[ noun ] (Roman Catholic Church) the central administration governing the Roman Catholic Church <noun.group>
Curia \Cu"ri*a\ (k?"r?-?), n.; pl. {Curle} (-?). [L.] 1. (Rom. Antiq.) (a) One of the thirty parts into which the Roman people were divided by Romulus. (b) The place of assembly of one of these divisions. (c) The place where the meetings of the senate were held; the senate house.
2. (Middle Ages) The court of a sovereign or of a feudal lord; also; his residence or his household. --Burrill.
3. (Law) Any court of justice.
4. The Roman See in its temporal aspects, including all the machinery of administration; -- called also {curia Romana}.
The budget covers expenses for the curia, or the church's central administration, Vatican radio, diplomatic missions and the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.