The Roman Curia and the College of Cardinals

In the day-to-day exercise of his primatial jurisdiction, the pope relies on the assistance of the Roman Curia. The Curia originated in the local body of presbyters (priests), deacons (lower order of clergy), and notaries (lower clerics with secretarial duties) upon which, like other bishops in their own dioceses, the early bishops of Rome relied for help. By the 11th century this body had been narrowed to include only the leading (or cardinal) presbyters and deacons of the Roman diocese and broadened to embrace the cardinal bishops (the heads of the seven neighboring, or “suburbicarian,” dioceses of Rome). From this emerged the Sacred College of Cardinals, a corporate body possessed, from 1179 onward, of the exclusive right to elect the pope. The college, in a special assembly known as a conclave, still possesses the right to elect the pope, as well as the right to govern the church in urgent matters during a vacancy in the papal office (sede vacante). Since 1958, a series of popes extended the size of the Sacred College beyond the traditional limit of 70 and broadened its membership to make it more representative of the church’s international character, though Paul VI limited the number of cardinals who could participate in papal elections to 120 and decreed that cardinals could not participate in papal elections or curial business after age 80. Under Francis the college eventually comprised 252 cardinals from 94 countries.

Cardinals are selected by the personal choice of the pope, in consultation with the cardinals in Rome at the time, in a consistory, or solemn meeting, which is secret. The cardinals reside either as bishops in their own sees or in the Vatican as the highest rank of papal advisers and officers in the Roman Curia. Since the time of Martin V (reigned 1417–31), the names of some newly promoted cardinals have been held in pectore (Latin: “in the breast” or “in the heart”) by the pope. The name of a cardinal in pectore is not made public, and he acquires the responsibilities and rights of the other cardinals only if his name is subsequently published.

The College of Cardinals is presided over by an elected dean. Since 1965 the cardinal dean and vice-dean have been elected by the college’s cardinal bishops, the highest rank of cardinals within the college. These elections must be confirmed by the pope. In 2019 Pope Francis established a five-year term limit for the position of cardinal dean that is renewable, if necessary.

During the Middle Ages the cardinals played an important role as a corporate body, not only during papal vacancies, as today, but also during the pope’s lifetime. In the 12th century the Roman councils that popes had hitherto convoked when urgent matters were at hand were replaced by the consistory of the cardinals, which thus became the most important collegial (corporate) body advising the pope and participating in his judicial activity. Eventually it began to make oligarchic claims to a share in the powers of the Petrine office and attempted, with sporadic success, to bind the pope to act on important matters only with its consent. During the 16th century, however, the Roman congregations (administrative committees), each charged with the task of assisting the pope in a specific area of government, were finally established, and the power of the consistory began to decline, and with it the importance of the cardinals as a corporate body. At the same time, there was an increase in the power and influence of the “curial” cardinals—those who did not administer local dioceses but who served as the pope’s representatives in important foreign affairs or resided permanently in Rome, holding responsibilities in the curial congregations, tribunals, and offices that proliferated in the course of the next three centuries.

By the early 20th century the growth of the Roman Curia had produced a bewildering tangle of administrative and judicial bodies in which neither temporal and ecclesiastical functions nor executive and judicial powers were clearly demarcated. The reforms of Pius X (reigned 1903–14) and Benedict XV (reigned 1914–22) clarified and streamlined the work of the Curia and introduced a measure of order into its maze of overlapping jurisdictions. In the wake of Vatican II and in response to complaints about abuses of curial power and requests for an internationalization of curial staff and a modernization of curial functions and procedures, Paul VI pledged himself to act. His reforms, instituted in the apostolic constitution Regimini ecclesiae universae (“Government of the Universal Church”) of 1967, were further modified in 1988 by John Paul II in the apostolic constitution Pastor bonus (“The Good Shepherd”). This was replaced in 2022 by a new apostolic constitution, Praedicate evangelium (“Preach the Gospel”), issued by Pope Francis.

The Curia is divided into several agencies, or dicasteries, including the Secretariat of State, the tribunals, and the pontifical commissions. The Secretariat of State, which is divided into two sections, is the agency that works most closely with the pope in his mission to govern the church and to establish relations with foreign countries. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (originally the Sacred Congregation of the Universal Inquisition) is the oldest of the agencies and is responsible for spreading and defending Roman Catholic belief. The other dicasteries are

• Dicastery for the Eastern Churches
• Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
• Dicastery for the Causes of Saints
• Dicastery for Evangelization
• Dicastery for the Clergy
• Dicastery for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
• Dicastery for Culture and Education
• Dicastery for the Service of Charity
• Dicastery for the Bishops
• Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life
• Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity
• Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue
• Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
• Dicastery for Legislative Texts
• Dicastery for Communication

The tribunals constitute the judicial branch of the Curia and include the Apostolic Penitentiary (which grants indulgences, absolutions, and other favors), the Roman Rota (a court of appeals and first instance), and the Apostolic Signatura (the highest judicial body of the church). In addition to restructuring the dicasteries, Francis established in 2014 the Secretariat for the Economy, which is distinct from the Secretariat of State, with authority over all economic activities of the Holy See and Vatican City. Several permanent commissions reflect papal concern for scholarly studies and issues of social justice; they include the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The college of bishops

In Roman Catholicism the college of bishops is the successor to the college of the Apostles; the earliest mention of the office of bishop is found in the New Testament. Every Roman Catholic bishop is a bishop of a place—either a proper area, or jurisdiction, of which he is the ordinary (as he is called in church law), or a fictitious place, a see no longer existing, of which he is named titular bishop. The office of the first bishops differed from the later institution; references in the Gospels to episkopoi are better understood to mean “overseers.” In the early Christian communities there was often little distinction between bishops and presbyters, and there was usually more than one bishop associated with each community, though the appearance of the bishop as the individual leader of the local church—the monarchical bishop—was a fairly early development. Ignatius of Antioch—whose letters, written about 107 ce, provide an early description of the Christian community—was clearly a monarchical bishop, and he did not think of himself as the only one of his kind; thus, the institution must have arisen in apostolic or early postapostolic times.

The bishops succeed to the apostolic power, which is understood as the power to teach Catholic doctrine, to sanctify the church through the administration of the sacraments, and to govern the church. The residential bishop is supreme in his territory in this threefold function, having no superior other than the Roman pontiff. As the principal teacher of his diocese, the bishop is responsible for providing witness to Christ and for preaching the gospel of Christ. The bishop must also educate his flock on all the teachings of the church concerning faith and morals, children and the family, the individual, and society. In his priestly function, the bishop is called on to administer the sacraments and to encourage his flock to experience the Eucharist as a means of achieving unity in the love of Christ. As the chief officer of the diocese, the bishop has executive, legislative, and judicial powers to govern the church. The responsibilities of the office are great and demand considerable leadership.

Bishops in modern times have been more visible as managers of the business of the diocese than as pastors and teachers. No authentic “Catholic” activity is conducted in a diocese without at least the tacit approval of the bishop; his disposal of funds and persons makes it evident that the activity will flourish much more vigorously if it enjoys his active support and encouragement. His power to discourage or forbid activities, which he is free to use according to his judgment, is both a strength and a weakness of the Roman Catholic structure. The bishop is assisted in governing the diocese by a staff called, like the staff of the pope, a curia. The structure of the staff is to some extent determined by canon law—e.g., vicar-general, chancellor, and official, or head, of the diocesan tribunals. Otherwise, the bishop at his discretion may appoint a staff according to the needs of his diocese. His authority over the staff and his clergy is nearly absolute.

Until Vatican II the Roman Catholic Church had not dealt with the ambiguity of two concurrent jurisdictions, pontifical and episcopal. The pope cannot define or limit the powers of a bishop; the powers are “ordinary,” inhering in the office itself. Vatican II accepted the emphasis that recent theologians have laid on the collegial character of the episcopacy, and the supremacy of the pope is understood as supremacy in the college; the pope needs the college of which he is head, though Vatican I declared that he needs neither its consultation nor its approval. It is now understood that such solitary action should be the exception rather than the rule; and the Synod of Bishops, established after Vatican II, was a step toward involving the body of bishops in the policy of the entire church, hitherto formulated exclusively by the Roman see. During the papacy of John Paul II, the church proceeded along a contradictory path regarding the role of the episcopacy. In his 1995 encyclical Ut unum sint (“That They May Be One”), the pope seemingly supported the emphasis on collegiality voiced at Vatican II, but he also taught that there were limitations to episcopal independence. By contrast, Francis indicated his support of collegiality by quoting from several bishops conferences from around the world in his encyclical on the environment, Laudato si’ (2015; “Praise Be to You”).

Originally elected to office and often appointed by kings and emperors during the early Middle Ages, bishops have been chosen by the pope since the 11th century. In modern practice, appointments to the office are made from confidential lists of suitable priests sent to the pope every three years by the bishops. Bishops in modern times have generally been career administrators in the church, but any priest can ascend to the office if he possesses certain qualifications. A candidate for the office must be at least 35 years old and have served as a priest for at least five years; he must also have strength of faith and moral character, and he must have a licence or expertise in Scripture, theology, and canon law. In 1970 Pope Paul VI established 75 as the mandatory age of retirement for all bishops except the bishop of Rome. The bishop, however, may remain in his office at the pope’s discretion.

Ecumenical councils

The first church council, which set the precedent for all subsequent meetings, took place at Jerusalem about 50 ce and was attended by the Apostles, who debated whether Gentile Christians were obliged to follow the Mosaic Law. Regional councils of bishops, convoked to settle doctrinal and disciplinary questions, appeared in the 2nd century. The first general council representing the bishops of the whole world occurred at Nicaea in Asia Minor in 325 (the Greek oikumenē, from which the word ecumenical is derived, referred to the inhabited world). The council was convoked not by an ecclesiastical authority but by the Roman emperor Constantine, who wanted the church to reach a final decision on the Arian controversy. (According to Arius, the Son of God was a creature of similar but not the same substance as God the Father.) The Roman Catholic Church has held 21 such assemblies, though only three (Trent, Vatican I, and Vatican II) have been held since the mid-16th century.

Vatican II, which took place from 1962 to 1965, was one of the most important councils in church history, and it profoundly changed the structures and practices of the church. It sought, in the words of Pope John XXIII, aggiornaménto, “to bring the church up to date,” and many of the council’s decrees did bring the church into the modern world. Although the reforms were welcomed by many, they produced internal disruptions greater than any the church had known since the Protestant Reformation. Some argued that the council did not go far enough, while others maintained that its reforms went too far, too fast. In the decades following the council, liberal and conservative Catholics were divided over interpretation of its decrees. Although such disunity has at times posed a real threat of schism, there have been only a few group departures. The number of departures of individual members of the laity and clergy, however, was large enough to cause concern and remained an important matter for the church long after the council had ended.

In accordance with Vatican II, the Roman Catholic Church officially abandoned its “one true church” position and formally ended the thousand-year schism with the Greek Orthodox Church. It also entered into ecumenical conversations with other churches in the hope of establishing greater Christian unity. The church has assumed observer status in the World Council of Churches and has participated in groups associated with the World Council. Representatives of the church participated in the discussions sponsored by the World Council that led to the publication of the important document Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry (1982), which identified areas of agreement between the churches on several core teachings; the church responded positively, though with qualification, to the text.

Also significant were the steps to improve relations with non-Christian religions. Vatican II’s declaration Nostra aetate (October 28, 1965; “In Our Era”) rejected the traditional accusation that the Jews killed Christ, recognized the legitimacy of Judaism, and condemned antisemitism.

Canon law defines an ecumenical council and its procedure; actually, the law represents the procedure followed in the convocation of Vatican I. There is no precise criterion for determining what is an ecumenical council, and one can say only that councils are ecumenical if and only if the Roman Catholic Church regards them as such. The Orthodox churches recognize the first eight councils only.

The ecumenical council is recognized as the supreme authority within the Roman Catholic Church. Along with the pope this makes two supreme authorities; the church reconciles this logical dilemma by asserting that the ecumenical council, acting with the pope, is supreme. Only the pope can convoke an ecumenical council, and he or his legates must preside. There are no limits to the competence of an ecumenical council, but the pope must approve its decrees.

The Great Schism (1378–1417), during which three men claimed the papacy simultaneously, led to the movement known as conciliarism, which maintained that the ecumenical council was the means of saving the church from scandal and corruption. The idea of conciliarism was rooted in debates from the 12th century; in the 15th century it was applied with much success to the resolution of the schism, though the excesses of extremist conciliarists soon led to the demise of the movement, and much of the policy of the Roman see since that time has been devoted to the suppression of conciliarist sentiments. This has naturally led to questions about the value of ecumenical councils, which are cumbersome and expensive compared with an omnicompetent office such as the papacy. Nevertheless, the usefulness of ecumenical councils has been illustrated by both Vatican I and Vatican II. Apart from the public and psychological impact produced by a consensus so broad, the council makes available to the church a fund of wisdom and experience not available to the Roman Curia, and it seems to generate among participants a state of mind and a strength of purpose that is above their normal level of thought and action.

Efforts at improving relations with other religions, especially Judaism, were pivotal to the papacy of John Paul II, who prayed with world religious leaders in 1986, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and prayed in a mosque and a synagogue. Both Benedict XVI and Francis made ecumenism central to their papacies. After his election in 2005, Benedict immediately took steps to continue John Paul II’s dialogue with Judaism and Islam and other Christian churches. He visited Turkey, where he met the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople in the hope of improving relations between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. In 2008 he addressed the first Catholic-Muslim Forum, a conference of Catholic theologians and Islamic scholars hosted by the Vatican to promote improved understanding between the two religions. Francis was the first pope to meet with the patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, in 2016. In February 2019 he became the first pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam, in a trip meant to promote religious fraternity and peace.

The priesthood and the diaconate

Although the term “priest” (Greek hiereus) refers to the entire Christian people, it is given to no church officer in the New Testament. First appearing in the 2nd century, the office is associated with the establishment of the eucharistic sacrifice, over which the priest was called to preside. No doubt the development of the monarchical episcopate also contributed to the emergence of the priesthood; the bishop needed assistance in his threefold task of teaching, sanctifying, and governing, and the priest exercised this power as an officer of the bishop. Although priests are members of either a diocese or a religious community, in the exercise of the threefold ministry every priest is subject to the bishop of the diocese in which the ministry is conducted.

The pastor of the parish is the model priest. Despite the fact that in large parishes the pastor may be primarily an administrator, Catholics experience their church directly through the parochial clergy. Catholics hear sermons, worship, receive the sacraments, and look for religious counsel and direction in their parish. Many Catholics, particularly in the United States, send their children to parish schools. The parish is also the center of activities ranging from recreation to adult education and social work, all under the direction of the clergy. Whereas the parochial clergy are genuine pastors, the pastoral office has often been reduced for the bishop and is barely visible in the pope. The strength of the Roman Catholic Church historically has been rooted in its priests, especially in its parochial clergy.

Roman Catholicism for centuries has fostered a distinct clerical identity, symbolized by clerical garb, which sets priests as a class apart from lay Catholics. The most identifiable piece of garb worn by priests is a white collar, sometimes called a Roman collar.

The priesthood is also set apart by gender; only men can become Catholic priests. The most striking feature of this class, celibacy, has stirred up considerable dissatisfaction in the modern church. Although there are no sure statistics, there are estimates that as many as half of Catholic clergy want celibacy to be optional. Many priests and other observers have called for the acceptance of married priests, arguing that the rule of celibacy interferes with the ministry. The necessity of priestly celibacy was confirmed, however, by Paul VI’s encyclical Sacerdotalis caelibatus (June 24, 1967; “Priestly Celibacy”). Dissatisfaction with this requirement and the issues related to it have led to a significant number of departures from the priesthood and an alarming decrease in the number of candidates. The decline in priests has been a global problem, although Africa and Asia saw some gains in men entering seminaries in the early 21st century.

The issue of clerical celibacy was raised anew in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when members of the clergy were accused of sexually abusing minors in many countries. However, some have argued that pedophilia is unrelated to the celibacy requirement, claiming that the root of the sex abuse lies in the infiltration of the clergy by sexual predators seeking to exploit priests’ easy access to children.

The challenges facing the priesthood have led to increased calls for allowing women to be ordained as priests or, at least, deacons. The prospect of female deacons received serious consideration during Francis’s papacy, but it remained a divisive and unsettled issue. Meanwhile, the number of permanent deacons (i.e., men ordained as such rather than as a transitional role before becoming priests) increased in the 21st century. Significantly, the Roman Catholic Church allows for the ordination of married men older than age 35 to the diaconate.

Another continuing controversy has been the ordination of openly gay men to the priesthood. In 2005 Benedict XVI approved a document that prohibited gay men from being admitted to seminaries; this prohibition was confirmed in 2016 by Pope Francis. In 2025, however, Francis approved a provisional document (valid for three years) by the Italian Bishops’ Conference that allows the ordination of openly gay men to the priesthood in Italy under the condition that they maintain the requirement of chastity.