Latin Church

"Church" and "rite"

The 1990 Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches defines the use within that code of the words "church" and "rite" as follows:

Church: A group of Christian faithful united by a hierarchy according to the norm of law which the supreme authority of the Church expressly or tacitly recognizes as sui iuris is called in this Code a Church sui iuris. Rite: A rite is the liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony, culture and circumstances of history of a distinct people, by which its own manner of living the faith is manifested in each Church sui iuris.

In accordance with these definitions of usage within the code that governs the Eastern Catholic churches, the Latin Church is one such group of Christian faithful united by a hierarchy and recognized by the supreme authority of the Catholic Church as a sui iuris particular church. The Latin rite is the whole of the patrimony of that distinct particular church, by which it manifests its own manner of living the faith, including its own liturgy, its theology, its spiritual practices and traditions and its canon law.

A person is a member of or belongs to a particular church. A person also inherits or "is of", a particular patrimony or rite. Since the rite has liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary elements, a person is also to worship, to be catechized, to pray and to be governed according to a particular rite.

Particular churches that inherit and perpetuate a particular patrimony are identified by metonymy with that patrimony. Accordingly, "rite" has been defined as "a division of the Christian church using a distinctive liturgy", or simply as "a Christian Church". In this sense, "rite" and "church" are treated as synonymous, as in the glossary prepared by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and revised in 1999, which states that each "Eastern-rite (Oriental) Church ... is considered equal to the Latin rite within the Church". The Second Vatican Council likewise stated that "it is the mind of the Catholic Church that each individual Church or Rite should retain its traditions whole and entire and likewise that it should adapt its way of life to the different needs of time and place" and spoke of patriarchs and of "major archbishops, who rule the whole of some individual church or rite". It thus used the word "rite" as "a technical designation of what may now be called a particular church". "Church or rite" is also used as a single heading in the United States Library of Congress classification of works.

"Latin Catholic" and "Roman Catholic"

At times, the Holy See uses the term "Roman Catholic" (as well as simply "Catholic") to refer to the whole Catholic Church that is in communion with the Bishop and Church of Rome. On his encyclical dated 26 July 1755, Allatae sunt, Pope Benedict XIV used the term "Roman" as equivalent to "Latin" Church. Adrian Fortescue, on his article in the 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia, made distinction between "Roman Church" and "Church of Rome". He said that the expression "Church of Rome" commonly applied by non-Catholics to the Catholic Church but, according to him, it can only be used correctly to refer the diocese of Rome; and the term "Roman Church", in case of the patriarchate, can be used as equivalent to "Latin Church" : "A German Catholic is not, strictly speaking, a member of the Church of Rome but of the Church of Cologne, or Munich-Freising, or whatever it may be, in union with and under the obedience of the Roman Church (although, no doubt, by a further extension Roman Church may be used as equivalent to Latin Church for the patriarchate)."

Some Eastern Catholics use the expression "Roman Catholic" to mean "Latin Catholic", while others "are proud to call themselves Roman Catholics", and "Roman Catholic" sometimes appears in the compound name of Eastern Catholic churches and parishes.

Liturgical patrimony

The then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (who would later be elected Pope Benedict XVI) spoke on 24 October 1998 of the Latin liturgical rites as follows:

Several forms of the Latin rite have always existed, and were only slowly withdrawn, as a result of the coming together of the different parts of Europe. Before the Council there existed side by side with the Roman rite, the Ambrosian rite, the Mozarabic rite of Toledo, the rite of Braga, the Carthusian rite, the Carmelite rite, and best known of all, the Dominican rite, and perhaps still other rites of which I am not aware.

Today, the most common Latin liturgical rites are the Roman Rite (either in its ordinary form, the post-Vatican II Mass of Pope Paul VI officially authorized for present-day use, or in an extraordinary form such as the Tridentine Mass); the Ambrosian Rite; the Mozarabic Rite; and variations of the Roman Rite (such as the Anglican Use). The 23 Eastern Catholic Churches share five families of liturgical rites. The Latin liturgical rites, like the Armenian, are used only in a single sui iuris particular church.

Disciplinary patrimony

Canon law for the Latin Church is codified in the Code of Canon Law, of which there have been two codifications, the first promulgated by Pope Benedict XV in 1917, and the second by Pope John Paul II in 1983.

In the Latin Church, the norm for administration of confirmation is that, except when in danger of death, the person to be confirmed should "have the use of reason, be suitably instructed, properly disposed, and able to renew the baptismal promises", and "the administration of the Most Holy Eucharist to children requires that they have sufficient knowledge and careful preparation so that they understand the mystery of Christ according to their capacity and are able to receive the body of Christ with faith and devotion." In the Eastern Churches these sacraments are usually administered immediately after baptism, even for an infant.

Celibacy, as a consequence of the duty to observe perfect continence, is obligatory for priests in the Latin Church. Rare exceptions are permitted for men who, after ministering as clergy in other churches, join the Catholic Church. This contrasts with the discipline in most Eastern Catholic Churches. In the Latin Church, a married man may not be admitted even to the diaconate unless he is legitimately destined to remain a deacon and not become a priest. Marriage after ordination is not possible, and attempting it can result in canonical penalties.

At the present time, Bishops in the Latin Church are generally appointed by the Pope on the advice of the various dicasteries of the Roman Curia, specifically the Congregation for Bishops, the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (for countries in its care), the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State (for appointments that require the consent or prior notification of civil governments), and the Congregation for the Oriental Churches (in the areas in its charge, even for the appointment of Latin bishops). The Congregations generally work from a "terna" or list of three names advanced to them by the local church most often through the Apostolic Nuncio or the Cathedral Chapter in those places where the Chapter retains the right to nominate bishops.