CATHOLIC WORD BOOK - Knights of Columbus, Supreme Council

the experience and practice of that faith in
those who have it.
Keys, Power of the: Spiritual authority and
jurisdiction in the Church, symbolized by
the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Christ
promised the keys to St. Peter, as head to
be of the Church (Mt 16:19), and
commissioned him with full pastoral
responsibility to feed his lambs and sheep
(Jn 21:15 17), The pope, as the successor
of St. Peter, has this power in a primary
and supreme manner. The bishops of the
Church also have the power, in union with
and subordinate to the pope. Priests share
in it through holy orders and the
delegation of authority. Examples of the
application of the Power of the Keys are
the exercise of teaching and pastoral
authority by the pope and bishops, the
absolving of sins in the sacrament of
penance, the granting of indulgences, the
imposing of spiritual penalties on persons
who commit certain serious sins.
Kingdom of God: God’s sovereign lordship
or rule over salvation history, leading to
the eschatological goal of eternal life with
God.
Koinonia: A term from the Greek word for
“community, fellowship, or association”
that was used by St. Luke for the
fellowship of believers who worshipped
together and held all their possessions in
common (Acts 2:42-47); it is also used of
fellowship with God (1 Jn 1:3, 6), with
the Son (1 Cor 1:9), and with the Holy
Spirit (2 Cor 13:13; Phil 2:1). St. Paul
used koinonia to denote the intimate union
of the believer with Christ and the
community that exists among all the
faithful themselves (Rom 15:26; 2 Cor
6:14).
L
Laicization: The process by which a man
ordained to holy orders is relieved of the
obligations of orders and the ministry and
is returned to the status of a lay person.
Languages of the Church: The languages in
which the Church’s liturgy is celebrated.
These include Ge’ez, Syriac, Greek,
Arabic, and Old Slavonic in the Eastern
Churches. In the West, there is, of course,
Latin and the various vernaculars. The
Eastern Rites have always had the
vernacular. The first language in church
use, for divine worship and the conduct of
ecclesiastical affairs, was Aramaic, the
language of the first Christians in and
around Jerusalem. As the Church spread
westward, Greek was adopted and
prevailed until the third century when it
was supplanted by Latin for official use in
the West. In the Western Church, Latin
prevailed as the general official language
until the promulgation on Dec. 4, 1963, of
the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
(Sacrosanctum Concilium) by the second
session of the Second Vatican Council.
Since that time, vernacular languages have
come into use in the Mass, administration
of the sacraments, and the Liturgy of the
Hours. Latin, however, remains the official
language for documents of the Holy See,
administrative and procedural matters.
Latria: Greek-rooted Latin term that refers
to that form of praise due to God alone.
Law: An ordinance or rule governing the
activity of things. (1) Natural law: Moral
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