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D Dalmatic, n.; L., Fr. A vestment open at the sides, with wide open sleeves with an opening for the head, and having two stripes running from hem to hem; the external garment worn by a deacon in solemn functions, or worn by bishops underneath the chasuble during the celebration of Pontifical Mass. Damnation, n.; L.Eternal separation of a human being from God; condemnation to hell in punishment of mortal sin. Damnum, n.; L. In canon law that loss or harm received by one through the crime of another. Daniel, n.; Heb.; Bib. Name of an historical and prophetical book of the Old Testament of the Bible, named after its traditional author. Darnel, n.; Fr. Cockle; a fast-growing- weed. (Matt. 13:24-30.) Dataria, n,; L. A papal curial office for examining the can-didates for papal benefices, drawing up the documents of the appointment, exacting the fees, and looking after all claims and pensions. Deacon, n.; Gr., L. (i) The word in early ages for a minister or servant. One who has received subdeaconship and deaconship, The duties of the deacon are to assist the priest in celebrating solemn Mass and sometimes to preach and baptize. (2) Deacons of Honor: the two clerics in the vestments of a deacon who assist the bishop at Pontifical Mass and Vespers or who sit beside him when he attends a solemn Mass in cope. Deaconess, n.; Gr., L. In the early ages, women who assisted at the baptism of other women; women who assisted a deacon in the early ages. (Obs.) Dead (Mass for) , n.; A.S. A requiem Mass; a Mass offered for the purpose of gaining suffrage for or lessening the temporal punishment due the soul of a deceased person. Dean, n.; L., O.Fr. (i) The head of a cathedral or collegiate chapter; (2) rural dean, a senior priest entrusted with vigilance over Church discipline in the several parishes which constitute the deanery; he has the power of summoning and presiding at meetings of the clergy of this district. A vicar forane. Deanery, n.; L., O.Fr. A territory consisting of several par-ishes, under the disciplinary vigilance of a dean. Decade, n.; Gr.. L. The fifteenth part of a rosary; one part of a rosary consisting of an Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and one Glory be to the Father; one mystery or the meditation on one mystery while saying the above prayers. Decalogue, n.; Gr.; Bib. A familiar name applied to the Ten Commandments of God. (Cf. Commandments.) Decree, n.; L., O.Fr. Any legislative act of a superior; a pro- nouncement of law regarding faith or discipline made by the Pope or by one of the Roman congregations or by a bishop. Decretal, n.pl.; L. A letter containing a pontifical decision; the formal reply of the pope concerning a question of discipline. Collection of such laws or decisions. Dedication (of churches), n.; L. The act whereby a church is solemnly declared to be set apart for the worship of God. Today, it is often said that a church is dedicated to some particular saint, but this arises from a popular devotion to the saint carried on in that church or the name given to the particular church. Definitors, n. pi.; L, The counselors or advisers to the general or provincial of a religious order. Degradation , n.; L. Deposition of a cleric from clerical orders or from the performing of the functions of his office, together with the deprivation of his benefice; the act perpetually reducing one to the state of a layman. Degree, n.pl.; L., O.Fr. Title of scholarship conferred, by universities as a mark of having completed certain prescribed studies, such as the degrees of bachelor, master and doctor, e.g., A.B.; A.M.; and Ph.D. Delation, n.; L. The reporting of a person or thing such as a book to an ecclesiastical superior for the purpose of securing judgment and condemnation. Delegation, n.; L. The delegating or the turning over of jurisdiction or power to the exercise of another. Demon, n.; Gr., L. Evil spirit; an angel who was cast out of heaven with Lucifer; an inhabitant of hell. Demoniac,n.;L. One possessed by a devil or evil spirit. Denudation, n.; L, A term applied to the stripping of the altar on Holy Thursday; removal of coverings. Denunciation, n.; L. An edict of the seventeenth century inquisition ordering the faithful under obedience to denounce or to give the names of persons known to be heretics. The word today is considered practically obsolete in the sense that the obligation of so denouncing a heretic does not rest upon a person when it might re vert to the detriment of the person denouncing. In the code of canon law today Catholics are ordered to "denounce" certain major crime; committed by ecclesiastics. Deontology, n.; Gr That part of the study of moral philosophy or ethics which treat of duty or moral obligation; the study of man's obligation to do good. Deposit of Faith, a.; L. The sum total of revealed truth given by Christ to His Church; truths guarded by the Church and taught infallibly. The truth of Christ said by the Council of Trent to exist in both written books (SS. and in unwritten traditions. Deposition, n.; L. (i) Withholding from a cleric for life the right to exercise his office or jurisdiction or to accept the fruits of his benefice; an ecclesiastical punishment for grave crime imposed upon clerics. (2) In an ecclesiastical court, a formal statement of evidence. Deposition (day of), n.; L. The day of the death of a saint or the anniversary of his death. The day on which a Christian is buried. Deputatrix, n.; L. The lay person employed by a religious community for small tasks of shopping or otherwise which must be performed outside of the convent. Derogation, n.; L. The partial revoking of a law; doing away with a part of a law as distinct from abrogation which is the total revocation of a law. Desecration, n.; L. The act by which a thing which has been consecrated is made unfit for sacred use; after desecration a thing must be consecrated again. This may also be taken in the sense the degrading or insulting use something sacred. Despair, n.; L., O.Fr. The contrary of hope; the state of being hopeless; deliberate act of the will by which one turns away from salvation, considering it as impossible of attainment. Determinisim, n.; The denial of free will; the assertion that the acts of man are determined by a set rule or formula over which he has no power of choice. Detraction, n.; L. The sin of telling the true but hidden faults of another and thereby injuring his reputation. (Cf. Calumny, Slander.) Deuterocanonical Books, adj.; Gr. Books of the Bible which are not found in the Hebrew Bible but which are found in the Septuagint Greek translation; later their canonicity was established by the Church. (Cf. Canon of Scripture, Canonicity.) Deuteronomy, n.; Gr., L. Bib. The fifth book of of the Old Testament of the Bible. Development (of Doctrine), n.; L., Fr. The more clear or more explicit formulation or expression of a belief contained in the deposit of faith; a clarification or defining of some tenet of belief. Devil, n.; Gr., L., A.S. An evil spirit. Name applied to Satan as the prince of darkness or of hell; or commonly to all evil spirits. Devil's Advocate, n.; L. The official whose duty it is to bring objections against the beatification and canonization of a saint. Also called Promoter Fidei. (Cf. Advocatus Diaboli.) Devolution, n.; L. The right of presentation of a benefice exercised by an ecclesiastical superior. This superior has the right of devolution only after the proper patron has failed to exercise or exercised uncanonically his right of presentation. Devotion, n.; L. (1) A manner of reverence and piety; devoutness. (2) A formula of prayer or a pious exercise. (3) Feasts of— feasts which formerly were holydays of obligation, but which no longer bear the precept of hearing Mass but are merely days to be observed according to the spiritual intention of the faithful. Diaconate, n.; Gr., L. The order of deaconship. The state of one who has received two of the Major Orders. (Cf. Deacon.) Diaconicum, n.; Gr., L. A building adjoining a basilica and resembling somewhat the sacristy of the present day. Sometimes applied to the sacristy. Dialogue Mass, n.; Gr., L. A low Mass at which the responses are made aloud with the server by those present. Sometimes the parts which are sung in High Mass are also recited aloud with the celebrant in this Mass. A Missa redtata. Diaspora, n.; Gr. The dispersion of the Jews by their con querors; the places to which they were dispersed. Diatessaron, n.; Gr. A narrative made up from the four Gospels, first made by Tatian, a convert; a harmonized account from the Gospels. Dicastery , n-; Gr. A term applied to any one of the congregations, tribunals, and offices which make up the Roman Curia. Didache, n.; Gr- A writing of the first century, valuable because of its testimony of the doctrine and teaching of the early Church. Dignitary, n.; L. Fr. A member of a chapter who has a precedence of honor over the other canons; the dean, the precentor. Dilati, n.pl., L. Literally, "the inferred." Name applied to the forty four English martyrs of the late sixteenth and early part of the seventeenth centuries who have not yet been declared venerable. Dimissorial, n.; L. A letter testifying to the fitness a person to be ordained; a license proclaiming one worthy of receiving ordination. This may be granted by popes, bishops, abbots', or delegated vicars, or by major superiors of exempt religious. Diocese, n.; Gr., L. The portion of a country together with its population which are under the pastoral Jurisdiction of a Christian bishop. The territory ruled over by a bishop. Diptych, n.pl.; Gr. Originally the word meant anything folded double. Two tablets or sheet of metal, ivory or wood or, later of vellum which were bound together. Upon one the names of the living and on the other the names of the dead to be commemorated at the Mass were inscribed. They were read aloud from the ambo. The use of diptychs ceased in the twelfth century. Directorium, n.; L. The directions arranged and down by competent authority concerning the Mass and office to read on each day of the year. It is also called ordo and gives the various commemorations attached to each feast day in the Church calendar; it is published each year usually on the Feast of Epiphany (Cf. Ordo.) Dirge , n.; L. In its literal sense, a poem dedicated to a departed person or referring to death; sometimes applied to an antiphon read in the Office of the Dead. Sometimes applied to the Office of the Dead. Diriment (impediment),adj.; L. A condition arising from either the natural law or the law of the Church which prohibits and prevents marriage between persons so affected; it makes the marriage impossible or nullifies it. (Cf.Impediments.) Discalced, adj.; L. Unshod or barefooted; referred to those branches of religious orders who observe the austerity of not wearing shoes. Disciple, n.; L., O.Fr. A pupil, a student; name sometimes applied to one of the Apostles, more frequently one of the early followers of Jesus, one of the seventy-two. Discipline, n.; L. (1) In its first meaning it is instruction; or also that which is taught; it ordinarily means the rules or order observed in a community or by a group of persons. In Church legislation it is used to refer to the laws which govern the faithful in their actions. (2) It has also come to be applied to acts of mortification, su ch as scourging, which one voluntarily inflicts upon himself; used in the sense "to take the discipline." (3) In recent years it is being substituted in Roman usage for the term "rite" as applied, for example,to the terms "The Roman discipline"—"The Oriental discipline." Disparity, n.; L. The difference of religion or worship existing between a baptized person and an unbaptized person. Two such persons are not permitted to marry without a dispensation; an impediment to marriage. Dispensation , n.; L. The loosening or freeing from a law in a particular case; the relaxing of the binding force of a law for a certain purpose or for certain persons; release from an obligation; it must be granted by someone in authority and may be recalled. Dissident,adj.; L. Name applied to Churches of the East, either schismatic or heretical, to distinguish them from Catholic groups. (Cf, Eastern Churches.) Distraction, n.; L. The voluntary or involuntary taking of the mind away from one course of thought to another; a diversion of attention. In regard to prayer it is applied to the failure on the part of the person praying to be mindful of God or of the object of his prayer; willful distractions are sinful. Divination, n.; L., O.Fr. The practice of seeking out hidden things or events of the future by unlawful means, such as cards or the lines of the hand; always sinful, because it is equivalent to seeking information from the devil. Divorce, n.; L., O.Fr. The legal unbinding of the marriage bond with permission to marry again; the grant of a separation by lawful authority. In the ecclesiastical law no one may dissolve the marriage bond consummated between baptized persons; the only grant of a separation with permission to marry between baptized persons is a declaration of nullity, which is a declaration that no marriage existed validly in the first instance. The Pauline privilege grants the unbaptized permission to remarry under proper conditions. (Cf. Pauline Privilege.) Docetae, n. pi.; Gr., L. The name commonly applied to followers of early heresies which denied that Christ is true man, because they held that He had only an apparent, not a real, human body. Doctor, n.; L., O.Fr- One of great theological learning and holiness; a title given to one for his learned defense of Christian doctrine; that person who because of eminent learning, heroic sanctity, and declaration made by the pope or general council is thus constituted a doctor of the Church. Doctrine, n.; L. That which is taught; a collection of dogmas of some truth of faith. Dogma, n.; Gr., L. In religion a truth found in the word of God, either written or unwritten, and proclaimed by the Church for the belief of the faithful; a revealed truth. Dogmatic Theology, adj.; Gr., L. The science of Christian dogma; the system of teaching or propounding the doctrines of the Church as a whole or individually as they stand in relation to one another. The systematic teaching of the doctrines of faith; the application of philosophy to religious tenets. The scientific treatment of the relationship between faith and reason. Dolor, n.; L. A sorrow; grief. It is a poetical form. In its plural, the name applied to the seven sorrows experienced by the Blessed Virgin in her role of Mother of God. There are two Feasts of the seven dolors—the Friday day after Passion Sunday and September 15. Dom, n.; L. (1) A contraction of the Latin word dominus, which is applied as a title to Benedictine monks, and also to monks in some other monastic orders. The form is spelled don, in Italy. (2) The term applied to cathedrals in Germany, Domestic Prelate n.; L. An honor conferred upon a priest and raising him to membership in the Pontifical household with the title of Right Reverend Monsignor. (Cf. Monsignor.) Domicile, n.; L., Fr. A person's legal residence in virtue of which he becomes subject to authority (bishop, pastor) and is entitled to certain rights. It can be acquired either by taking up residence in a place with the intention of remaining there, or by actual residence in a place for the period of ten years without any specified intention. Quasi-domicile, which is similar to domicile, is acquired by actual residence in a place with the intention of remaining there for the greater part of the year, or by actually remaining there for more than six months without any intention Dominations , n. pl.; L. See dominions. Dominica, n.; L. Latin for Sunday, frequently used in liturgical writings. Dominicans, n.pl.; L. Members of the religious order who follow the rule established by St. Dominic; the order arose in the year 1216. The Order of Preachers. Dominions, n.pl.; L.One of the choirs of angels; usually called Dominations. (Cf. Angels.) Donatists, n.pl.; L. Heretics and schismatics who held that the validity of the sacraments was dependent upon the moral character of the one ministering and that sinners could not belong to the Church and were refused membership unless their sins were secret. Doorkeeper, n.; A.S, The name applied to the lowest of the minor orders; most generally known as ostiary; a porter. (Cf. Ostiary.) Dormition, n.; L. A name given to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin into heaven, derived from the Latin word dormire, to sleep Literally it is a "sleeping". The word is used today by the Greek Church. Dossal, n.; L., Fr. A curtain hung behind the altar or suspended from the canopy. Also called dorsal. Douay Bible, n.; Fr. The most common and well known complete translation of the Sacred Scriptures in use by English speaking Catholics.It is the most accurate theologically, as it was a literal translation of the Latin Vulgate of St. Jerome. The translation was begun at the English college at Douay, France in 1609, and a part of it was published there, hence its name. The New testament was published at the English college at Rheims in 1582. Also, Douai, Douay-Rheims. (Cf. Bible, Canon of the Scripture.) Double, n.; L. (1) The name applied to the feast days of the Church on which the antiphons in the holy office are double or fully repeated at the beginning and end of a psalm. These feasts may be doubles of the first class (the most solemn), the second class (those of some Apostles), greater doubles, or ordinary doubles to distinguish their preference in the event that two feasts fall on the same day. (2)Semidouble feasts are less important than those of the double class, and are so called because the antiphon before each psalm in the holy office is not read in full. Dove, n.; A.S. A symbol of the Holy Ghost; also a symbol of peace. Dowry, n.; Fr. As used in regard to one entering a religious community, it is the sum of money or personal property that a person seeking profession in a religious order brings to the community; such a religious dowry varies with the different religious orders and may or may not be demanded. Dowry of Mary, n.; O.Fr. Name applied to the English people; members of the Catholic Church of England. Doxology, n.; Gr. A prayer of glory: (1) the greater doxology is the Gloria in Excelsis which is recited during the Mass.(2) The lesser doxology is the prayer beginning "Glory be to the Father." Dream , n.; O.E. Images or phantasms of the mind appearing during sleep. Dreams have no religious significance but may be used by God in His providence to reveal some truth or course of action to a person. Duel, n.; Fr., It. A fight or combat with deadly weapons be- tween two persons at a given place and time before witnesses; usually a fight to death or to the mortal wounding of one of the parties. Condemned by the Church as sinful under the fifth commandment it incurs the penalty of excommunication. Dulia, n.; L. Worship given to saints and angels whereby we honor them as friends of God and recognize their superior sanctity. The kind of worship which is given to saints and angels. (Cf. Cultus,Veneration.) Duplication , n.; L. Celebration of two Masses by a priest on the same day. (Cf. Bination.)