How to Cover the Catholic Church

How to Cover the Catholic Church

spread around the world, including the United States, Canada, Latin America,

Western Europe and Australia. It covers the same terrain for those churches

that the congregations for bishops, clergy, Catholic education and religious

cover for the Catholic Church’s Latin rite majority. The agency also deals with

jurisdictional questions and administrative issues in those churches.

While in full communion with Rome, meaning they accept the primacy

of the pope, the 22 Eastern Catholic churches retain their own liturgical tra-

ditions and legal systems. In most Eastern churches married men may be

ordained priests but often only in the original homeland of their church—

Asia, Eastern Europe or North Africa—not in the West. Bishops must be celi-

bate. Synods have authority to make decisions, such as electing bishops and

patriarchs and erecting dioceses.

The congregation oversees the Vatican’s coordinating body of aid agen-

cies for Eastern churches, known by its Italian acronym, ROACO. In addi-

tion it supervises the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, which provides

humanitarian and pastoral support for churches of the Middle East, North

Africa, India and Eastern Europe; and also the Pontifical Mission for Palestine,

a relief and development agency for the Middle East. Headquarters for both

are in New York. For more information on both entities, see the next chapter,

under “Vatican or Vatican-Related Organizations and Agencies.”

The prefect is Cardinal Leonardo Sandri. The secretary is Archbishop

Cyril Vasil. E-mail

The chair of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association is Cardinal

Timothy M. Dolan of New York. Its secretary general is Msgr. John E. Kozar,

who is also president of the Pontifical Mission for Palestine. E-mail

one (in New York) 212-826-1480.

Congregation for DivineWorship and the Discipline of

the Sacraments

This congregation oversees liturgical issues like the compilation, translation

and adaptation of liturgical books and rites, as well as norms for the celebra-

tion of the liturgy around the world. It’s also responsible for determining the

validity of ordinations in certain cases and deals with some matters concern-

ing marriage, though not annulments.

The prefect is Cardinal Robert Sarah. The secretary is Archbishop Arthur

Roche. E-mail

one 06-6988-4316, 4318 or 4326.

In 2001 the congregation formed a

Vox Clara

Committee, composed of

English-speaking bishops, as consultants on the English translation of the