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How to Cover the Catholic Church
sacraments.
Catholics, like Orthodox Christians, believe that there are seven
sacraments:
baptism
,
confirmation
,
Eucharist
,
penance
,
matrimony
,
holy
orders
and the
anointing of the sick
. The first three are also called the
sacra-
ments of Christian initiation
, and in the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox tra-
ditions they are administered together in infancy. In the Latin rite Church
baptism is administered to infants, but the first reception of the Eucharist
(first Communion) and confirmation are typically delayed until the child
has reached the use of reason, generally regarded as about the age of seven.
Eastern Catholics and Orthodox usually refer to confirmation as
chrismation
.
Penance is also called the sacrament of
reconciliation
. The anointing of the
sick used to be called
extreme unction
when it was only given to those gravely
ill or in danger of death. Now it can be administered to anyone who is seri-
ously or chronically ill.
see.
Another name for a diocese or archdiocese. It appears in such phrases as
Holy See
,
titular see
,
metropolitan see
,
suffragan see
,
see city
. The
see city
is
that city after which the diocese or archdiocese is named. See
Holy See
,
met-
ropolitan
,
province
and
titular see
.
seminary.
An educational institution for men preparing for the priesthood.
sister.
In popular speech, any woman religious. Strictly, the title applies to
women religious of those institutes, mostly formed during or since the 19th
century, whose members do not profess solemn vows. See
nun
.
superior.
The head of a religious order or congregation. He or she may be the
head of a province or of an individual house.
suspension.
Church penalty under which a priest, while retaining his clerical
status, is no longer permitted to perform priestly functions such as celebrating
Mass, preaching or administering the sacraments.
titular see.
If a bishop does not have his own diocese, he is given a
titular see
:
that is, a place that once was the seat of a diocese but no longer is. Auxiliary
bishops and bishops in Vatican service are examples of those given titular sees.
Many titular sees are ancient cities of the Middle East or Northern Africa. But
there are some titular sees in the United States as well, such as Bardstown, Ky.
(original seat of what is now the Archdiocese of Louisville), or Jamestown,
N.D. (now in the Diocese of Fargo). The
Annuario Pontificio
devotes more