The Vatican

Introduction to the Vatican Web Site

The most important site for any Catholic is the Vatican. It is the gold standard of authority to which all other Catholic sites should conform. The beautiful and stately Vatican site offers Catholic documents in their official English translations. Many Catholics will find other sites more interesting and even more informative, but the Vatican site remains the gold standard for fidelity to the Magisterium.

All Catholics should be familiar with the Vatican’s English-language home page.

It leads directly to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Each line in the table of contents is a link that takes the site visitor directly to that page. The Catechism alone is a first class research source for Catholic teaching.

The Holy Father link takes the site visitor to a listing of the recent Popes. The name of each Pope is a link that takes the site visitor to a list of his encyclicals and other documents, his photograph, and even his coat of arms. Pope John Paul II is an example.

The Roman Curia link takes the site visitor to the Vatican’s many departments. For most Catholics, the congregations or dicasteries will be of particular interest. Also, the pontifical councils, commissions, and academies may offer some useful guidance.

The Nova Vulgata (New Vulgate) Bible is in Latin. But it is worth knowing about because it is the “typical edition” which means it is the official Bible of the Catholic Church, the reference edition to which all other Bibles are compared for accuracy. Catholic site visitors with some flair for languages may enjoy comparing the Old Testament and New Testament books with their English-language Bibles. In particular, Catholics who enjoy the Tridentine Mass may enjoy looking at the beginning of the Gospel According to St. John, which the priest reads aloud at the end of every Tridentine Mass.

The Vatican’s news services may be useful. Father Hardon recommended that every Catholic read L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s weekly newspaper. But, more important, every Catholic who knows a professional journalist should recommend that he become familiar with, and accredited to, the Vatican Press Office. It is the best place to get reliable and accurate information about the Catholic Church.

Vatican documents organized by subject are available in the Vatican Documents section of this web site. However, conciliar documents approved by a Pope have the highest authority because only they are the result of a collaboration of all the bishops in the world in union with the Vicar of Christ. Therefore, for convenience, I have included here the major Vatican II documents:

The Vatican II Documents

The Four Constitutions

Dei Verbum Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation
Lumen Gentium Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
Sacrosanctum Concilium Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
Gaudium et Spes Constitution on the Church in the Modern World

The Three Declarations

Gravissimum Educationis Declaration on Christian Education
Nostra Aetate Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions
Dignitatis Humanae Declaration on Religious Liberty

The Nine Decrees

Ad Gentes Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity
Presbyterorum Ordinis Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests
Apostolicam Actuositatem Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity
Optatam Totius Decree on the Training of Priests
Perfectae Caritatis Decree on the Renewal of Religious Life
Christus Dominus Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops
Unitatis Redintegratio Decree on Ecumenism
Orientalium Ecclesiarum Decree on the Catholic Eastern Churches
Inter Mirifica Decree on the Media and Social Communication