Roman Curia

The **Roman Curia** (Latin Curia Romanae) is usually called "**The Curia**". It is the cabinet of Vatican City and the Roman Catholic Church.

Parts of The Curia look after the independent country of the Vatican.  For example, The Curia includes the Vatican's courts.

Other parts of The Curia do jobs that are important for the Catholic Church.  For example, the _Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity_ is in charge of meeting other churches.

All of the parts of The Curia that are listed on the Vatican's website are explained in this table.

|colspan="2" style="background:#ffdead;"|The Roman Congregations|
| --- | --- |
|The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith|Looks after Catholic doctrine (the beliefs that the Church teaches)|
|The Congregation for the Oriental Churches|Keeps in touch with the Eastern Catholic Churches|
|The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments|In charge of Catholic liturgy (the way Catholics worship)|
|The Congregation for the Causes of Saints|Controls the process of declaring someone a saint|
|The Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples|In charge of missionary work|
|The Congregation for the Clergy|Looks after priests and deacons who are not in a religious order|
|The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life|Looks after members of religious orders (like Benedictine monks and Carmelite nuns)|
|Congregation for Catholic Education (in Seminaries and Institutes of Study)|Oversees Catholic education in schools, universities, and seminaries (places were priests are trained)|
|The Congregation for Bishops|Helps choose new bishops|
|The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Penitentiary|The Supreme Court for issues that have to do with forgiveness of sin|
|The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura|The Supreme Court for other matters (like the annulment of marriage)|
|The Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota|The highest appeals court in the Roman Catholic Church|
|The Pontifical Council for the Laity|Helps the Pope in dealings with ordinary Catholics ("laity" are people who are not priests or clergy)|
|The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity|Arranges working with other Churches and promotes ecumenism|
|The Pontifical Council for the Family|Promotes the care, rights, and dignity of families|
|The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace|Works for justice, peace, and human rights|
|The Pontifical Council _Cor Unum_|Does humanitarian relief work after disasters; encourages charity; and is in charge of other Catholic organizations that do these things|
|The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants|Looks after the religious needs of migrants, refugees, exiles, and people without homes|
|The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers|Looks after the religious needs of health care workers|
|The Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts|Interprets the Church's laws when there is a question about what they mean|
|The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue|Encourages different religious groups to study each other's religions, think, and talk together|
|The Pontifical Council for Culture|Tries to create good relationships between the Catholic Church and people of different cultures|
|The Pontifical Council for Social Communications|In charge of using the media to spread the Gospel.|
|The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization|In charge of spreading Catholicism in places where it is common, but religion is getting less popular|
|The Synod of Bishops|A group of Bishops chosen to advise the Pope|
|The Apostolic Camera|The Church's central board of finance|
|The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See|Manages and deals the Holy See's properties|
|The Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See|Manages the financial investments and budget of Vatican City and the Roman Catholic Church (except the Vatican Bank)|
|Council for the Economy|Supervises the financial activities of all of Vatican City, including the Holy See and the Roman Curia|
|The Office of the Auditor General|Audits the Roman Curia and the government of Vatican City (for example, to make sure no fraud is happening)|
|The Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church|Guards the art, books, papers, and other important things in the Church's libraries and archives|
|The Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archeology|Protects ancient Catholic cemeteries and monuments in Rome|
|The Pontifical Biblical Commission|Made of Bible scholars who interpret the Bible and answer questions that come up about it|
|The International Theological Commission|Helps the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith answer important questions about Catholic doctrine|
|The Interdicasterial Commission for the Catechism of the Catholic Church|A temporary commission set up to translate the Church's Catechism into Latin|
|The Pontifical Commission _Ecclesia Dei_|Looks after the religious care of certain clergy and laity, with the goal of ending a disagreement in the Church|
|The Pontifical Commission for Latin America|Looks after the Church in Latin America|
|The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors|Makes sure children are safe in the Church|
|The Swiss Guard|Guard the Apostolic Palace, the entrances to the Vatican City, and the Pope, and keep them safe|
|The Pontifical Academies|There are ten academies in which leading teachers and scientists help to advise the Pope|
|The Labour Office|In charge of keeping good relationships with the people who work at the Vatican, and solving problems when workers are unhappy|

## Related pages

- Vatican City
- The Holy See