Glossary of Catholic Terms
Rome’s vocabulary, defined in Rome’s own words · 63 terms, each weighed against Scripture.
Catholics and Protestants often use the same words with very different meanings. Each entry below first states what the Roman Catholic Church teaches, citing the paragraph numbers of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), the Code of Canon Law, or the papal document concerned, with links to the Vatican’s own text so that readers can check the definition at its source. A brief answer from Scripture and the Reformation follows, with links to fuller treatments on this site. For the vocabulary of the Reformation itself, such as sola fide, imputation, and the Puritans, see the companion Glossary of Terms.
Terms
A · B · C · D · E · G · H · I · J · M · O · P · R · S · T · V
A
B
C
- Cardinal
- Catechism
- Celibacy
- Co-Redemptrix
- Communion of Saints
- Conclave
- Confession
- Confirmation
- Contrition
- Curia
D
E
G
H
I
J
M
O
P
R
S
T
V
Absolution
The declaration by which a priest, in the sacrament of Penance, pronounces a penitent’s sins forgiven: “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Rome teaches that Christ entrusted “the power of absolution to the apostolic ministry,” so that bishops and priests have the power to forgive all sins (CCC 1442, 1449; CCC 1461).
Answer. Rome rests the practice on John 20:23. The Reformers understood the keys to be exercised in the preaching of the gospel and in church discipline, by which forgiveness is declared to all who believe (Luke 24:47; Heidelberg Catechism, Questions 83–85). Only God forgives sins; His ministers announce His pardon. See Church Discipline.
Anathema
From the Greek for “accursed”: a solemn condemnation of a teaching and of those who hold it. Conciliar canons commonly close with anathema sit, “let him be anathema.” The Council of Trent attached thirty-three such canons to its decree on justification, and the 1917 Code of Canon Law treated anathema as a solemn form of excommunication. The present Code (1983) no longer uses the term.
Answer. Paul pronounced anathema on anyone, even an angel, who preaches another gospel (Galatians 1:8–9). The question is therefore not whether a true gospel may be guarded, but which gospel Trent guarded. See The Anathemas of Trent.
Anointing of the Sick
Formerly called Extreme Unction: the sacrament given to the seriously ill or elderly by anointing the forehead and hands with blessed oil (CCC 1511–1513). Rome teaches that it unites the sick to Christ’s passion, strengthens them, forgives sins when confession is not possible, restores health if it serves salvation, and prepares the dying for death (CCC 1532).
Answer. James 5:14–15 calls the elders to pray over the sick, but nowhere makes anointing a sacrament instituted by Christ. The Church of England counted it among the five rites that “are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel” (Thirty-Nine Articles, XXV). See The Seven Sacraments.
Apocrypha
The books and additions written in the centuries between the close of the Old Testament and the New, and found in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate but not in the Hebrew Bible. On April 8, 1546, the Council of Trent declared Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and the Greek additions to Esther and Daniel to be sacred and canonical, under anathema. It left aside 1 and 2 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh. Rome calls the accepted books “deuterocanonical” and counts forty-six books in its Old Testament (CCC 120).
Answer. The Jews, to whom were committed the oracles of God (Romans 3:2), never received these books, and neither Christ nor the apostles quote them as Scripture. Jerome distinguished them from the canon. The Reformed confessions allow them to be read for example of life but not to establish doctrine (Thirty-Nine Articles, VI; Westminster Confession, 1.3). See Sola Scriptura.
Apostolic Succession
The teaching that the apostles left bishops as their successors, giving them “their own position of teaching authority,” and that this office continues in an unbroken line of ordination (CCC 77; CCC 861–862). Rome holds that only bishops in this succession, in communion with the pope, govern and teach the Church with authority.
Answer. The apostles held a unique and unrepeatable office as eyewitnesses of the risen Christ (Acts 1:21–22) and are the foundation of the Church (Ephesians 2:20). What is handed on is their doctrine, committed to “faithful men” (2 Timothy 2:2), and the true succession is faithfulness to it. See Bishop and Head of the Church — Comparison Table.
Apparition
A reported appearance of Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a saint, often bringing a message. The local bishop investigates claims, and Rome has approved the devotions attached to several Marian apparitions, among them Guadalupe (1531), Lourdes (1858), and Fatima (1917). Such “private” revelations, the Catechism says, “do not belong … to the deposit of faith” (CCC 67), and no Catholic is bound to believe them.
Answer. God “hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:1–2), and the faith was “once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). Messages that draw devotion to Mary rather than to Christ must be tested by the Word (Galatians 1:8; 1 John 4:1).
Assumption
The dogma that Mary, “when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory” (CCC 966). Pius XII defined it on November 1, 1950, in the apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus, the only papal definition made by appeal to infallibility since 1870.
Answer. Scripture is silent on Mary’s death and its aftermath, and the story first appears in apocryphal Transitus Mariae narratives of the fifth and sixth centuries. A dogma binding on conscience with no ground in Scripture shows plainly what Tradition and the Magisterium mean in Rome. See Mary and Mary — Comparison Table.
Baptism
The first sacrament, “the gateway to life in the Spirit,” by which Rome teaches we are “freed from sin and reborn as sons of God” (CCC 1213). Baptism forgives original sin, all personal sins, and all punishment for sin (CCC 1263), and is “necessary for salvation” (CCC 1257). Infants are baptized because they are born tainted by original sin (CCC 1250). It is the instrument by which justification is first conferred.
Answer. Protestants differ on who should be baptized, but the Reformers agreed that baptism does not save by the act performed. It is a sign and seal of the promise, and it profits only those who receive that promise by faith (Romans 4:11; Colossians 2:11–12; Ephesians 2:8–9). See Baptism — Comparison Table.
Bishop
In Rome’s teaching, a successor of the apostles who has received the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders. Bishops govern their dioceses and, in communion with the pope as a college, govern the whole Church; only they may ordain priests (CCC 880–887; CCC 1555–1561).
Answer. In the New Testament “bishop” (overseer) and “elder” name the same office (Acts 20:17, 28; Titus 1:5–7). The apostles’ authority continues in their writings, not in an order of successors. See Apostolic Succession and Church Polity.
Bull
A solemn papal document, named for the lead seal (bulla) once attached to it and cited by its opening Latin words. Among the most consequential for the Reformation were Boniface VIII’s Unam sanctam (1302), Leo X’s Exsurge Domine of June 15, 1520, which threatened Luther with excommunication, and Decet Romanum Pontificem of January 3, 1521, which imposed it. Luther burned Exsurge Domine at Wittenberg on December 10, 1520.
See Roman Catholic Decrees and Leo X.
Cardinal
A member of the College of Cardinals, the senior clergy who assist the pope in governing the Church and who elect his successor in a conclave (Code of Canon Law, canon 349). Cardinals are created by the pope and traditionally wear scarlet.
See The Papacy and Curia.
Catechism
A manual of Christian instruction. The Roman Catechism, or Catechism of the Council of Trent, appeared in 1566. The present Catechism of the Catholic Church was promulgated by John Paul II on October 11, 1992, in Fidei depositum, with a definitive Latin edition in 1997. It is the source of the paragraph numbers cited throughout this glossary.
Answer. The Reformers also taught by catechism, from Luther’s Small Catechism (1529) to the Heidelberg (1563) and Westminster Shorter (1647) Catechisms, but always as summaries subject to Scripture. See Catechisms.
Celibacy
The requirement that clergy of the Latin Church, except permanent deacons, be chosen from men who live and intend to remain unmarried “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (CCC 1579). Rome regards it as a discipline rather than a doctrine; Eastern Catholic churches ordain married men. The medieval First and Second Lateran Councils enforced it in the West.
Answer. Paul warned against those “forbidding to marry” (1 Timothy 4:1–3), required that an overseer be “the husband of one wife” (1 Timothy 3:2), and noted that Peter was married (Mark 1:30; 1 Corinthians 9:5). Luther, Zwingli, and Cranmer all married. See Katharina von Bora.
Co-Redemptrix
A title for Mary, popular in some Catholic devotion, describing her as cooperating with Christ in the work of redemption. In the doctrinal note Mater Populi fidelis, published on November 4, 2025, with the approval of Leo XIV, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith judged it “always inappropriate” to use the title, and allowed “Mediatrix” only in a sense subordinate to Christ (Vatican News report).
Answer. Christ alone “by himself purged our sins” (Hebrews 1:3), and there is “one mediator between God and men” (1 Timothy 2:5). The Vatican’s own caution shows how far popular Marian devotion has run. See Mary and Mary — Comparison Table.
Communion of Saints
A phrase of the Apostles’ Creed. Rome understands it as the union of the Church in three states, pilgrims on earth, souls being purified in purgatory, and the saints in glory, joined by “an exchange of spiritual goods” (CCC 954–955). The saints in heaven intercede for the living, offering “the merits which they acquired on earth” (CCC 956).
Answer. The Reformed confess the communion of saints as the fellowship of all believers united to Christ by His Spirit and to one another in love (Westminster Confession, 26). It knows nothing of merits transferred between the living and the dead. See Treasury of Merit and Union with Christ.
Conclave
The closed assembly in which the cardinals elect a pope, from the Latin cum clave, “with a key.” Gregory X created it at the Second Council of Lyons in 1274, after a vacancy of almost three years; the Third Lateran Council had already required a two-thirds majority. The present rules are set out in Universi Dominici Gregis (1996).
Confession
See Penance, Absolution, and Contrition.
Confirmation
A sacrament of Christian initiation in which the bishop or priest anoints with chrism. Rome teaches that it is “necessary for the completion of baptismal grace” (CCC 1285) and that it roots the believer more deeply in divine sonship, unites him more firmly to Christ, and increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit (CCC 1303).
Answer. Every believer receives the Spirit by “the hearing of faith” (Galatians 3:2) and is sealed with Him upon believing (Ephesians 1:13). Confirmation was not instituted by Christ as a sacrament (Thirty-Nine Articles, XXV). See The Seven Sacraments.
Contrition
“Sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again,” the first of the penitent’s acts in Penance (CCC 1451). Contrition from love of God is called “perfect”; contrition from fear of punishment is “imperfect,” or attrition, which suffices for forgiveness when joined to the sacrament (CCC 1452–1453).
Answer. “Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation” (2 Corinthians 7:10), but sorrow is the fruit of grace, not the price of pardon. Luther’s anguish in the monastery was precisely that he could never be sure his contrition was enough. See Martin Luther.
Curia
The Roman Curia: the departments, or dicasteries, through which the pope governs the universal Church and which act in his name (Code of Canon Law, canon 360). Francis reorganized it by the apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium of March 19, 2022. A papal commission confessed its abuses in 1537.
See Paul III and Corruptions in the Church.
Deuterocanonical
See Apocrypha.
Ecumenical Council
A solemn gathering of the college of bishops by which, Rome teaches, they exercise power over the universal Church. “There never is an ecumenical council which is not confirmed or at least recognized as such by Peter’s successor” (CCC 884; Code of Canon Law, canon 337). Rome counts twenty-one, from Nicaea in 325 to the Second Vatican Council.
Answer. Councils are to be received as far as they agree with Scripture; “all synods or councils since the apostles’ times … may err, and many have erred” (Westminster Confession, 31). See Roman Catholic Councils and Councils and Synods of the Reformation.
Eucharist
The sacrament in which, Rome teaches, the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ by transubstantiation, so that the consecrated host and cup contain “the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ” (CCC 1374). The host is therefore adored, both during and outside the Mass (CCC 1378), received in communion, and offered as a sacrifice (CCC 1366–1367). The doctrine was defined at the Fourth Lateran Council and at Trent.
Answer. The Lord’s Supper is a memorial of Christ’s finished sacrifice and a true communion with Him by faith (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 11:26). Christ’s body is in heaven until He comes (Acts 3:21), and bread is not to be worshipped. See Mass and The Eucharist — Comparison Table.
Ex Opere Operato
Latin, “by the very fact of the action’s being performed.” Rome teaches that the sacraments act in this way, by virtue of Christ’s saving work, so that a sacrament is not wrought “by the righteousness of either the celebrant or the recipient” (CCC 1128). Trent anathematized those who deny that the sacraments confer grace by the act performed.
Answer. “The grace which is exhibited in or by the sacraments rightly used, is not conferred by any power in them” but by the work of the Spirit and the word of promise, received by faith (Westminster Confession, 27.3). See Grace — Comparison Table.
Excommunication
“The most severe ecclesiastical penalty,” which bars a person from the sacraments and from certain acts in the Church (CCC 1463; Code of Canon Law, canon 1331). Luther was excommunicated by the bull Decet Romanum Pontificem on January 3, 1521.
Answer. Church discipline is commanded by Christ (Matthew 18:15–17; 1 Corinthians 5:4–5), but it aims at repentance, and no church can cast out one whom Christ has received (John 6:37; 10:28). See Church Discipline and Interdict.
Grace
Rome defines grace as God’s “free and undeserved help” (CCC 1996) and above all as “the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it” (CCC 1999). This sanctifying or habitual grace is a quality in the soul, received in Baptism, increased by the sacraments and good works, and lost by mortal sin; actual graces are God’s particular helps along the way (CCC 2000).
Answer. In Scripture grace is God’s unmerited favor in Christ, the opposite of works: “if by grace, then is it no more of works” (Romans 11:6; Ephesians 2:8–9). It justifies by imputing Christ’s righteousness, not by infusing a quality that must be preserved. See Sola Gratia and Grace — Comparison Table.
Heresy
“The obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or … an obstinate doubt concerning the same” (CCC 2089). In the Middle Ages it was punished by the civil power, often by burning, as in England’s statute De haeretico comburendo (1401) and in the deaths of Jan Hus and many of the Reformers.
Answer. Error that denies the gospel is to be refuted from Scripture (Titus 1:9; 2 Peter 2:1), but the weapons of the Church “are not carnal” (2 Corinthians 10:4). See De Haeretico Comburendo, Inquisition, and Jan Hus.
Holy Orders
“The sacrament of apostolic ministry,” conferred in three degrees: episcopate, presbyterate, and diaconate (CCC 1536; CCC 1554). Rome teaches that the ordained priest acts in persona Christi Capitis, in the person of Christ the Head (CCC 1548).
Answer. The New Testament knows elders and deacons, but no sacrificing priesthood other than Christ’s, which is “unchangeable” (Hebrews 7:23–27). All believers are “a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9). See The Priesthood of All Believers.
Host
From the Latin hostia, “sacrificial victim”: the wafer of unleavened bread consecrated at Mass. After consecration Rome teaches it is Christ Himself, so it is reserved in the tabernacle (CCC 1379), carried in procession, and displayed in a monstrance for adoration (CCC 1378).
See Eucharist and Transubstantiation.
Immaculate Conception
The dogma that Mary “was, from the first moment of her conception … preserved immune from all stain of original sin,” defined by Pius IX on December 8, 1854 (CCC 491–492). It is often confused with the virgin birth of Christ, which is a different doctrine.
Answer. Mary rejoiced in “God my Saviour” (Luke 1:47), and “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23). The doctrine was long disputed within Rome itself: Bernard of Clairvaux opposed the feast, and Thomas Aquinas taught that Mary was sanctified after her conception. See Mary and Mary — Comparison Table.
Indulgence
A remission of the temporal punishment still due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven. The Church grants it from the treasury of the merits of Christ, Mary, and the saints to those who perform prescribed prayers and works. An indulgence is partial or plenary, and may be gained for oneself or applied to the souls in purgatory (CCC 1471–1479; Indulgentiarum doctrina, 1967).
Answer. “By one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14), and “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). There is no remainder for the believer to pay. See Indulgences, Jubilee, and the Ninety-Five Theses.
Infallibility
The teaching that the pope cannot err when, as supreme pastor, he defines by a definitive act a doctrine of faith or morals, and that the bishops share this gift when they teach together with him, especially in an ecumenical council (CCC 891). Papal infallibility was defined at the First Vatican Council on July 18, 1870, in Pastor aeternus (Latin text).
Answer. Scripture alone is God-breathed and without error (2 Timothy 3:16). Peter himself was rebuked to his face (Galatians 2:11), and councils “may err, and many have erred” (Westminster Confession, 31). See Magisterium and The Papacy.
Inquisition
Church tribunals for detecting and punishing heresy. The papal Inquisition was organized under Gregory IX from 1231; the Spanish Inquisition, under the crown, from 1478; and the Roman Inquisition by Paul III in 1542. Those convicted and unrepentant were handed to the civil authorities for execution.
See The Inquisitions, Heresy, and The Counter-Reformation.
Interdict
A church penalty forbidding the sacraments and public worship to a person, or in the Middle Ages to a whole city or kingdom (Code of Canon Law, canon 1332). Innocent III laid England under interdict from 1208 to 1214 to force King John to submit.
See Excommunication and The Fourth Lateran Council.
Jubilee
A Holy Year in which the pope grants a plenary indulgence to pilgrims who visit the basilicas of Rome and fulfill the prescribed conditions. Boniface VIII proclaimed the first in 1300; it is now ordinarily kept every twenty-five years, most recently from December 24, 2024, to January 6, 2026.
Answer. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). The gospel proclaims a jubilee that no journey to Rome can add to (Luke 4:18–19). See Indulgences.
Justification
In Rome’s teaching, justification “is not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior man” (CCC 1989, quoting Trent). It is merited by Christ’s passion and “conferred in Baptism” (CCC 1992); it may be increased by good works, lost by mortal sin, and recovered through Penance.
Answer. Justification is God’s verdict, by which He “justifieth the ungodly” who believe (Romans 4:5), counting Christ’s righteousness as theirs (2 Corinthians 5:21). It is received by faith alone and cannot be lost. See Roman Catholic Justification, Justification — Comparison Table, and Sola Fide.
Magisterium
The teaching office of the Church. “The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in communion with him” (CCC 100; CCC 85). Rome holds that Tradition, Scripture, and the Magisterium are so joined “that one of them cannot stand without the others” (CCC 95).
Answer. “The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself” (Westminster Confession, 1.9), and the Bereans were commended for testing even an apostle’s preaching by it (Acts 17:11). See Infallibility, Scripture — Comparison Table, and Sola Scriptura.
Mass
The principal act of Catholic worship, in which the sacrifice of Calvary is made present again on the altar. Rome teaches that Christ’s sacrifice and the Mass are “one single sacrifice,” differing only in that the Mass is offered in an unbloody manner (CCC 1366–1367); that by it “the work of our redemption is carried on” (CCC 1405); and that it is offered “in reparation for the sins of the living and the dead” (CCC 1414; see 1371). Trent called it “truly propitiatory” (Session 22, chapter 2). It is offered by a priest according to the Missal.
Answer. Christ offered Himself “once” (Hebrews 7:27; 9:25–28), and “where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin” (Hebrews 10:18). The Heidelberg Catechism calls the Mass a denial of the one sacrifice of Christ (Question 80). See The Mass.
Merit
Rome teaches that no one can merit the first grace of conversion and justification, but that, moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, “we can then merit for ourselves and for others” the graces needed for sanctification, the increase of grace, and eternal life (CCC 2010; CCC 2027). Trent anathematized those who deny that the good works of the justified truly merit eternal life (Canon 32).
Answer. “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). When we have done all, “We are unprofitable servants” (Luke 17:10). God rewards His children’s works, but of grace, never of debt. See Treasury of Merit and Faith and Works.
Missal
The liturgical book containing the prayers and directions for celebrating the Mass. Pius V issued the Roman Missal after Trent in 1570, and it governed Catholic worship until Paul VI promulgated a revised Missal in 1969 following the Second Vatican Council.
See The Mass and The Counter-Reformation.
Mortal Sin
From the Latin for “death”: a sin of grave matter, committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent (CCC 1857). It destroys charity and sanctifying grace in the soul (CCC 1861), and must be confessed to a priest for forgiveness. Those who die in this state “descend into hell” (CCC 1035).
Answer. Every sin deserves death (Romans 6:23; James 2:10), and no sin is too great for the blood of Christ. “As there is no sin so small but it deserves damnation; so there is no sin so great, that it can bring damnation upon those who truly repent” (Westminster Confession, 15.4). See Venial Sin and Mortal and Venial Sins.
Mother of God
The title Theotokos, “God-bearer,” affirmed at the Council of Ephesus in 431. “Mary is truly ‘Mother of God’ since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is God himself” (CCC 495, 509). Rome builds on it a devotion that is “intrinsic to Christian worship” (CCC 971).
Answer. In its original sense the title guards the truth that the child Mary bore is one Person, truly God (Luke 1:43, “the mother of my Lord”). The Reformers accepted that Christological meaning, but rejected the cult of Mary that later grew from it. See Mary and Mary — Comparison Table.
Original Sin
In Rome’s teaching, the “deprivation of original holiness and justice” inherited from Adam. Human nature “has not been totally corrupted: it is wounded in the natural powers proper to it” (CCC 404–405). Original sin is wholly removed by Baptism (CCC 1263).
Answer. Scripture describes fallen man as “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1) and unable to turn to God until raised by grace (John 6:44). This was the heart of Luther’s reply to Erasmus. See The Bondage of the Will and The Freedom of the Human Will.
Penance
The sacrament, also called Confession or Reconciliation, by which sins committed after baptism are forgiven. It requires contrition, confession to a priest, absolution, and satisfaction, the penance the priest assigns to repair the harm of sin. “Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament,” and every Catholic must confess serious sins at least once a year (CCC 1450–1460). Trent, following the Fathers, called it “a second plank after the shipwreck of grace lost.”
Answer. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9), and there is “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). Repentance is a lifelong turning to God, not a sacrament administered by a priest; the first of the Ninety-Five Theses says as much.
Perpetual Virginity
The teaching that Mary remained a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Christ, and so is honored as Aeiparthenos, “ever-virgin” (CCC 499). Rome explains the “brethren” of Jesus as cousins or other relatives.
Answer. Matthew writes that Joseph “knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son” (Matthew 1:25), and the Gospels name Jesus’ brothers (Mark 6:3). Luther and Zwingli held the perpetual virginity as a pious belief, but Scripture does not teach it, and it cannot bind the conscience. See Mary and Mary — Comparison Table.
Pope
The Bishop of Rome, held to be the successor of Peter and the Vicar of Christ on earth. “By reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church,” the Catechism says, he has “full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church” (CCC 882). He is elected by the cardinals in conclave.
Answer. Christ is the only head of the Church (Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18), and the Holy Spirit, not a man, is the Vicar He sent in His place (John 14:16–17, 26). See Infallibility, The Papacy, and Head of the Church — Comparison Table.
Priest
In Rome’s teaching, a man ordained to the ministerial priesthood, which differs from the common priesthood of the faithful not merely in degree but “essentially” (CCC 1547). The priest acts in the person of Christ (CCC 1548), offers the sacrifice of the Mass (CCC 1566), and forgives sins (CCC 1461).
Answer. Christ is the one High Priest whose sacrifice needs no repetition (Hebrews 7:24–27; 10:11–14), and all believers are priests unto God (1 Peter 2:5, 9; Revelation 1:6). The New Testament never calls a minister of the gospel a sacrificing priest. See The Priesthood of All Believers.
Purgatory
A state of purification after death for those who die in God’s grace and friendship but “still imperfectly purified.” The guilt of their sins has been forgiven, but temporal punishment remains, and they are cleansed by a purifying fire before entering heaven. The living may help them by Masses, prayers, alms, and indulgences (CCC 1030–1032; CCC 1472). The doctrine was defined at the Council of Florence and at Trent.
Answer. Christ “by himself purged our sins” (Hebrews 1:3). “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1), and to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8; Luke 23:43). See Purgatory.
Real Presence
See Eucharist and Transubstantiation. Lutherans also confess a real presence of Christ’s body, without transubstantiation; the Reformed confess Christ truly present to faith by the Spirit. See The Colloquy of Marburg and Lutheran and Reformed.
Relics
The bodily remains of a saint, or objects that belonged to or touched a saint, honored by the faithful as a form of popular piety (CCC 1674). Canon law forbids their sale absolutely (canon 1190) and preserves the custom of placing relics beneath fixed altars (canon 1237).
See Relics and Veneration.
Rosary
A Marian devotion prayed on a string of beads while meditating on events in the lives of Christ and Mary. A full five-decade Rosary includes fifty-three Hail Marys, six Lord’s Prayers, and six “Glory Be” doxologies to the Trinity, opening with the Apostles’ Creed and usually closing with the “Hail, Holy Queen.” The practice developed gradually in the later Middle Ages, and Pius V fixed its traditional form in 1569. The Catechism lists it among the forms of popular piety (CCC 1674).
Answer. Christ forbade “vain repetitions” in prayer (Matthew 6:7). The second half of the Hail Mary, “pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death,” asks of Mary what belongs to Christ alone, who “ever liveth to make intercession” for His people (Hebrews 7:25). See Sacramentals, Mary, and Mary — Comparison Table.
Sacramentals
“Sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments,” instituted by the Church rather than by Christ: blessings, holy water, blessed candles and ashes, medals, scapulars, and rosaries (CCC 1667; Code of Canon Law, canon 1166). They do not confer grace as the sacraments do, but “by the Church’s prayer, they prepare us to receive grace” (CCC 1670).
Answer. Paul warned against religious ordinances “after the commandments and doctrines of men” that have “a shew of wisdom” but no power against the flesh (Colossians 2:20–23). See Sacraments.
Sacraments
“Efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us” (CCC 1131). Rome counts seven: baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, holy orders, and matrimony. It teaches that they are “necessary for salvation” (CCC 1129) and confer grace by the very performance of the rite (ex opere operato).
Answer. Christ instituted two sacraments, baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26). They are signs and seals of the righteousness of faith (Romans 4:11), and they benefit those who receive them by faith; they do not justify by the act performed. See The Seven Sacraments and Sacraments.
Saint
In Catholic usage, one whom the Church has canonized, solemnly proclaiming that he “practiced heroic virtue” and proposing him to the faithful “as models and intercessors” (CCC 828). The saints in heaven are invoked in prayer and believed to intercede by offering their merits (CCC 956).
Answer. In the New Testament every believer is a saint, “called to be saints” by grace (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Philippians 1:1). We pray to God alone, through the “one mediator” (1 Timothy 2:5). See Communion of Saints and Veneration.
Satisfaction
The part of Penance in which the penitent makes amends for sin through prayer, works of mercy, self-denial, or restitution. Absolution “does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused,” so the sinner must do something more to make satisfaction (CCC 1459–1460).
Answer. Christ by His obedience and death “did make a proper, real, and full satisfaction to His Father’s justice” on behalf of all who believe (Westminster Confession, 11.3; Isaiah 53:5). Restitution to those we have wronged is a fruit of repentance (Luke 19:8), not a payment to God. See Temporal Punishment.
Simony
“The buying or selling of spiritual things” (CCC 2121), named for Simon the sorcerer, who tried to buy the power of the Spirit (Acts 8:18–20). Simony in church offices was among the gravest corruptions of the medieval Church, condemned by council after council.
Answer. “Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money” (Acts 8:20). See Corruptions in the Church and The First Lateran Council.
Temporal Punishment
The penalty that remains due to sin after its guilt and eternal punishment have been forgiven. Every sin, even venial, “entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures,” which must be purified either in this life or after death in purgatory (CCC 1472–1473). It is the debt that indulgences remit.
Answer. Christ bore the punishment of His people’s sins in full: “the chastisement of our peace was upon him” (Isaiah 53:5). The afflictions of believers are a Father’s loving discipline, not penal satisfaction (Hebrews 12:6–11). See Purgatory.
Tradition
Sacred Tradition: the teaching Rome holds was handed down from the apostles alongside Scripture. “Flowing out from the same divine well-spring,” Scripture and Tradition “must be accepted and honoured with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence” (CCC 80–82), as Trent decreed in 1546. Its authentic interpreter is the Magisterium.
Answer. Christ rebuked those who made “the word of God of none effect through your tradition” (Mark 7:13). Scripture alone is God-breathed and sufficient to make the man of God “throughly furnished” (2 Timothy 3:16–17). See Traditions and Sola Scriptura.
Transubstantiation
The change of the whole substance of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ at the consecration, while only the appearances of bread and wine remain. “By the consecration the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is brought about” (CCC 1413; CCC 1376). The term was used in a conciliar decree for the first time at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215.
Answer. After the words of institution Paul still calls the element “bread” (1 Corinthians 11:26–28), and Christ’s body is in heaven (Acts 3:21). Transubstantiation “overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament” (Thirty-Nine Articles, XXVIII). See Transubstantiation.
Treasury of Merit
The Church’s “treasury”: the infinite value of Christ’s merits, together with “the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and of all the saints, from which the Church grants indulgences (CCC 1476–1477). Clement VI set out the doctrine in the bull Unigenitus (1343).
Answer. No saint has merit to spare: “We are unprofitable servants” (Luke 17:10), and salvation is in no other name than Christ’s (Acts 4:12). “The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God” (Thesis 62, Ninety-Five Theses).
Veneration
The honor given to the saints and to sacred images and relics, which Rome distinguishes from adoration due to God alone. “The honor paid to sacred images is a ‘respectful veneration,’ not the adoration due to God” (CCC 2132). Theologians call it dulia, and the higher honor paid to Mary hyperdulia.
Answer. The second commandment forbids bowing down to images of any kind (Exodus 20:4–5), and when John fell before an angel he was told, “See thou do it not … worship God” (Revelation 22:8–9). The distinction is lost on the worshipper at the shrine. See Relics.
Venial Sin
From the Latin venia, “pardon”: a lesser sin, committed in a less serious matter or without full knowledge or complete consent. It weakens charity and merits temporal punishment, but it does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, or eternal happiness (CCC 1862–1863).
Answer. Scripture recognizes that some sins are more heinous than others (John 19:11), but none is small enough to be paid for by the sinner. “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). See Mortal Sin and Mortal and Venial Sins.
Vicar of Christ
See Pope. The pope is “head of the college of bishops, the Vicar of Christ and Pastor of the universal Church on earth” (CCC 936; Code of Canon Law, canon 331).
Sources and quotations. Definitions follow the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. (1997), the Code of Canon Law (1983), papal documents published by the Holy See, and the decrees of the Council of Trent in Theodore Buckley’s translation (1851). Each CCC link opens the Vatican page containing the paragraph cited. Scripture is quoted from the King James Version.
