Apostolic Letter
Rosarium Virginis Mariae "On the Most Holy Rosary" (2002)
Introduces five "Mysteries of Light"
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Dominus Iesus
"On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church"
(2000)
[VISsummary]
[shorter summary]
Discusses the relation of the Catholic Church to other denominations and other religions
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
Liturgiam Authenticam
"On the Use of Vernacular Languages in the Publication of the Books of the Roman Liturgy" (2001)
Sets some firm limits to the use of "inclusive language" in translations
The Roman Catholic Church is a communion of twenty-some
Particular Churches
or Rites:
the Latin Church,
and the
Eastern Catholic Churches.
All these ecclesial communities are in
full communion
with the Holy See.
The Catholic Church has just over one billion members. The great majority
of these (98% worldwide; 99% in the US) belong to the Latin Church.
About half of the Christians in the world are Catholic,
and about half of the Catholics live in the Americas.
The Orthodox and Assyrian churches, though separated from the
Catholic Church, share with it in the apostolic succession,
and remain generally close to it in matters of doctrine and the sacraments.
There are three separate communions:
