UNDERSTANDING THE CATHOLIC FAITH
MY CATHOLIC FAITH : UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING OF SOME CATHOLIC TERMS
Below is a list of some Catholic terms and their corresponding meanings.
APOSTOLIC NUNCIO - The Catholic Church use this term for the Vatican Ambassador to another Country and the Papal liaison with the church in that country. An apostolic nuncio, also called a papal nuncio, and is always an Archbishop.
ARCHBISHOP - The title given automatically to bishops who govern Archdioceses. It is also given to certain other high-ranking church officials, notably Vatican Ambassadors, the secretaries of Vatican congregations and the Presidents of pontifical councils.
ARCHDIOCESE - The chief diocese of an ecclesiastical province. A diocese like this is governed by an archbishop.
AUXILIARY BISHOP - A bishop assigned to a Catholic diocese or Archdiocese to assist its residential bishop. Whether in a diocese or Archdiocese, his title is bishop.
BISHOPS' CONFERENCE - A national (or in a very few cases regional) body of bishops that meets periodically to collaborate on matters of common concern in their country or region, such as moral, doctrinal, pastoral and liturgical questions; relations with other religious groups; and public policy issues. It is also called an episcopal conference.
CHANCELLOR - The chief archivist of a diocese's official records. Also a notary and secretary of the diocesan curia, or central administration; he or she may have a variety of other duties as well. It is the highest diocesan position open to women.
COADJUTOR BISHOP - A bishop appointed to a Catholic Diocese or Archdiocese to assist the diocesan bishop. Unlike an auxiliary bishop he has the right of succession, meaning that he automatically becomes the new bishop when the diocesan bishop retires or dies. By canon law, he is also Vicar General of the diocese. If the diocese is an Archdiocese, he is called coadjutor Archbishop instead of coadjutor bishop.
COLLEGE OF CARDINALS - A group of men chosen by the Pope as his chief advisers. Most are heads of major dioceses around the world or of the major departments of the Vatican, or are retired from such posts. In the interregnum following the death of the Pope, the College of Cardinals administers the Church, and those under the age of 80 meet in a Conclave to elect a new Pope.
CONCLAVE - The gathering of the world's Catholic Cardinals, after the death of a Pope, to elect a new Pope. Only cardinals under the age of 80 are allowed into a Conclave under current church rules.
CONSISTORY - A meeting of cardinals in Rome. It can be an ordinary consistory, attended only by cardinals in Rome at the time of the meeting, or an extraordinary consistory, to which all Cardinals around the world are summoned.
CURIA - The Personnel and Offices through which:
- the Pope administers the affairs of the universal church (the Roman Curia).
- A Bishop administers the affairs of a diocese (the diocesan curia)
The principal Officials of a diocesan curia are the Vicar General, the Chancellor, officials of the diocesan tribunal or court, examiners, consultors, auditors and notaries.
EPISCOPAL VICAR - A priest or auxiliary bishop who assists the diocesan bishop in a specific part of the diocese, over certain groups in the diocese, or over certain areas of church affairs. Some large dioceses, for example, are divided geographically into several vicariates or regions, with an episcopal vicar for each; some dioceses have episcopal vicars for clergy or religious or for Catholics of certain racial or ethnic groups
EXCOMMUNICATION - A penalty or censure by which a baptized Catholic is excluded from the communion of the faithful for committing and remaining obstinate in certain serious offenses specified in canon law. Even though excommunicated, the person is still responsible for fulfillment of the normal obligations of a Catholic.
FACULTY - Church authorization, given by the law itself or by a church superior, to perform certain official church acts. In some rare cases a member of the clergy will be denied certain faculties, such as hearing confessions or preaching during the liturgy, because of public positions taken that are not in accord with church teaching.
JUDICIAL VICAR - In the Roman Catholic Church, a judicial vicar or episcopal official (Latin: officialis) is an officer of the diocese who has ordinary power to judge cases in the diocesan ecclesiastical court.
NOTARY - A notary in the Catholic Church (Latin: notarius) is a person appointed by competent authority to draw up official or authentic documents. These documents are issued chiefly from the official administrative bureaux, the chanceries; secondly, from tribunals; lastly, others are drawn up at the request of individuals to authenticate their contracts or other acts.
PASTOR - A priest in charge of a Catholic parish or congregation. He is responsible for administering the sacraments, instructing the congregation in the doctrine of the church, and providing other services to the people of the parish. Pastor is not ordinarily used as a title before the name of a Catholic priest.
PASTORAL COUNCIL - A parish or (arch)diocesan body that the pastor or (arch)bishop consults concerning policies and major decisions in the governance of the local church. Such a council's role is consultative and always subject to the final authority of the pastor or bishop.
PRESBYTERAL COUNCIL - Also known as the priests' council, this is the principal consultative body mandated by the Code of Canon Law to advise the diocesan bishop in matters of pastoral governance. It consists of bishops and priests serving the diocese.
RELIGIOUS PRIEST/DIOCESAN PRIEST - Religious priests are professed members of a religious Order or Institute. Religious clergy live according to the rule of their respective Orders. In pastoral ministry, they are under the jurisdiction of their local bishop, as well as of the superiors of their Order.
Diocesan, or secular Priests are under the direction of their local bishop. Most serve in the parishes of the diocese, but they may also be assigned to other diocesan posts and ministries or be released for service outside the diocese.
TITULAR SEE - If a bishop does not have his own diocese, he is given a titular see: that is, a place that once was the seat of a diocese but no longer is. Auxiliary bishops and bishops in Vatican service are examples of those given titular sees. Many titular sees are ancient cities of the Middle East or Northern Africa
VICAR FORANE - An experienced priest appointed by a bishop to exercise limited jurisdiction over a specific part of a diocese. He is charged with the care of the sick clergy, presides at conferences, supervises clerical discipline and diocesan property as well as other similar matters.
VICAR GENERAL - A priest, auxiliary bishop or coadjutor bishop who assists the diocesan bishop in the governance of the entire diocese.
Thank you for reading, God Bless us all.
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