Dicastery in the context of "Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life"

A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Cardinals are chosen and formally created by the pope, and typically hold the title for life. Collectively, they constitute the College of Cardinals. The most solemn responsibility of the cardinals is to elect a new pope in a conclave, almost always from among themselves, with a few historical exceptions, when the Holy See is vacant.

During the period between a pope's death or resignation and the election of his successor, the day-to-day governance of the Holy See is in the hands of the College of Cardinals. The right to participate in a conclave is limited to cardinals who have not reached the age of 80 years by the day the vacancy occurs. With the pope, cardinals collectively participate in papal consistories, in which matters of importance to the Church are considered and new cardinals may be created. Cardinals of working age are also often appointed to roles overseeing dicasteries (departments) of the Roman Curia, the central administration of the Catholic Church.

The Index Librorum Prohibitorum (English: Index of Forbidden Books) was a changing list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former dicastery of the Roman Curia); Catholics were forbidden to print or read them, subject to the local bishop. Catholic states could enact laws to adapt or adopt the list and enforce it.

The Index was active from 1560 to 1966. It banned thousands of book titles and blacklisted publications, including the works of Europe's intellectual elites.

The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (Latin: Congregatio pro Episcopis), is the department of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usually followed. The Dicastery also schedules the visits at five-year intervals ("ad limina") that bishops are required to make to Rome, when they meet with the pope and various departments of the Curia. It also manages the formation of new dioceses. It is one of the more influential Dicasteries, since it strongly influences the human resources policy of the church.

The jurisdiction of the Dicastery does not extend to mission territories, under the Dicastery for Evangelization, or areas managed by the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (which has responsibility for all Eastern Catholics, and for Latin Catholics in the Middle East and Greece). Where appointment of bishops and changes in diocesan boundaries require consultation with civil governments, the Secretariat of State has primary responsibility, but must consult the Dicastery for Bishops. The Dicastery also have oversight of investigations into allegations of abuse and negligence by bishops.

The Pontifical Commission for Latin America is a department of the Roman Curia that since 1958 has been charged with providing assistance to and examining matters pertaining to the Catholic Church in Latin America. The Commission operates under the auspices of the Dicastery for Bishops (formerly the Congregation for Bishops and before that the Sacred Consistorial Congregation) and for most of its history the prefect of that body has been president of the Commission.

Robert Francis Prevost was president of the Commission from April 12, 2023, until his election as Pope Leo XIV on May 8, 2025. There are two secretaries, both laypersons: Rodrigo Guerra López and Emilce Cuda, appointed in July 2021 and February 2022, respectively. When appointed, Guerra was the only layperson with the rank of secretary in the Curia; the only layman with a higher rank was Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Dicastery for Communications. Cuda became one of the few women in senior positions in the Curia.

The Secretariat of State (Latin: Secretaria Status; Italian: Segreteria di Stato) is the oldest dicastery in the Roman Curia, the central papal governing bureaucracy of the Catholic Church. It is headed by the Cardinal Secretary of State and performs all the political and diplomatic functions of the Holy See. The Secretariat is divided into three sections: the Section for General Affairs, the Section for Relations with States, and, since 2017, the Section for Diplomatic Staff.