† This organization was given its present name in 1965 by Pope Paul VI. Previous to that it was called The Holy Office and before that The Sacred Congregation of the Universal Inquisition, of more commonly the Roman Inquisition. It exists mainly to examine theological writings, though writers of horror and fantasy like to imagine they go on doing the older work of killing vampires, stopping supernatural plots, and sending demons back to hell. It is really sort of an internal thought police for the Roman Catholic Church, the second oldest part of the Roman Curia after the Secretariat of State.

† This is the Church body that investigates and condems priests for theological errors. Though in 1966 it ceased publication of the Index librorum prohibitorum (Index of Prohibited Books), but it still claims a moral right to "advise" Catholics to not read certain books dangerous to faith & morals. It also creates what is the offical doctrine of the Holy Roman Catholic Church at the direction of the Pope.