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: thus curialism refers traditionally to an emphasis on the supreme authority of the Holy See within the Catholic Church. It is at the service of the Pope, successor of Apostle 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 duty and mission.
A jubilee is a special year of remission of sins, debts and universal pardon. In Leviticus, a jubilee year is mentioned to occur every 50th year; during which slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest.
In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes an indulgence as "a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions…"
The Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church is an office of the papal household that administers the property and revenues of the Holy See. Formerly, his responsibilities included the fiscal administration of the Patrimony of Saint Peter. As regulated in the apostolic constitution Pastor bonus of 1988, the Camerlengo is always a cardinal, though this was not the case prior to the 15th century. His heraldic arms are ornamented with two keys – one gold, one silver – in saltire, surmounted by an ombrellino, a canopy or umbrella of alternating red and yellow stripes. These also form part of the coat of arms of the Holy See during a papal interregnum. The Camerlengo has been Kevin Farrell since his appointment by Pope Francis on 14 February 2019. The Vice Camerlengo has been Archbishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari since 1 May 2020.
A Holy Door is traditionally an entrance portal located within the Papal major basilicas in Rome. The doors are normally sealed by mortar and cement from the inside so that they cannot be opened. They are ceremoniously opened during Jubilee years designated by the Pope, for pilgrims who enter through those doors may piously gain the plenary indulgences attached with the Jubilee year celebrations.
Urbi et Orbi denotes a papal address and apostolic blessing given by the pope on certain solemn occasions.
In the Catholic Church, the Seal of Confession is the absolute duty of priests or anyone who happens to hear a confession not to disclose anything that they learn from penitents during the course of the Sacrament of Penance (confession). Even where the seal of confession does not strictly apply – where there is no specific serious sin confessed for the purpose of receiving absolution – priests have a serious obligation not to cause scandal by the way they speak.
The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura is the highest judicial authority in the Catholic Church. In addition, it oversees the administration of justice in the church.
A doctor of both laws, from the Latin doctor utriusque juris, juris utriusque doctor, or doctor juris utriusque, is a scholar who has acquired a doctorate in both civil and church law. The degree was common among Roman Catholic and German scholars of the Middle Ages and early modern times. Today the degree is awarded by the Pontifical Lateran University after a period of six years of study, by the University of Würzburg, and by the University of Fribourg, as well as the University of Cologne.
The Sacrament of Penance is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, in which the faithful are absolved from sins committed after baptism and reconciled with the Christian community. During reconciliation, mortal sins must be confessed and venial sins may be confessed for devotional reasons. According to the dogma and unchanging practice of the church, only those ordained as priests may grant absolution.
Luigi De Magistris was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Pro-Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary from 2001 to 2003 after working for more than forty years in the Roman Curia, more than twenty of them in the Apostolic Penitentiary. He was made a bishop in 1996, an archbishop in 2001, and a cardinal in 2015.
Mauro Piacenza is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. A cardinal since 2010, he was Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary from 2013 to 2024. He was Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy from 7 October 2010 to 21 September 2013. where he had been Secretary since 2007. At that Congregation, Pope Benedict XVI, according to one report, valued "his efficiency and in-depth knowledge of how the Congregation worked and its problems" and "his traditionalist ecclesiastical line of thought".
Fernando Cento was a cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Major Penitentiary of Apostolic Penitentiary.
The 1572 papal conclave, convoked after the death of Pope Pius V, elected Cardinal Ugo Boncompagni, who took the name Gregory XIII.
The 1592 papal conclave elected Pope Clement VIII in succession to Pope Innocent IX.
De delictis gravioribus is a letter written on 18 May 2001 by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to all the Bishops of the Catholic Church and the other Ordinaries concerned, including those of the Eastern Catholic Churches.
In the canon law of the Catholic Church, excommunication is a form of censure. In the formal sense of the term, excommunication includes being barred not only from the sacraments but also from the fellowship of Christian baptism. The principal and severest censure, excommunication presupposes guilt; and being the most serious penalty that the Catholic Church can inflict, it supposes a grave offense. The excommunicated person is considered by Catholic ecclesiastical authority as an exile from the Church, for a time at least.
Giovanni Aldobrandini was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal.
The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy was a Catholic period of prayer held from 8 December 2015, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, to 20 November 2016, the Feast of Christ the King. Like previous jubilees, it was seen by the Church as a period for remission of sins and universal pardon focusing particularly on God's forgiveness and mercy. It was an extraordinary Jubilee because it had not been predetermined long before; ordinary jubilees are usually celebrated every 25 years.
Giacomo Lanfredini was a Roman Catholic cardinal who served as Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria in Portico (1734–1741) and Bishop of Osimo e Cingoli (1734–1740).
