The Roman Curia comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. It acts in the pope's name and with his authority for the good and for the service of the particular churches and provides the central organization for the church to advance its objectives.
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is the oldest among the dicasteries of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the church from heresy; today, it is the body responsible for promulgating and defending Catholic doctrine. It was formerly called the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition; between 1908 and 1965 the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office; and then until June 2022 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It is still informally known in many Catholic countries as the Holy Office.
Darío del Niño Jesús Castrillón Hoyos was a Colombian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy from 1996 to 2006 and President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei from 2000 until his retirement in 2009. He was made a cardinal in 1998.
Gilberto Agustoni was a Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church. He worked in the Roman Curia from 1950 to 1998, ending his career as head of the Apostolic Signatura from 1992 to 1998. He became a Cardinal in 1994.
Jozef Tomko is a Slovak cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from 1985 to 2001 and was made a cardinal in 1985.
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. It said that the consecrating bishop and the four priests they 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.
The papal household or pontifical household, called until 1968 the Papal Court, consists of dignitaries who assist the pope in carrying out particular ceremonies of either a religious or a civil character.
The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei was a commission of the Catholic Church established by Pope John Paul II's motu proprioEcclesia Dei of 2 July 1988 for the care of those former followers of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre who broke with him as a result of his consecration of four priests of his Society of St. Pius X as bishops on 30 June 1988, an act that the Holy See deemed illicit and a schismatic act. It was also tasked with trying to return to full communion with the Holy See those traditionalist Catholics who are in a state of separation, of whom the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) is foremost, and of helping to satisfy just aspirations of people unconnected with these groups who want to keep alive the pre-1970 Roman Rite liturgy.
William Joseph Levada was an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. From May 2005 until June 2012, he served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Pope Benedict XVI; he was the highest ranking American in the Roman Curia. He was previously the Archbishop of Portland in Oregon from 1986 to 1995, and then Archbishop of San Francisco from 1995 to 2005. While serving as archbishop, he was criticized for covering up sexual abuse by priests within his jurisdiction. Levada was created a cardinal in 2006 by Benedict XVI.
Francesco di Paola Cassetta was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Council from 1914 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1899.
Angelo Amato, S.D.B. is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 2018. He served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2002 to 2008 and became a cardinal in 2010.
Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer is a Spanish Jesuit, theologian and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. After a thirty-year career teaching theology, he joined the Roman Curia in 2004 as Secretary-General of the International Theological Commission. He was made an archbishop when named secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in 2008 and was raised to the rank of cardinal in 2018, after becoming prefect of the CDF in 2017.
For a number of years after the controversial 1988 consecrations, there was little if any dialogue between the Society of St. Pius X and the Holy See. This state of affairs ended when the Society led a large pilgrimage to Rome for the Jubilee in the year 2000.
The canonical situation of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a group founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, is unresolved.
Gerhard Ludwig Müller is a German cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) from his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 until 2017. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2014.
Pontificalis Domus was a motu proprio document issued by Pope Paul VI on 28 March 1968, in the fifth year of his pontificate. It reorganized the Papal Household, which had been known until then as the Papal Court.
Krzysztof Jozef Nykiel is the regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary, who was appointed to the position by Pope Benedict XVI on 26 June 2012. He had previously served as an official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Marcello Semeraro is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints since October 2020. He was previously Bishop of Albano and secretary to the group of cardinals named by Pope Francis to advise him.
Konrad Krajewski is a Polish cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a papal master of ceremonies from 1998 to 2013. In 2013 he was appointed as the papal almoner.
Angelo De Donatis is an Italian Catholic prelate who currently serves as Cardinal Vicar, Archpriest of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Lateran University.
