Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith

Disciplinary status: Church discipline
Evidence type: Historical account
GuideThe office and its competence are governed by current ecclesiastical law; origins, former arrangements, and particular holders are historical matters. Canonical discipline must not be confused with dogma.
Contents

Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is the institution of the Roman Curia that assists the Roman Pontiff and the bishops in proclaiming and safeguarding the integrity of Catholic faith and morals.[1]

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome, just outside Vatican City. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible for promulgating and defending Catholic doctrine.[4]

This institution was founded by Pope Paul III on 21 July 1542, as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition.[5] It was then renamed in 1908 as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office. In 1965, it became the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF; Latin: Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidei). Since 2022, it is named Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.[6] It is still informally known as the Holy Office (Latin: Sanctum Officium) in many Catholic countries.[7] The sole objective of the dicastery is to "spread sound Catholic doctrine and defend those points of Christian tradition which seem in danger because of new and unacceptable doctrines."[4]

The congregation employs an advisory board including cardinals, bishops, priests, lay theologians, and canon lawyers. On 1 July 2023, Pope Francis named Argentine archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández as prefect, who took possession of the office in mid-September.[8]

Identity and competence

The Dicastery promotes and protects doctrine concerning faith and morals throughout the Catholic world. Praedicate Evangelium places it at the service of the pope and the episcopal college: it studies questions of major doctrinal importance, supports bishops in their office as authentic teachers, and works so that new understanding develops in fidelity to the Deposit of Faith. It is not an independent doctrinal court above the pope or a substitute for each diocesan bishop's ordinary teaching responsibility.[2]

Its competence includes examining writings and opinions that appear contrary or dangerous to right faith, preparing doctrinal documents, addressing reserved questions concerning the validity of sacraments, and judging certain grave delicts assigned to it by law. The breadth of this competence does not mean that every statement issued by an office has the same doctrinal grade. Authority depends on the act, its approval, its form, its subject, and the assent lawfully required.

Doctrinal Section

The Doctrinal Section treats matters connected with the promotion and protection of faith and morals. It fosters study, evaluates doctrinal questions, collaborates with episcopal conferences and other Curial institutions, and may conduct a formal examination of published teaching. A fair doctrinal process distinguishes the author's text from rumor, invites clarification when appropriate, and seeks correction and communion rather than spectacle.

Disciplinary Section

The Disciplinary Section handles offenses reserved to the Dicastery and related canonical procedures. Among these are grave delicts against the sacraments and other matters defined by pontifical law. Its judicial or administrative work belongs to Canon Law and must not be confused with a declaration that every accused person is guilty. Presumption of innocence, competence, evidence, defense, and the applicable procedural norms remain essential.

Historical continuity

The institution descends from the Roman Inquisition or Holy Office, established in the sixteenth century, later reorganized as the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office. Paul VI renamed it the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1965; subsequent reforms used Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and, under Praedicate Evangelium, Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Those names belong to different legal periods but identify an institutional continuity of service to doctrinal unity.

Historical study must distinguish the procedures and political settings of earlier centuries from the Dicastery's present law. The mere invocation of the Inquisition can neither prove a modern allegation nor erase genuine historical abuses. An encyclopedic account examines concrete acts, texts, competence, and legal change. The Church's conviction that revealed truth must be guarded coexists with the duty to pursue truth justly and to respect the dignity and rights of persons.

Documents and reception

The Dicastery issues declarations, notes, responses, instructions, doctrinal letters, decrees, and disciplinary norms. Some documents repeat or clarify definitive doctrine; others give authoritative but reformable teaching, regulate practice, answer a particular dubium, or communicate a procedural decision. A reader must inspect the document itself and its papal approval rather than infer its grade solely from the Dicastery's name.[3]

Catholics owe the response appropriate to the act and remain free to conduct serious theological inquiry within the bounds of communion. Bishops, pastors, theologians, and editors should quote final promulgated texts, observe later clarifications, and avoid treating leaked drafts as law. The Dicastery's proper end is not bureaucratic self-preservation but service to the truth entrusted by Christ to his Church and to the salvation of souls.

History

On 21 July 1542, Pope Paul III proclaimed the Apostolic Constitution Licet ab initio, establishing the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, staffed by cardinals and other officials whose task it was "to maintain and defend the integrity of the faith and to examine and proscribe errors and false doctrines." It served as the final court of appeal in trials of heresy and served as an important part of the Counter-Reformation.

This body was renamed the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office in 1908 by Pope Pius X. In many Catholic countries, the body is often informally called the Holy Office (e.g., Italian: Sant'Uffizio and Spanish: Santo Oficio).

The congregation's name was changed to Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (SCDF) on 7 December 1965, at the end of the Second Vatican Council. Soon after the 1983 Code of Canon Law came into effect, the adjective "sacred" was dropped from the names of all Curial Congregations,[9] and so it became the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In 2022, the name was changed to Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

On September 23, 2024, Pope Francis appointed 28 Italian new consultors of the dicastery.[10]

Timeline

Role

According to the 1988 Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia, Pastor bonus, article 48, promulgated by John Paul II: "The proper duty of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is to promote and safeguard the doctrine on faith and morals in the whole Catholic world; so it has competence in things that touch this matter in any way."[11]

This includes investigations into grave delicts (i.e., acts which the Catholic Church considers as being the most serious crimes: crimes against the Eucharist and against the sanctity of the Sacrament of Penance, and crimes against the sixth Commandment ("Thou shalt not commit adultery")) committed by a cleric against a person under the age of eighteen. These crimes, in Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela a motu proprio of 2001, come under the competency of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In effect, it is the "promoter of justice" that deals with, among other things, the question of priests accused of paedophilia.[12][13][14]

Within the DDF are the International Theological Commission and the Pontifical Biblical Commission. The Prefect of the DDF is ex officio president of these commissions.[15]

On 7 December 2021, Pope Francis promulgated a new version of the "Norms on the Delicts Reserved to the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith"; the original version had been first promulgated in 2001 by John Paul II and amended in 2010 by Benedict XVI. The changes of the new version concern "harmonising the norms with the revised Book VI of the Code of Canon Law, which was promulgated in May 2021" and adding "numerous normative measures of various kinds issued in previous years, especially since 2016."[16]

Organization

Until 1968, the pope held the title of prefect and appointed a cardinal to preside over the meetings, first as Secretary, then as Pro-Prefect.

Since 1968, the Cardinal head of the dicastery has borne the title of Prefect and the title of Secretary refers to the second highest-ranking officer of the Congregation. As of 2012 the Congregation had a membership of 18 cardinals and a smaller number of non-cardinal bishops, a staff of 38 (clerical and lay) and 26 consultors.[17]

The work of the CDF is divided into two sections, the doctrinal and the disciplinary. The CDF holds biennial plenary assemblies, and issues documents on doctrinal, disciplinary, and sacramental questions that occasionally include notifications concerning writings by Catholic theologians.[18]

The disciplinary section has responsibility for dealing with credible allegations against clergy. Archbishop Kennedy leads a staff of 16 full-time officials.[19]

On his appointment as prefect, Cardinal Fernández was instructed to focus on the Dicastery's doctrinal work and leave the disciplinary section alone.[20]

Recent canonical judgments and publications

The following is a non-exhaustive list of recent documents and judgments issued by the DDF. Lengthy DDF documents usually have Latin titles. A short document that briefly states objections to one or more writings by a Catholic theologian is typically called a "notification".

2021–present

  • On May 18, 2024, the Dicastery Prefect Víctor Manuel Fernández published a 2024 text signed by Pope Francis which replaced the 1978 Norms regarding the manner of proceeding in the discernment of presumed apparitions or revelations rulings. The pope set new norms and guidelines for Catholic bishops in discerning claims of private revelation such as Marian apparitions. Fernández enumerated six possible conclusions for alleged supernatural phenomena discernment.[21][22][23]
  • Dignitas Infinita, promulgated April 8, 2024: condemns war, poverty, racism, sexual abuse, "violence against women", "human trafficking", "[m]arginalization of [p]eople with [d]isabilities", "sex change", abortion, euthanasia, "gender theory", "the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood", discrimination against migrants, "imprison[ment], [torture], and even depriv[ation] of the good of life solely because of their sexual orientation", and "digital violence", as denying "dignity".[24]
  • Fiducia supplicans, promulgated 18 December 2023: establishes a series of clarifications and reforms on the so-called "irregular relationships." Namely, those who establish a monogamous and emotional bond that lasts over time and who have not contracted marriage without making any changes to the marriage institution as being between a man and a woman.[25][26]
  • Responsum of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith affirming that a transgender person can receive baptism, and that transgender people, as well as "cohabiting homosexuals", can be godparents and witnesses of matrimony even after undergoing hormone treatment and sex-reassignment surgery. Furthermore, the child of a homosexual couple can be baptized provided that there is a "founded hope" that the child will be brought up in the Catholic religion (31 October 2023).[27]
  • "Responsum of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to a dubium regarding the blessing of the unions of persons of the same sex," wherein the Church reaffirmed the view that "Church does not have, and cannot have, the power to bless unions of persons of the same sex" (15 March 2021).[28][29][30]

2011–2020

  • Redemptorist Fr. Tony Flannery is required to sign four fidelity oaths or not return to ministry[31] (1 October 2020).
  • "Doctrinal Assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious" (re-affirmed by Pope Francis on 15 April 2013)[32][33]

2001–2010

  • Dignitas Personae (on bioethical questions, with summary and press conference transcript; 8 September 2008)
  • On 5 April 2008, as a result of "grave reservations" by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith about the Mormon practice of posthumous rebaptism, Catholic dioceses throughout the world were directed not to give information in parish registers to the Mormons' Genealogical Society of Utah for microfilming or digitizing.[34]

1991–2000

  • "Notification concerning some writings of Professor Dr. Reinhard Messner" (30 November 2000)
  • Dominus Iesus (Declaration on the unicity and salvific universality of Jesus Christ and the Church; with comments from Congregation officials; 6 August 2000)[39]
  • "Notification regarding Sister Jeannine Gramick, SSND, and the Reverend Father Robert Nugent, SDS"
  • "Considerations on The Primacy of the Successor of Peter in the mystery of the Church" (31 October 1998)
  • "Notification concerning the writings of the Reverend Father Anthony De Mello, SJ" (24 June 1998)
  • "Notification concerning the text Mary and Human Liberation by the Reverend Father Tissa Balasuriya, OMI" (2 January 1997)
  • "Notification on the writings and activities of Mrs. Vassula Ryden" (6 October 1995)
  • "Decree on the doctrine and customs of the Association Opus Angelorum" (6 June 1992)

1981–1990

  • Orationis formas (Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on some aspects of Christian meditation; 15 October 1989)
  • "Note regarding the moral rule of Humanae vitae (Pope Paul VI's encyclical, On the Regulation and Control of Human Birth) and the pastoral duty" (16 February 1989)
  • "Observation of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) II's Salvation and the Church" (18 November 1988)
  • "Formula to be used for the profession of faith and for the oath of fidelity to assume an office to be exercised in the name of the Church" (1 July 1988)
  • Donum vitae (Instruction on respect for life in its origin and on the dignity of procreation; 22 February 1987)
  • Homosexualitatis problema (Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons; 1 October 1986)
  • "Notification on the book Pleidooi voor mensen in de Kerk (Nelissen, Baarn 1985) by the Reverend Father Professor Edward Schillebeeckx, OP" (15 September 1986)
  • "Letter to György Bulányi on certain writings attributed to him" (1 September 1986)
  • "Notification on the book Church: Charism and Power: Essay on Militant Ecclesiology by Leonardo Boff, OFM" (11 March 1985)

Leadership

Secretaries until 1965

When the Supreme Sacred Congregation for the Roman and Universal Inquisition was first established in 1542, it was composed of several cardinal inquisitors styled as "inquisitors-general", who were formally equal to each other, even if some of them were clearly dominant (e.g. Cardinal Gian Pietro Carafa from 1542, who was elected Pope Paul IV in 1555). Until 1968, the pope himself presided over the Congregation. However, from 1564 the daily administration of the affairs of the Congregation was entrusted to the cardinal secretary.[40][41], pp. 19–26 This model was retained when the Inquisition was formally renamed as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office in 1908.[42]

Unless stated otherwise, the term of office ended with the officeholder's death.

NameFromUntilAppointer
1Antonio Ghislieri (elected as Pope Pius V; later canonized in 1712)[41], p. 11814 December 15647 January 1566Pius IV
2Diego de Espinosa8 September 15665 September 1572Pius V
3Scipione Rebiba8 April 157323 July 1577
4Giacomo Savelli[41], p. 11831 July 15775 December 1587Gregory XIII
5Giulio Antonio Santori[41], p. 1185 December 15879 May 1602Sixtus V
6Camillo Borghese (elected as Pope Paul V)[41], p. 1189 June 160316 May 1605Clement VIII
7Pompeio Arrigoni[41], p. 11816 May 16054 April 1616Paul V
8Giovanni Garzia Millini4 April 16162 October 1629[41], p. 118
9Antonio Marcello Barberini2 October 16291 December 1633Urban VIII
10Francesco Barberini1 December 163310 December 1679
11Cesare Facchinetti10 December 167931 January 1683Innocent XI
12Alderano Cybo31 January 168322 July 1700
13Galeazzo Marescotti22 July 17001 January 1716Innocent XII
14Fabrizio Spada1 January 171615 June 1717Clement XI
15Nicolò Acciaioli15 June 171723 February 1719
16Francesco del Giudice25 February 171910 October 1725
17Fabrizio Paolucci10 October 172512 June 1726Benedict XIII
18Pietro Ottoboni14 June 172629 February 1740
19Tommaso Ruffo29 August 174016 February 1753Benedict XIV
20Neri Maria Corsini26 February 17536 December 1770
21Giovanni Francesco Stoppani12 December 177018 November 1774Clement XIV
22Luigi Maria Torregiani22 February 17756 January 1777Pius VI
23Carlo Rezzonico17 January 177726 January 1799
24Leonardo Antonelli8 November 180023 January 1811Pius VII
25Giulio Maria della Somaglia20 May 18142 April 1830
26Bartolomeo Pacca5 April 183019 April 1844Pius VIII
27Vincenzo Macchi25 April 184430 September 1860Gregory XVI
28Costantino Patrizi Naro10 October 186017 December 1876Pius IX
29Prospero Caterini21 December 187628 October 1881
30Antonio Maria Panebianco30 March 188225 January 1883Leo XIII
31Luigi Maria Bilio, CRSP25 January 188330 January 1884
32Raffaele Monaco La Valletta15 February 188414 July 1896
33Lucido Maria Parocchi5 August 189615 January 1903
34Serafino Vannutelli16 January 190330 December 1908[43]
35Mariano Rampolla30 December 190816 December 1913Pius X
36Domenico Ferrata3 January 191410 October 1914
37Rafael Merry del Val (cause for canonization opened in 1953)14 October 191426 February 1930Benedict XV
38Donato Sbarretti4 July 19301 April 1939Pius XI
39Francesco Marchetti-Selvaggiani30 April 193913 January 1951
40Giuseppe Pizzardo16 February 195112 October 1959Pius XII
41Alfredo Ottaviani7 November 19597 December 1965John XXIII

Prefects since 1965

When Pope Paul VI changed the name of the dicastery on 7 December 1965, he changed the title of the cardinal in charge of the daily administration of the Congregation from secretary to pro-prefect. He continued to reserve the title of prefect to himself[44] until 1968, when he relinquished his role as head of the Congregation and named a prefect.[45]

No.NameFromUntilAppointer
1Alfredo Ottaviani Pro-Prefect[46] (1890–1979)7 December 19656 January 1968Paul VI
2Franjo Šeper (1905–1981)8 January 1968[47]25 November 1981
3Joseph Ratzinger (elected as Pope Benedict XVI) (1927–2022)25 November 19812 April 2005[48]John Paul II
4William Levada (1936–2019)13 May 20052 July 2012Benedict XVI
5Gerhard Ludwig Müller (b. 1947)2 July 20122 July 2017[49][50]
6Luis Ladaria Ferrer, SJ (b. 1944)2 July 2017[49][50]1 July 2023[51]Francis
7Víctor Manuel Fernández (b. 1962)1 July 202321 April 2025

Secretaries since 1965

With the December 1965 reorganization of the Holy Office as the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the head of the Congregation was no longer titled secretary. The dicastery's second-in-command, until then titled assessor, was then given the title of secretary, as was already the case with the other Roman Congregations. All but the most recent have been made archbishops upon their appointment. The following have held the title of secretary:

Present composition

References

  1. 1.Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith: Profile — Official account of the Dicastery's history, sections, competence, and service to the Roman Pontiff and the bishops
  2. 2.Praedicate Evangelium — Apostolic constitution governing the Roman Curia and defining the competence and internal structure of its institutions
  3. 3.Catechism of the Catholic Church — Authoritative synthesis of Catholic doctrine, sacramental life, morality, and prayer
  4. 4.[4.2]"Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - Profile". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  5. 5.The names "Roman Inquisition" or "Holy Inquisition" arose from this name, terms later popularly used in reference to the 16th-century tribunals against heresy.
  6. 6.Pope Francis reorganized the Curia with his apostolic constitution on the Roman Curia, titled Praedicate evangelium ("Preach the gospel"), which took effect on 5 June 2022.
  7. 7."Definition of HOLY OFFICE". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  8. 8.Bulletin of the Holy See Press Office (in Italian), 2023, retrieved 1 July 2023
  9. 9.It remained in use throughout 1984, as can be seen in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis of that year, but no longer appeared in the 1985 issues of that official bulletin of the Holy See.
  10. 10."Resignations and Appointments (continued)". press.vatican.va.
  11. 11.John Paul II (28 June 1988). "Pastor bonus". vatican.va. Articles 48–55. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  12. 12.John Paul II (30 April 2001). "Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela". vatican.va. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  13. 13.Scicluna, Charles (13 March 2010). "Promoter of justice at Doctrine of Faith on paedophilia" (Interview). Interviewed by Gianni Cardinale of Avvenire. Vatican City: Vatican Information Service. VIS 20100313 (2070). Translated from "Il «pm» vaticano: «Chiesa rigorosa sulla pedofilia»". Avvenire (in Italian) (Milan, IT: Avvenire Nuova Editoriale Italiana S.p.a.). 13 March 2010.
  14. 14.The revision of Norms concerning the more grave delicts reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith currently in force is the revision approved by Benedict XVI in 2010.
  15. 15.Pope Francis. "Praedicate Evangelium, sulla Curia Romana e il suo servizio alla Chiesa nel Mondo (19 marzo 2022)". Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Article 77. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
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  20. 20."FULL TEXT: Pope Francis' letter to new doctrine chief Archbishop Fernández". EWTN News. 1 July 2023.
  21. 21."Norms for proceeding in the Discernment of alleged Supernatural Phenomena (17 May 2024)". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  22. 22.Lowen, Mark (18 May 2024). "Vatican tightens rules on supernatural phenomena". BBC News. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  23. 23.McLellan, Justin (17 May 2024). "Vatican publishes new norms to discern alleged supernatural phenomena". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  24. 24."Declaration of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith "Dignitas Infinita" on Human Dignity".
  25. 25.Faiola, Anthony; Pitrelli, Stefano (18 December 2023). "Pope Francis allows blessings of same-sex couples, shifting Vatican guidance". Washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
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  27. 27."Answers to Several Questions from His Excellency, the Most Reverend José Negri, Bishop of Santo Amaro, Brazil, Regarding Participation in the Sacraments of Baptism and Matrimony by Transgender Persons and Homosexual Persons". press.vatican.va. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  28. 28."Responsum of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to a dubium regarding the blessing of the unions of persons of the same sex". press.vatican.va. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  29. 29."Holy See: The Church cannot bless same-sex unions". Vatican News. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  30. 30."Pope Francis' LGBT+ views, as Vatican opposes same-sex blessings". Reuters. 16 March 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
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  34. 34."Vatican letter directs bishops to keep parish records from Mormons". 2 May 2008. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008.
  35. 35.Hargett, Malea (6 October 2007). "Six Arkansas nuns excommunicated for supporting heresy: women operate Hot Springs day care". arkansas-catholic.org. Little Rock, Arkansas: Arkansas Catholic. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015.
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  40. 40.Mayer, Thomas F. (2013). The Roman Inquisition: a papal bureaucracy and its laws in the age of Galileo. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-8122-4473-1.
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  43. 43.Resigned.
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  46. 46.Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, previously Secretary, continued to head the Congregation when it was renamed on 7 December 1965, and his title of Pro-Prefect was confirmed on 8 February 1966. Upon his retirement he was termed Prefect emeritus of the Congregation, and not Pro-Prefect emeritus.
  47. 47.Since the appointment of Šeper in 1968, the head of the dicastery has the title of Prefect. The Pope no longer holds the office of Prefect of the CDF himself.
  48. 48.Death of Pope John Paul II
  49. 49.[49.2]"Pope names Jesuit prelate to succeed Müller at doctrine office". Crux. Catholic News Service. 1 July 2017. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
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  56. 56."Monsignor John Kennedy appointed Archbishop-elect". RTÉ. 29 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
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