In the expression of revealed truths and in the defense of faith from the charge of con flict with demonstrated truths of science and philosophy, the Church makes use of terms derived from the philosophy current among its subjects. Thus it has come about that the dogmas are expressed in the terms of scholas tic philosophy and officially in the Latin lan guage. As its doctrines can be taught in any language, so, too, the expression of them may be harmonized with whatever is found to be true in any system of philosophy.
In the worship, liturgies, discipline and practices of the Church, some regulations may be of divine origin, others are of ecclesiastical origin, and still others arise from the voluntary piety of individuals. Besides the ordinary obli gations of Christian life, she invites those of her children who feel the call from God to bind themselves by vow to His service. The principal vows are those taken to observe the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. Those who have thus bound them selves in approved congregations or religious orders are called religious. (See ORDERS, RE LIGIOUS). As a matter of discipline all those in Sacred Orders in the Latin portion of the Church are bound to observe celibacy. In the Greek portion, to-day, no priest can marry, but married men may receive Holy Orders, except episcopal consecration.
External Organization of the Church.— Supreme jurisdiction, as we have seen, resides in the Pope; the bishops are the rulers of dioceses, which are subdivided into parishes or missions under a parish priest or rector, as sisted by curates. The dioceses are united into provinces, over each of which is an archbishop or metropolitan, the other bishops being called his suffragans. The archbishop convokes pro vincial synods, hears certain appeals from the episcopal court, watches over the observance of ecclesiastical law in some particulars, and, under certain circumstances, appoints an ad ministrator when a suffragan dies. The patri archate is to-day only an honorary rank. The Pope is represented in some countries by ap ostolic delegates, to whom are referred appeals from the lower courts and through whom the Pope sends his communications. In some countries there are apostolic nuncios, who deal directly with the various governments that have their representatives at Rome.
The Pope is assisted immediately by the Sacred College of Cardinals and by the Sacred Congregations. The College of Cardinals, when complete, contains 70 members: 6 Car dinal Bishops of the Suburban Sees, SO Cardinal Priests and 14 Cardinal Deacons. The Sacred Congregations, 21 in number, are committees of Cardinals to whom special affairs are entrusted. They were arranged, almost as at present, by Pope Sixtus V. The Cardinals alone cast votes for the final decisions, but they are assisted by secretaries and consultors. The Pope himself acts as prefect of some congre gations (the Inquisition, the Apostolic Visita tion and the Consistonal). A Cardinal pre sides over each of the others. The acts of all
congregations are submitted to the Pope for his approval. These acts, unless promulgated in a solemn manner as the acts of the Sov ereign Pontiff himself, are subject to change; though not infallible, they must be received by the faithful with an internal assent, such as is due to religious authority and obeyed as laws of the Church. The more important congre gations are: the Holy Roman Inquisition (the supreme tribunal to judge of heresy and crimes allied with heresy), the Consistorial (which selects the matters that are presented and sanc tioned by the College of Cardinals assembled in the Papal Consistories), the Apostolic Visita tions, Bishops and Regulars, and Council of De Propaganda Fide (which cares for mission ary countries), Sacred Rites, the Index (which prohibits the reading of books condemned as contrary to faith or good morals), Indulgences and Relics, and the congregation of Studies.
The Church and Civil The Church was established by Christ as a perfect, independent religious society. Its authority de pends on God's ordinances alone; wherefore it has always denied any right on the part of the state to interfere in its internal affairs. In Catholic countries, the Church claims im munity for its officials from the authority of civil tribunals; in past ages this immunity was often absolutely necessary for theirjust pro tection. Sometimes the Pope makes a Concordat with temporal rulers; that is, a treaty whereby, in consideration of certain promises of these rulers, the Pope abstains from urging certain of his rights. To exercise the prerogatives which we have described, the Pope, his Car dinals and other officials must be exempt from the jurisdiction of any civil tribunals. Prac tically this cannot be secured without the Tem poral Power (q.v.), or better, the Temporal Independence of the Sovereign Pontiff. It is not enough for the Pope to be free, he must be known to be free; suspicion of being under the influence of a sovereign would be fatal to his influence. This independence he possessed for more than 15 centuries; it was assured by the recognition of his sovereign authority in the states of the Church. Since the usurpation of these states by the Italian government, the Popes, Pius IX, Leo XIII and Pius X, have not ceased to proclaim: (1) That this seizure was an act of injustice; (2) that the Pope no longer possesses the freedom, security and in dependence demanded by his dignity, his rights and for the proper exercise of his authority; and (3) that the Holy See must insist on these facts and look forward to some efficient remedy for the injustice and indignity of present con ditions. To deal rightly with Catholics of all nations, the Pope must be extra-national. As the seat of our general government, the Dis trict of Columbia. is independent of all the States, so the seat of the general government of the Church should be independent of all the countries of the earth.