A

Archbishop
Title given automatically to bishops who govern archdioceses.  There are currently 25 Latin Church archbishops and 3 Eastern Church archbishops in the United States.

Archdiocese
The chief diocese of an ecclesiastical province (see province).  It is governed by an archbishop. There are 32 Latin Church archdioceses and 2 Eastern Church archdioceses in the United States. (In addition, there are 159 Latin Church (144) and Eastern Church (15) dioceses in the United States.) adj. archdiocesan. See diocese.

Auxiliary Bishop
A bishop assigned to a Catholic diocese or archdiocese to assist its residential bishop. There are currently 79 auxiliary bishops in the United States.

B

Bishops
The highest order of ordained ministry in Catholic teaching; the chief priest of a diocese. Bishops are responsible for the pastoral care of their dioceses. In addition, bishops have a responsibility to act in council with other bishops to guide the Church.

Brother
A man who has taken vows in a religious order, but is not ordained or studying for the priesthood.

C

Canon
Greek for rule, norm, standard, measure; designates the Canon of Sacred Scripture, the list of books recognized by the Church as inspired by the Holy Spirit; also designates the canons (Eucharistic Prayers, etc.) of the Mass.

Canon Law
The codified body of general laws governing the Latin rite of the Catholic Church.  A separate Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches governs the Eastern Catholic Churches.

Cardinal
Highest ranking prelate below the papacy itself, now nearly alway s a bishop or archbishop, appointed by the pope to assist him as a member of the College of Cardinals. See College of Cardinals. There are currently 17 U.S. members of the College of Cardinals, 13 of whom are under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to elect the next pope.

Celibacy
Refers to a decision to live chastely in the unmarried state.  At ordination, a diocesan priest or unmarried deacon in the Latin Catholic Church makes a promise of celibacy.

Chancellor
The chief archivist of a diocese's official records. Also a notary and secretary of the diocesan curia, or central administration; s/he may have a variety of other duties as well.

Chastity
In its general sense does not mean abstinence from sexual activity as such, but moral sexual conduct.  Marital chastity means faithfulness to one’s spouse and moral conduct in marital relations.  The religious vow of chastity taken by brothers, sisters and priests in religious orders, is a solemn promise to God to live the virtue of chastity by not marrying and by abstaining from sexual activity.

Church
The universal Church that is spread throughout the world; the local Church is that of a particular locality, such as a diocese. The Church embraces all its members--on earth, in heaven, in purgatory.

Clergy
In Catholic usage, a collective term referring to all those ordained – bishops, priests, and deacons – who administer the rites of the Church.

Coadjutor Bishop
A bishop appointed to a Catholic diocese or archdiocese to assist its residential bishop, distinguished from an auxiliary bishop in that he has the right of immediate succession.  By canon law, he is also vicar general of the diocese.  There are currently 2 coadjutor bishops in the United States.

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.  Upon the death of the pope, the College of Cardinals administers the Church and those under the age of 80 meet to elect a new pope.

Collegiality
The shared responsibility and authority that the whole college of bishops, headed by the pope, has for the teaching, sanctification and government of the Church.

Congregation, Vatican
A term used for some Vatican departments which are responsible for important areas of Church life, such as worship and sacraments, the clergy, and saints/causes.

Curia
The personnel and offices through which 1) the pope administers the affairs of the Universal Church (the Roman Curia), or 2) 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.

D

Deacon, Diaconate
In the Catholic Church, the diaconate is the first of three ranks in ordained ministry.  Deacons studying for the priesthood are transitional deacons.  Those not planning to be ordained priests are called permanent deacons.  Married men may be ordained permanent deacons.  There are currently 15,868 permanent deacons in the United States.

Defrocking
Common but incorrect term referring to the return of a cleric to the lay state; laicization is the correct term.

Delict
The canonical term for a crime set forth in the Code of Canon Law.

Diocese
A particular church; the ordinary territorial division of the church headed by a bishop.  The chief diocese of a group of dioceses is called an archdiocese; adj. diocesan.  There are 144 Latin Church dioceses and 15 Eastern Church dioceses in the United States. (In addition, there are 34 Latin and Eastern Church archdioceses in the United States.)  See archdiocese.

Diocesan Bishop
A bishop who heads a diocese; may be assisted by auxiliary bishops or a coadjutor bishop (see auxiliary bishop and coadjutor bishop).  Also sometimes referred to as a residential bishop. There are currently 195 arch/diocesan bishops in the United States. 

Diocesan Curia
The personnel and offices assisting the bishop in directing the pastoral activity, administration and exercise of judicial power of the diocese.

E

Eastern Catholic Churches
The Catholic churches with origins in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa which have their own distinctive liturgical, legal and organizational systems and are identified by the national or ethnic character of their region of origin. Each is considered fully equal to the Latin tradition within the Church.  There are 15 Eastern Church dioceses and 2 Eastern Church archdioceses in the United States.  In addition, there is one non-territorial Eastern Church apostolate in the United States whose bishop is a member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Eparchy
Eastern Catholic Church equivalent to a diocese in the Latin Church.  It is under the pastoral care of an eparch (or bishop in the Eastern Catholic Church); adj. eparchial.

Ephebophilia
Recurrent, intense, sexual attraction to pubescent children or adolescents.  The age of the child is arbitrarily set at 14 through 17 years; not listed in the American Pyschological Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV of mental disorders.

Episcopal
Refers to a bishop or groups of bishops, or the form of church governance in which ordained bishops have authority.

Excommunication
A penalty or censure by which a baptized person is excluded from the communion of the faithful for committing and remaining obstinate in certain serious offenses specified in canon law.  Even though excommunicated, a person is still responsible for fulfillment of the normal obligations of a Catholic.

F

Faculty
Authorization, given by the law itself or by a church superior, to perform certain office church acts.

Finance Council
Diocesan body mandated by the Code of Canon Law which is charged with preparing the annual diocesan budget and annually reviewing diocesan expenses and revenues.  Under specified conditions, the finance council is required to consent to “acts of extraordinary administration,” which are described as acts which occur irregularly or which have significant financial consequences.

H

Hierarchy
In Catholic usage, the term is used most commonly to refer collectively to the bishops of the world or a particular region.  In technical uses, however, it may refer to all those who are ordained: deacons and priests as well as bishops

Holy See
Term of reference for the Diocese of Rome, as the chief diocese of Catholic Christendom; used to refer to the pope and his curia – congregations, tribunals, and offices – in their role of authority over and service to the Catholic Church around the world.

L

Laicization
The process by which a priest is returned to the lay state, sometimes as a penalty for a serious crime or scandal, but usually at his request.  A laicized priest is barred from priestly ministry.  The pope must approve all requests for laicization.

M

Metropolitan
A metropolitan see is an archdiocese which is the chief diocese of an ecclesiastical province. Used as a noun, the term refers to the metropolitan archbishop who is the head of the province.  He has limited supervisory authority over the other dioceses and bishops in the province.  See province.

Monsignor
An honorary ecclesiastical title granted by the Pope to some diocesan priests.

N

Nun
1) Strictly, a member of a religious order of women with solemn vows; 2) in general, all women religious, even those in simple vows who are more properly called sisters.

O

Ordinary
Diocesan bishops or their equivalents, their vicars general and episcopal vicars, and major superiors of clerical religious orders, congregations or societies, with authority over the clergy in a specific geographical area, or the members of a religious order.

P

Papal Nuncio
A Vatican diplomatic representative with the rank of ambassador.  He is responsible for the Holy See’s relations with the church where he is stationed as well as its diplomatic relations with the state.  The offices of the papal nuncio are called the nunciature.

Parish
A specific community of the Christian faithful within a diocese, which has its own church building, under the authority of a pastor who is responsible for providing them with ministerial service. Most parishes are formed on a geographic basis, but they may be formed along national or ethnic lines.

Pastor
A priest in charge of a parish or congregation. He is responsible for administering the sacraments, instructing the congregation in the doctrine of the Church, and other services to the people of the parish.

Pastoral Council
A parish or diocesan body which the pastor or bishop consults concerning policies and major decisions in the governance of the local church.    Their role is consultative and always subject to the final authority of the pastor or bishop.

Pedophilia
Recurrent, intense, sexually arounsing fantasies, sexual urges or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children (generally age 13 years or younger).

Presbyterate
May be a synonym for priesthood or may refer to the collective body of priests of a diocese or similar ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

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.

Province
1) A grouping of an archdiocese, called the metropolitan see, and the dioceses under it, called suffragan sees.  The Code of Canon Law spells out certain limited obligations and authority that the metropolitan archbishop has with respect to the dioceses within his province.  2) A grouping of communities of a religious order under the jurisdiction of a provincial superior.

R

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 the superiors of their order. Diocesan, or secular, priests are under the direction of their local bishop. They commit to serving their congregations and other institutions.

S

See
Another name for diocese or archdiocese.

Seminary
An educational institutional for men preparing for Holy Orders.

Sister
In popular speech, any woman religious.  Strictly, the title applies to those women religious belonging to institutes whose members never professed solemn vows, most of which institutes were established during and since the 19th century.

Superior
The head of a religious order or congregation. He or she may be the head of a province, or an individual house.

Suspension
Church penalty under which a priest, while retaining his clerical status, is no longer permitted to perform priestly functions such as celebrating Mass, preaching, or administering the sacraments. 

T

Tribunal
A tribunal (court) is the name given to the person or persons who exercise the Church's judicial powers.

U

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
The national membership organization of the Catholic bishops of the United States, through which they act collegially on pastoral, liturgical, and public policy matters affecting the Catholic Church in the United States. Episcopal conferences were recommended by the Second Vatican Council and have duties enumerated in the 1983 Code of Canon Law and the 1998 apostolic letter Apostolos Suos.  The USCCB traces its origins to 1919 and the establishment of the National Catholic Welfare Conference.  In 1966, the conference was reorganized as the canonical entity known as the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and its twin civil corporation known as the U.S. Catholic Conference. Another reorganization in 2001, resulted in the USCCB.

V

Vicar General
Assists the diocesan bishop in the governance of the entire diocese.

Vow
A promise made to God with sufficient knowledge and freedom, which has as its object a moral good that is possible and better than its voluntary omission.