CATHOLIC WORD BOOK - Knights of Columbus, Supreme Council

without ceasing to be divine. His divine
Person hypostatically unites his divine and
human natures. (2) The supernatural
mystery coextensive with Christ from the
moment of his human conception and
continuing through his life on earth; his
sufferings and death; his resurrection from
the dead and ascension to glory with the
Father; his sending, with the Father, of the
Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and the
Church; and his unending mediation with
the Father for the salvation of human
beings.
Incense: A granulated substance which,
when burnt, emits an aromatic smoke. It
symbolizes the zeal with which the faithful
should be consumed, the good odor of
Christian virtue, the ascent of prayer to
God. An incense boat is a small vessel used
to hold incense which is to be placed in the
censer.
Incest: Sexual intercourse with relatives by
blood or marriage; a sin of impurity and
also a grave violation of the natural
reverence due to relatives. Other sins of
impurity desire, etc., concerning relatives
have the nature of incest.
Inculturation: The correct and entirely
appropriate adaptation of the Catholic
liturgy and institutions to the culture,
language, and customs of an indigenous or
local people among whom the Gospel is
first proclaimed. Pope John Paul II Feb.
15, 1982, at a meeting in Lagos with the
bishops of Nigeria proclaimed: “An
important aspect of your own evangelizing
role is the whole dimension of the
inculturation of the Gospel into the lives
of your people. The Church truly respects
the culture of each people. In offering the
Gospel message, the Church does not
intend to destroy or to abolish what is
good and beautiful. In fact, she recognizes
many cultural values and, through the
power of the Gospel, purifies and takes
into Christian worship certain elements of
a people’s customs.”
Index of Prohibited Books: A list of books
which Catholics were formerly forbidden
to read, possess or sell, under penalty of
excommunication. The books were banned
by the Holy See after publication because
their treatment of matters of faith and
morals and related subjects were judged to
be erroneous or serious occasions of
doctrinal error. Some books were listed in
the Index by name; others were covered
under general norms. The Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith declared June
14, 1966, that the Index and its related
penalties of excommunication no longer
had the force of law in the Church. Persons
are still obliged, however, to take normal
precautions against occasions of doctrinal
error.
Indifferentism: A theory that any one
religion is as true and good — or false —
as any other religion, and that it makes no
difference, objectively, what religion one
professes, if any. The theory is completely
subjective, finding its justification entirely
in personal choice without reference to or
respect for objective validity. It is also self
contradictory, since it regards as equally
acceptable — or unacceptable — the
beliefs of all religions, which in fact are not
only not all the same but are in some cases
opposed to each other.
Indulgence: According to The Doctrine
and Practice of Indulgences, an apostolic
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