ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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The Roman curia is the set of governing bodies of the Holy See and the Catholic Church. It is made up of different institutions - the State Secretariat, dicasteries, justice agencies, economic agencies and offices - all under the direction of the Pope, who exercise legislative, executive and judicial functions. It coordinates and provides the necessary central organization for the proper functioning of the Church and the achievement of its objectives. The power of the Roman curia is considered vicar of the Pope:

Concepts

Curia
The origin of the term curia in the course of time has been used to mean several things, in Ancient Rome for example could mean "assembly" or a part of the Roman citizens according to the division of Romolo, Curia Titia, Faucia, Rapta, Velitia, etc. While at the time of the empire, it goes on to mean practically the Roman Senate.

For ecclesiastical writers between the 5th and 7th centuries, the term "curia" is also used for various things, to indicate the judicial forum, curiam vocare; the meetings or congresses, curia pascalis, solemnis, sacra, etc.; or for the place of the headquarters of the patriarch, the metropolitan, the exarch or the bishop, including in the end both the building and the staff working there.

From the beginning, curia almost indicates that specifically the "papal court, initially used only to define the pontifical palace and then extending to the offices that had its headquarters established in it, and then, towards the 12th century, to the complex of offices that were dependent on the Apostolic See.

Roman
The Roman term could imply that it is so called as to have its seat in Rome, however the concept derives from the fact that the Pope governs the universal Church and is its supreme head as successor to Peter, Bishop of Rome, therefore the Roman Curia is found where it is, for example, during the period of the papacy of Avignon, the curia was based in that city, but it continued to be called Roman; the same happened when Pope Clement VIII was in Ferrara, from where the Latin expression ubi Pontifeix Rome is born, where the Pope is there. "

The Roman curia, then, is the papal court and assists it in the performance of its functions as head of the Catholic Church and in the exercise of the primate, constituting, according to Paul VI, "the instrument that the Pope needs and by which he serves to perform his own divine mandate.

The Roman Curia may seem vague in comparison to the country cabinets with Western-type governments, but only the second section of the State Secretariat, also known as the State Relations Section, and the Congregation for Catholic Education, can be compared directly to the ministries of a civil government.

It is normal for each Catholic diocese to have its own curia for its administration.