also concerned with the relationship, at times contentious, between the two. The term regulars derives from the Latin regula meaning rule; it refers to those religious who follow a rule, as the Benedictines follow the Rule of St. Benedict. Its competence changed over time as the various dicasteries of the Roman Curia competed for jurisdiction, and by the 19th century included new institutions and their rules, the erection of monasteries and convents, granting transfers and leaves from such institutions, and their sale of property. It handled criminal cases as well. As late as 1903, this Congregation was described as "perhaps the most important congregation of the Roman Curia".
Ecclesiastical letters are publications or announcements of the organs of Roman Catholic ecclesiastical authority, e.g. the synods, but more particularly of pope and bishops, addressed to the faithful in the form of letters.
The Apostolic Chancery was a dicastery of the Roman Curia at the service of the Pope. The principal and presiding official was the chancellor of the Holy Roman Church who was always the cardinal-priest of the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Damaso. The principal function of the office was to collect money to maintain the Papal army and to produce documents and correspondence for the Pope. Pope Pius VII reformed the office when Emperor Napoleon I of France obviated the need for Papal armies. In the early 20th century the office collected money for missionary work. Pope Paul VI abolished the Apostolic Chancellary on 27 February 1973, transferring its functions to the Secretariat of State.
The Pontifical Biblical Commission is a pontifical commission established within the Roman Curia to ensure the proper interpretation and defense of the Bible.
Gaetano Aloisi Masella was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1887 and served as Prefect of the Congregation of Rites from 1899 until his death.
This is a glossary of terms used within the Catholic Church. Some terms used in everyday English have a different meaning in the context of the Catholic faith, including brother, confession, confirmation, exemption, faithful, father, ordinary, religious, sister, venerable, and vow.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the canon law of the Catholic Church:
Praedicate evangelium is an apostolic constitution reforming the Roman Curia and was published and promulgated on 19 March 2022 by Pope Francis; the document took effect on 5 June 2022.
The Congregation for Indulgences and Sacred Relics was a body of the Roman Curia, created in 1669 and suppressed in 1904.
Angelo Bianchi was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and worked in the Roman Curia. He became a cardinal in 1889.
