| ORIGINAL | ENGLISH | COMMENT | CITATION |
|---|
| Damas Salesianas [ES] | Damas Salesianas | Cf. Asociación Damas Salesianas | |
| Da mihi animas cetera tolle [LA] | Give me souls, take away the rest. | Often left in its Latin form. DB's motto. Sometimes ''cetera'' is spelled with another variant: ''coetera''. There is an argument that ''cetera'' is the more original and better one to use. | Cartcomunione:.. e il Da mihi animas coetera tolle raccolse in unità il suo amore per Dio e per i giovani. |
| dare [IT] | debit | Accounting germinology | |
| dati di fatto [IT] | circumstances | | Viganò ACG295:.. ancorato a due dati di fatto assai concreti: il Fondatore, ossia una persona ben definita |
| DBN [EN] | DBN | Cf. Don Bosco Network | |
| decreto [IT] | decree | A decree carries with it a legal binding. The term is frequently found in ecclesial and Congregational contexts as well as in civil society. Decrees can be either of a public and 'group' nature, or may concern/be addressed to individuals under certain conditions. A number of Church documents are called decrees, even though they initially appear to be more general statements. A closer look will see that they contain prescriptions to be followed: Decree on Priestly Formation, Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, ''Perfectae Caritatis'', etc. The Pope issues a decree of heroic virtue when the cause for canonisation of a person reaches the first public stage. Within the Congregation the Rector Major may issue decrees, e.g. of dismissal of a member, to erect or suppress a House. | RATIO Ch07: Questi atti vanno fatti canonicamente, cioè con decreto scritto. |
| Decretum Approbationis Instituti [LA] | Decree of Approval of the Institute | Cf. Decretum Laudis below. | |
| Decretum Approbationis Constitutionum [LA] | Decree of Approval of the Constitutions | Cf. Decretum Laudis below | |
| Decretum Laudis [LA] | Decretum Laudis [remains untranslated] | Pontifical decree whereby a diocesan congregation is considered to have reached a point of development where it is granted to become a Congregation of Pontifical Right with all the consequences thereof. It is interesting to note that Don Bosco was seeking approval for the Society of St Francis de Sales precisely at a time when the Church was revising its approach. This, along with certain difficulties Don Bosco was facing in his personal relationships with his archbishop (Gastaldi) in the last part of the process particularly, meant it was 1874 before he finally gained the last needed approval. In 1863 the Holy See decided to reform the processes of approval for new Congregations, by introducing what it called the Methodus, which foresaw first a decree of commendations, a form of encouragement to continue with the process, then a decree of approval for the institute, followed finally by the decree of approval of the constitutions. Cf. separate comments under costituzioni, constitutions. | PV1: 1864: 'Decretum laudis' e formulazione delle prime 13... |
| decuria [IT] | roll book | term now deprecated | |
| decurione [IT] | delegate | As for example, Delegate for the Salesian Cooperators. The term is now deprecated | |
| Delegato Centrale per i Cooperatori [IT] | Central Delegate for Cooperators | Salesian appointed at world level to look after the Salesian Cooperators | |
| Delegato Cooperatori [IT] | Cooperator Delegate | A Salesian priest in the community who has responsibility for the Cooperators | |
| Delegato Exallievi | Past Pupils Delegate | Salesian (not necessarily a priest) responsible for Past Pupils in a community. May be referred to as Alumni Delegate in other varieties of English | |
| Delegato Pastorale Ispettoriale | Provincial Youth Ministry Delegate | Ff. comments elsewhere on pastorale, pastorale giovanile | |
| Delegato Vocazionale | Vocations Delegate | | |
| Delegazione [IT] | Delegation | As well as its usual meaning has special meaning of a juridical circumscription which is almost a province. Its leader is called the Delegate not the Provincial. Normally capitalised in English. | Chavez ACG387:.. Delegazione del Mozambico, benché dipendente dall'Ispettoria del Portogallo,... |
| deliberazioni capitolari [IT] | Chapter deliberations | These days it is clear enough that we distinguish deliberations of a Chapter from working guidelines. It was not always so. In the early Chapters of the Congregation, e.g. Chapters 1 and II, the number of deliberations were as many as 300-400. The 9th GC had the task of making some sense of and putting some order into this tendency, separating general deliberations which gave completeness to the Constitutions from those of a generally exhortative and optional kind. This Chapter, then, made a distinction between 'organic' and 'preceptive' deliberations. The term 'organic' was never fully clarified, but could be said to be synonymous with constitutional. 'Preceptive' deliberations were still important but regarded as disciplinary, coming into force by virtue of their acceptance by the Rector Major (in contrast to the former group which required the approval of the Holy See). Could be seen as the difference between constitutions and Regulations. | DBmem: 1 Si tengano segrete le deliberazioni capitolari, e se avvi qualche cosa da comunicare ad altri,... |
| destinatario [IT] | those for whom we work/to whom we are sent | Difficult to translate as one word in English. Could also be as simple as 'our charges' | Vecchi ACG354:..desta l'attenzione verso la situazione del destinatario,... |
| [IT] | devotion | Note its history in Salesian terms - a favoured term of St. Francis de Sales with particular meaning, probably close to what today we would call 'apostolic charity'. In the longer Christian tradition the term has a rich and also complicated story. There have been long periods when it has meant mainly 'devotions', in the plural, and almost a substitute for 'true religion'. But devotions were also reincorporated or re-upholstered by Paul VI's ''Evangelii Nuntiandi'' as legitimate popular spirituality. | Costituzioni:..DB, Esercizio di devozione alla misericordia di Dio, Torino 1847 p. 81 |
| devozione a Maria Ausiliatrice [IT] | devotion to Mary Help of Christians | A term with several variants from a Salesian perspective: 'devotion to the Madonna', 'devotion to the Help of Christians', perhaps even the more general term 'Marian devotion'. There is a close and direct connection between devotion to Mary Help of Christians and the Salesian spirit. Historically this is not difficult to see: from the dream at age 9 to that in Barcelona in 1886. From the catechism lesson with Bartholomew Garelli to the manner in which he sought and obtained approval of the Constitutions of the Salesian Congregation. He saw the Madonna as the Foundress of the Congregation and spent much of his life spreading devotion to her and proclaiming the wonders she had worked. Cf also ADMA. | |
| diacono [IT] | deacon | The ecclesial meaning of the term can be sought elsewhere. Salesian documentation usually employs the term along with ''presbitero'' (priest) and ''chierico'' (cleric) to distinguish the nature or character of a kind of member (''socio''). In keeping with both Don Bosco's readiness to make use of any ecclesiastical function and his thinking in tune with the Church it was natural that the Congregation should reaffirm the possibility of the permanent Salesian Deacon amongst its members in the post-Vatican II renewal. The Ratio in its renewed form takes special care for the formation of the Salesian permanent deacon. Cf. also Diaconus, D. below. | RFCNCap3: Nel servizio di santificazione occorre che il futuro diacono o presbitero dia prova.. |
| dialogo interreligioso [IT] | inter-religious dialogue | The term appears sometimes in English without the hyphen. It has become a technical post-Vatican II term (the word 'dialogue' appeared in a magisterial document for the first time in 1964) for dialogue between Catholics/Christians and other major faith traditions. The term appears frequently in the Salesian magisterium because there are many Salesian communities in contexts where other faith traditions are in the majority. It is common in discussions pertaining to the missions, ecumensim, inculturation. | Animazione missionaria:.. nello stile, incoraggiando l'apertura ad una mentalità di Chiesa universale, la qualità del dialogo interreligioso |
| dimensione laicale [IT] | lay dimension | The term appears to originate from GC21 in its discussion of the Salesian Brother. Cf. comments on Coadiutore elsewhere in this glossary. Synonyms are 'lay mentality', 'lay vocation'.Over time the General Chapters changed from reference (Italian makes the change clearer) to ''coadiutore-chierico-prete salesiano'', to ''coadiutore salesiano-chierico-prete''. It is not just a play on words but highlights the essential fact that the Brother is a true Salesian and not just a derivative of the priest. See also GC26 on this. | Vecchi ACG376:...dimensione laicale attraversa la nostra vita e la nostra famiglia, fino a marcarne... |
| di Sales, Francesco [IT] | de Sales, Francis | The term is originally in French (''François de Sales''). Italian has Italianised the entire name. English does not alter the orthography for the surname, but anglicises the Christian name. Born 21st August 1567 in the de Sales castle at Thoren, Savoy. Died 28th December 1622. The term 'Salesian' is initially a reference to this Saint and his spirituality. Which is why we use the expression 'Salesian of Don Bosco' to note the distinction. There is also a 'Salesian Family', then, quite apart from that pertaining to Don Bosco. | |
| Diaconus, D. [LA] | Diaconus, D. | This term is to be found in the Year Book. Cf. also diacono above. | |
| dicasteri della missione salesiana [IT] | departments of the Salesian mission | The term is a neologism arising out of GC26, which decided to increase collaboration between three departments in particular: Youth Ministry, Social Communications, Missions. The Rector Major himself undertook to oversee this collaboration, and he also gave these 'departments of the mission' the task of working together for [[P#pe |Progetto Europa], Project Europe. | CG26: Evidenzio in particolare l’orientamento espresso circa i cosiddetti “dicasteri della missione salesiana”. Il Capitolo ha espresso l’esigenza di maggior collaborazione ed unitarietà nell’impostazione e nella realizzazione della missione salesiana. Incoraggio le ispettorie a tener presente questa sensibilità ed a trarne ispirazione nell’animazione ispettoriale. |
| dicastero [IT] | department | There is a distinction between a ''dicastero'' and a ''settore'', the latter being the wider term, currently in Salesian jargon. Other matters below a department would be called areas. We do not use the Vatican-English gloss, 'dicastery'. The Social Communications Sector has a department which looks after a number of areas. | Vigano ACG290: Per questo lavoro converrà approfittare anche della qualificata collaborazione del dicastero per la Pastorale... |
| dicastero della PG [IT] | | | |
| dimensione sociale della carità [IT] | the social dimension of charity | A term that gained prominence during GC23 | CG23:.. La dimensione sociale della carità.. |
| dimissione [IT] | dismissal | A process by which a member is separated from the Congregation either according to law or by a decree of the Superior General. There are three kinds of dismissal according to Canon Law: ipso facto (automatic) Canon 694, obligatory Canon 695, according to the judgement of the Superior 696. | EG07-Separazione dalla società: Dimissione dalla Società |
| dimissorie [IT] | dimissorials (letters) | Cf. also Lettere dimissoriali | PV1:..dimissorie per le sacre ordinazioni, di alienare beni o di contrarre debiti.. |
| dinamismo [IT] | energy [or similar] | Note context each time, but in general avoid glossing with 'dynamism' | IL NUOVO LOGO:... autentici del suo dinamismo (C 39).... |
| Dio [IT] | God | One could hardly write about spirituality without including God as one of the 100 most important words! Desramaut obviously includes the term. DB would speak of 'God the Creator', 'Fear of God', 'the glory of God', ('the greater glory of God'), 'the will of God', rather than just the broad term 'God'. | |
| direttore [IT] | Rector (EN-GB), Director (EN-US) | The superior of the Salesian canonical community. The role of the Rector is discussed in the Rector's Manual. The term may often be capitalised in English. | |
| direttore degli studi [IT] | prefect of studies, director of studies | | DBtrelet:..Succedendo cose gravi se ne dia tosto avviso al Direttore degli Studi o al Superiore della Casa. |
| Direttore spirituale [IT] | Spiritual director | In addition to the obvious meaning of the term, the capitalised version is applied to the priest who works with the DAMAS (cf. Asociación Damas Salesianas) | |
| direttorio [IT] | directory | The term has a juridical meaning for Religious communities - directories are usually items such as Province Directory or Formation Directory, part of the common or particular law of the Congregation. In the case of a province list of personnel and houses, some provinces also call this a directory. Perhaps better termed as a year book. | SDB-Regolamenti:...stabilite nel Direttorio ispettoriale |
| Direttorio Generale | General Directory | Directory is also a technical term in Vatican parlance, often in reference to something like the Liturgical Ordo. | Viganò ACG296:...conciliari, elaborato sotto l'ispirazione prossima del Direttorio Generale, il nostro documento ne assume totalmente .. |
| Direttorio Generale per la Catechesi [IT] | General Catechetical Directory | The first, approved by Pope Paul VI April 11th 1971 and prepared by the Congregation for the Clergy. The second, approved by Pope John Paul II in 1997 is a fully revised version taking into account the many papal and other magisterial documents in between. | |
| direttorio ispettoriale [IT] | provincial directory | Not to be confused with the annual listing of confreres and houses (year book) the directory is a collection of norms applying basic Salesian law. | PV10:..compito del Direttorio ispettoriale (sezione formazione) applicarli.. |
| direzione | administration | In reference to, say, the Administration offices of a school, Salesian House and so forth. Cf. also ''direzione generale'' immediately below | |
| Direzione Generale (Opere Don Bosco) [IT] | Salesian General Administration | The official title for the General House (Generalate) in Rome, often shortened to ''Direzione Generale''. | |
| direzione spirituale [IT] | spiritual direction | While not a term employed by Don Bosco it soon became part of Salesian terminology under Fr Albera then Fr Ricceri. Nowadays Salesians may refer to a spiritual guide as a synonymous term, but one with fewer specific connotations, and perhaps to be understood less formally. Acceptance of a spiritual guide is essential in the path of vocational discernment. The Salesian mission as understood by DB was very much one of spiritual direction of the young. Nowadays the term is understood more as something applied among Religious or the Christian faithful, but we should not overlook the fact that in the Preventive System we have a charismatic approach to spiritual direction of the young - in friendship, confidence and freedom. | Rfcncap1:. -colloquio con il Direttore, della direzione spirituale, del sacramento della Penitenza,.. |
| Diritto Canonico [IT] | (Code of) Canon Law | It is worth noting that the revised Code (a term often used as a shorthand for the Code of Canon Law) was promulgated in 1983 and the revised Salesian Constitutions in 1984. The SDB Constitutions were regarded by the Church as a good example of how to draw benefit from the new Code's 'space' for developing the autonomous nature of a particular charism. | Viganò ACG312:..Un'altra novità ancora - l'adeguamento delle Costituzioni al nuovo Codice di Diritto canonico |
| diritto pontificio [IT] | pontifical right | A canonical term. An Institute of pontifical right is the complete term. Such an Institute is recognised by the Holy See as having a charism of universal value to the Church. In juridical terms it means the Institute does not depend on the Bishop or Episcopal Conference but on the Holy See. From this, an Institute gains 'exemption', seen not so much as a privilege but as availability for greater service. When the Salesian Constitutions indicate that the Pope is our ultimate superior, it derives from the fact of Pontifical right. | EG10:..Doveri e facoltà particolari dell'Ispettore: -apostolica, clericali di diritto pontificio, i quali a norma delle Costituzioni godano della potestà... |
| diritto proprio della Società [IT] | the Society's own law | As distinct from Canon Law or the Church's own law, but also in reference to times past when an Institute was founded on the basis of a Rule, e.g. Benedictine, Augustinian, Basilian. The Congregation's own law is also known as the Rule of Life which comprises documentation indicated in C. 191: General regulations, deliberations of General Chapters, General and Provincial Directories (including for example the ''Ratio''), other decisions made by competent authorities. | |
| diritti umani (promozione di, protezione di...) [IT] | human rights (protecting..) | The term is especially meaningful as one of the contexts of evangelisation today, and a challenge to faith. Other similar challenges are: ecology, the earth as God's gift, solidarity and poverty, work, the movement of peoples, the new world order - economic order, family and life. The term has become even more important in the light of the 2008 Strenna which leads us to consider associated terms like human rights promotion and human rights protection. The former is a general term indicating all efforts at awareness-raising, informing and forming, preventing, carried out by institutional or non-iinstitutional groups or entities to spread a preventive human rights culture. These activities would not normally be in reference to an individual case, but are intended to prevent such violations. The latter is a general term indicating all activities, not just juridical ones, which safegaurd a victim or victims from imminent or actual situations of violation of human rights. Protection activities may be institutional or non-institutional. | chavezscuol:..e dell'emulazione, la preoccupazione per la città e per i diritti umani, l'attitudine a... |
| disagio [IT] | hardship | A human condition indicating, allusively, a state of suffering but also of need or concern. It does not necessarily indicate a pathological condition; in fact it can be a sign of sensitivity, desire to know, creativity. | SGS:.. alle tante situazioni di povertà, di disagio, d'oppressione, di guerra,.. |
| discepolo di Cristo [IT] | disciple of Christ | With a number of variants (disciple of Jesus, of the Lord, authentic disciple of the Good Shepherd), this term was common enough in the language of Fr Viganò (e.g. writing to confreres in 1979 about religious discipline). | CG23:.. Chi, come discepolo di Cristo, vede questa realtà con i suoi occhi e la sente... |
| discernimento (vocazionale) [IT] | (vocational) discernment | Clearly there is a wide field of application for discernment - gospel discernment of the most general kind, for example. The term vocational discernment is used in two contexts - in the general context of spiritual discernment for any young person discerning his or her way of life, and in the particular context of admission to religious Life or the early stages of that life towards final profession or towards priesthood. | PV8: In 'Criteri e norme per il discernimento vocazionale salesiano (Roma 1985) sono indicati elementi di... |
| disciplina religiosa [IT] | religious discipline | A term that needs to be tied to the word disciple. Our sense of religious discipline is to be disciples of the Lord and of Don Bosco. One of Desramaut's 100 words of Salesian spirituality. However we also find the term in adjectival form as a single word (''disciplinari'', disciplinary) employed in a strictly canonical sense as, for example, when a Major Superior may dispense from single disciplinary articles of the Constitutions. Here disciplinary means a norm or rule that does not touch on the essential nature of the Salesian Identity as outlined in the Constitutions. | Costituzioni:...la cura della vita e della disciplina religiosa. |
| discoli, dissipati, e buoni [IT] | the unruly, the frivolous and the good. Delinquents (discoli) | A general categorisation of young people left us by DB. categorisation of young people left us by DB. 'Juvenile delinquent' is possibly the best gloss for ''giovani discoli''. | |
| disordini [IT] | abuses | | |
| dispensa [IT] | dispensation | 'Dispensation' is a canonical term. It is an act by which authority, under certain conditions, exonerates a person from the obligation of observing a norm or precept. E.g. dispensation of a person from private vows. There is dispensation from priestly celibacy, from vows (temporary or perpetual) from diaconate. There is also the possibility of dispensation from observance of one or Constitutions. Such dispensation can be given by a Major Superior. Dispensation in matters such as priestly celibacy or perpetual vows involves a process of request, including to the Holy See. The dispensation is given by means of a rescript. | EG13: L'archivio ispettoriale e gli archivi delle case: ..Confratelli usciti per fine voti o per dispensa dai voti... |
| Divina Provvidenza [IT] | Divine Providence | The term, as evidenced by a large corpus of Salesian texts, is almost entirely employed by Don Bosco. Where other texts use it, it is generally as part of a citation from Don Bosco himself. The Constitutions use the term (C.74 on Poverty) in reference to Don Bosco's total abandonment to Divine Providence. | Dbletrom:..Chiesa e altrove; lo star malvolentieri in un luogo ove la Divina Provvidenza li ricolma di ogni bene pel corpo.. |
| docile [IT] | well-behaved, obedient... | Beware, 'false friend', ''docile''. The word of course can mean 'docile' but in many contexts in which we find it in Salesian texts (e.g. in the Life of Dominic Savio, or in reference to John Bosco as a boy at school) it means good behaviour, being obedient. | MO:...conducendolo alle pratiche religiose me lo resi assai docile, ubbidiente e studioso a segno che dopo sei... |
| docilità allo Spirito [IT] | obedience to the Spirit | When we see that of the 96 references to ''docilità'' in corpusdb one third of them refer to the Spirit, we can sense that this is a term in its own right, with some variants: obedience to the Holy Spirit, to the Lord, to the Spirit of the Lord, towards the Spirit... | |
| dolcezza [IT] | kindness | DB (for whom the virtue of ''dolcezza'' was something he had to learn - it did not come naturally) particularly appreciated St Francis de Sales for this reason. Avoid the tendency to gloss this term by 'sweetness'. It could be that, but the latter term is too saccharine in contemporary society. Usually it refers to an attitude of kindness, goodness, pleasantness or, in religious terms, Christian charity. | Strenna05:.. sempre raggiante di carità e dolcezza ci risponda colle parole di S. Paolo:... |
| Don [IT] | Father | Don Bosco preferred ''don'' as a personal reference (''sac.'' or ''sacerdote'' is what he used in correspondence to sign off). The choice of ''don'' over ''padre'' is linked to the distinction in Italy between diocesan clergy who use ''don'' and religious priests who use ''padre''. Italian often writes the term in lower case as ''don''. A second issue: Bosco, Rua, Albera, Rinaldi and Ricaldone were always referred to as ''Don'' in English texts, without use of first name and with ''Don'' untranslated. From the time of Ziggiotti onwards, reference in English was often to Fr. (or ''Don'') Renato Ziggiotti, Fr. (or ''Don'') Luigi Ricceri etc. Today we refer in English always to Fr. Pascual Chávez. Bl. Philip Rinaldi, Bl. Michael Rua -Anglicised versions are employed. | |
| Don Bosco [IT] | Don Bosco | Simply and always known as Don Bosco (cf. Don above), the universal Church applies other titles: Father and teacher of youth, Founder of the Society of St Francis De Sales and, with St Mary Domenica Mazzarello, the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, the Salesian Cooperators. Born at Castelnuovo d'Asti 14th August 1815, he was educated to faith and to a consistent practice of that faith by his mother, Mamma Margaret. At age 9 he had a dream which from then on he claimed gave him the direction for his life - the education of the young. By age 10 he was already gathering them for games and prayer. Ordained 1841 he took Da mihi animas caetera tolle as his life's motto. He developed a style and practice based on reason, religion and loving-kindness, known as the Preventive System and taught young people how to be reflective, to encounter Christ especially in one another. He educated them to faith, to a sacramental life and to practical charity and service. He died on 31st January 1888. | Dbletrom:..In quell'istante si avvicinò a me l'altro mio antico allievo che avea la barba tutta bianca e mi disse: Don Bosco... |
| Don Bosco Educatore [IT] | Don Bosco, the educator | Title of a critical work by Fr Peter Braido on primary Salesian texts. | |
| Don Bosco International DBI [EN] | Don Bosco International | The public face of the Salesian Congregation to the EU. | |
| Don Bosco Network DBN [EN] | Don Bosco Network DBN | Umbrella organization of European Salesian NGO's with EU recognition. Groups such as VIS, JTM... | |
| dottore [IT] | Doctor (but cf. comment) | Medically a ''dottore'' is a doctor (though also ''medico''). But in Salesian (and in Scriptural!) terminology we may meet it in an educational context. On a professional level there is a wide difference between the use of ''dottore'' in Italian and 'Doctor' in English. In English a Doctor is one who has attained the Ph.D. In Italian anyone who has earned his ''laurea'' (college degree) is ''dottore''. Heads of office departments may be called ''dottore''. It is also a mark of respect for addressing individuals who may not be doctors, neither medically nor academically speaking. | SGS:.."Un dottore della legge si alzò per metterlo alla prova: "Maestro, che devo fare... |
| dovere | duty | Often in the plural in both languages (''doveri'', 'duties') the term is frequent in Don Bosco's usage. The title of ''Il Giovane Provveduto'' continued on to say ''per la practica dei suoi doveri''. This was a very practical manual of piety, then. | SGS:.. L'ascesi del d dovere o della bontà paziente era la loro penitenza |
| DQM The Daughters of the Queenship of Mary [EN] | The Daughters of the Queenship of Mary DQM | Founded in Bangkok. Thailand in 1954 by Fr C. Della Torre. Members of the Salesian Family | | (:nl:) |
