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THE UNEXPECTED RESIGNATION of Pope Benedict XVI – an event without precedent in modern history – means the world will be exposed to a larger-than-expected amount of canonical recitation in the coming weeks.
To help readers through the minefield of church language, we’ve put together this quick glossary of some of the more unusual terms you may hear.
Bishop of Rome – The first of the pope’s actual titles. St Peter, the ‘prince’ of Jesus’ apostles, is thought to have travelled to Rome after the death of Jesus and turned that city into the head of the church. He became the Bishop of Rome and the first Pope – giving rise to the notion of the Catholic Church being the Roman Catholic Church.
Petrine ministry – The informally official title given to the actual task of the Pope: keeping up the ministry of St Peter. This is because Peter was said to have been given the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. These overlapping keys are regularly seen on Catholic insignia.
Holy See – The official name given to the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church. This is separate from Vatican City, which is a separate sovereign state but which submits its entire governance to the Holy See itself, which also enjoys international recognition as a separate sovereign entity. It is the Holy See which appoints ambassadors (or in church language, a ‘Papal nuncio’) to other countries, and ambassadors are appointed to the Holy See rather than the Vatican. Therefore it is the Holy See which is recognised by the UN rather than the Vatican. It is possible in this sense to think of the Vatican as the capital city of the Holy See.
Sede vacante - The formal title (from the Latin, literally meaning ‘vacant seat’) for the period in which the Papacy is vacant. The next period of sede vacante begins at 8pm Roman time on February 28. During this period, the powers of the papacy are transferred to the College of Cardinals – though a constitution written by John Paul II dictates that the powers are massively weakened during such times – the idea being that the cardinals can exercise only enough power to ensure the continued operation of church organs, but not enough power to make executive decisions.
Universi Dominici Gregis - The name of the document written by John Paul II. It acts as a sort of constitution and outlines the procedures to be followed in the appointment of a new pope.
Camerlengo – A Cardinal who acts as the administrator of the property and finances of the Holy See. During a sede vacante, the Camerlengo acts as the acting head of state of Vatican City (while the College of Cardinals accepts the power of the Holy See). Their best-known role is to verify the death of a pope by tapping them on the forehead three times with a silver hammer and asking them if they are merely sleeping.
Ring of the Fisherman – A ring worn by the pope and used to seal official documents issued in his name. This is ceremonially cut open by the Camerlengo in cases where the previous pope has died (or, in this case, resigned), to ensure that it cannot be used to issue forged documents.
College of Cardinals – The full group of Catholic cardinals. Cardinals occupy the rank above a bishop in Church hierarchy. If one thinks of the pope as being a ‘king’, a cardinal is a ‘prince’.
Sistine Chapel – The venue for meetings of the College of Cardinals. Usually known because of Michaelangelo’s legendary work painting its ceiling.
Conclave – The meeting held by the College of Cardinals where they are locked away, literally, to decide who should be the next pope. This ends with the emission of white smoke from the chapel of the Sistine Chapel, where they vote: the ballot papers are burned to produce white smoke, signalling an affirmative decision to pick a new pope.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone is the current Camerlengo, and will be the acting head of state of the Vatican City when Pope Benedict XVI steps down. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
Cardinal deacon – Unusually, though they are the lowest-ranking of the cardinals, it is the cardinal deacons who have the main role in arranging the mechanics of a papal election. Cardinal deacons assume the rank of cardinal by virtue of holding offices in certain designated churches in Rome. The most senior cardinal deacon – the one who has held their job the longest – is the Cardinal Protodeacon, the man given the honour of announcing the new pope’s election and who is also responsible for formally presenting the pope with his pallium (cloak) and the papal tiara, an official ‘crown’ which the last three popes have opted against receiving.
Ingravescentem aetatem - A publication written by the former Pope Paul VI which governs the maximum age of a papal elector. It dictates that at the age of 80, a cardinal loses their right to elect a pope, and also to be a member of a department of the Roman Curia.
Habemus papam – The informal title for the announcement made when the identify of the new Pope is announced. This announcement, carried out by the Cardinal Protodeacon, is made from the steps of…
St Peter’s Basilica – …the main cathedral within the Vatican, and the site of all of its major events. It is not officially the seat of the Bishop of Rome – that is actually a separate Archbasilica outside the territory of the Vatican – but all major Catholic events, such as the inaugurations of new Popes and the funerals of previous ones, are held there. It is thought that the remains of St Peter himself are buried in the crypt of the basilica; deceased pontiffs are now also buried there.
Roman Curia – The administrative arm of the Holy See. It can be thought of as the equivalent to a government: the Roman Curia is to the Holy See as the Irish Government is to Ireland.
Papal states – The collection of small areas, now part of modern-day Italy, which used to come under the direct political control of the Pope. Italy was unified as a single nation in 1870, with Rome as its capital, thereby stripping the Pope of any land to govern – effectively a Head of State (of the Holy See) without any territory (except St Peter’s Basilica or the apostolic palace) to govern. After this, various Popes considered themselves ‘Prisoners in the Vatican’, and refused to leave the basilica or the palace for fear that the territory would be taken over by the Italian military. This was brought to an end by the…
Lateran Treaty – A deal signed between Benito Mussolini’s Italy and the Holy See of Pope Pius XI. This formally created the Vatican City as a separate state to Italy and entrenched the ability of the Pope to leave the Vatican’s territory without the fear of having it subsumed into Italy in his absence.
Urbi et Orbi – A phrase meaning ‘To the city and to the world’, with Rome being the ‘city’ in this case. This is the name given to speeches made by the Pope to the world’s Catholics, traditionally at Christmas and Easter. An Urbi et Orbi message is also made on the occasion of a new pope’s election.
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Surely this is condidential contractual information between a renter and landlord?
…And revenue.ie?
in large areas this info is not so useful, finding an average rent for Dublin 2 two bed apartments is fairly meaningless, no distinction of brand new vs 30 years old, more expensive parts of post code vs less expensive. could be extremely misleading if at too broad a level, possibly worse than no info
I agree 100% unless they post prices with pictures together and also some detailed info of features and square size of living area, then it makes more sense and only then gives you fair idea. Usually the golden rule works in real estate: you get what you pay for..
no more misleading than the constant claims from daft that rents are rising (lies) this survey shows rents are actually falling in Dublin, and is certainly more trustworthy.
It certainly seems that rents are rising. Was away for 6 months and struggled to find apartment. Third less apartments on market now than a year ago.
This is a great step in the right direction . If ur in a block of apartments built at the same time this is very useful!
This information is key as it ensures transparency which prevent bubbles, speculation and the best value for all. It’s also not private information as all income is taxable and some people also receive state supports with their rent. All in all this is a good development.
Zegakly! Openness and transparency is for the good of all.
More snooping by government agencies I would imagine to try to get more money from people rather then trying to apply Amy real rules to the sector
I don’t think this is snooping. I’d say this has more to do with Rent Allowance being paid out by the state. It’ll give the government an idea on rents in a certain area and see if money can be saved.
This is confidential information.
Unless it’s in some way anonymized or averaged over an area it’s a violation of personal financial information.
This is a good thing. The private rented sector is the wild west of the property market. Half the landlords out there are either reluctant buy-to-let types without a clue of even the basics of business or fast buck merchants with a devil-may-care attitude to Residential Tenancies Act. The fact the the majority of cases in front of the PRTB are for illegally held deposits, 92% of flats in a recent investigation failed to meet even minimum legal standards (which are pretty damn low) and the fact that a sizable chunk of landlords out there that seem to think that because the are renting out property the laws of the land do not apply to them means that any move to regulate this sector is welcome.
The sector is unprofessional, legal standards are not enforced, prices vary widely (and are usually down to an individual’s negotiating skills or lack thereof) and the end product is both bad and overpriced. This is a disincentive to living and working in Dublin and needs to be addressed. Possibly the only worthwhile thing Labour have done in government so far.
I support this. It provides for greater transparency all around. Let’s not hope the data gets manipulated…
I know people who because of rent changes have now made agreement with their landlord to say the rent is a certain amount ( allowed for ur family size by the rent section) and then pay extra cash in hand to the landlord , so they don’t have to move yet again as its so hard to find houses within ur allowance and area u want to be in . I think the rent section and the councils should work together and buy property’s and rent them to tenants so in the long run the money goes into housing which the councils and sate own instead of paying landlords forever more ..
Not sure about the accuracy of this… No data for 1 bedroom apartments in Rathmines or Ranelagh (I thought there would be lots of those type of places there) yet the average rent of a 1 bedroom apartment in Wellington Dublin 6W is 1188.89 per month??!!
It seems like this might be a good idea. If they did a survey of asked for rents and paid rents, they could a: get a better idea of how much people are able to pay, and b: give rental property owners a better idea of what rents they should be asking for. I’ve always thought it was odd that rents aren’t based on what people, individually, pay but rather, are based on the average rents paid over large areas.
Have you tried to use the system? Not very easy to use……..
This is a serious breach of privacy. I don’t want people knowing how much rent I pay. It’s none of their business. What if an employer found out someone was paying very little rent and decided to deny a pay increase?
I think this is just another way of exposing people to the Revenue.
have your say