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Philip II, king of Spain, Naples, and Sicily

(Encyclopedia)Philip II, 1527–98, king of Spain (1556–98), king of Naples and Sicily (1554–98), and, as Philip I, king of Portugal (1580–98). Philip was not the bloodthirsty tyrant portrayed by his enemi...

cardinal, in the Roman Catholic Church

(Encyclopedia)cardinal [Lat.,=attached to and thus “belonging to” the hinge], in the Roman Catholic Church, a member of the highest body of the church. The sacred college of cardinals of the Holy Roman Church i...

Counter Reformation

(Encyclopedia)Counter Reformation, 16th-century reformation that arose largely in answer to the Protestant Reformation; sometimes called the Catholic Reformation. Although the Roman Catholic reformers shared the Pr...

censorship

(Encyclopedia)censorship, official prohibition or restriction of any type of expression believed to threaten the political, social, or moral order. It may be imposed by governmental authority, local or national, by...

secret police

(Encyclopedia)secret police, policing organization operating in secrecy for the political purposes of its government, often with terroristic procedures. Many states, including Chile, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Romania,...

Spain

(Encyclopedia)CE5 CE5 Spain, Span. España āspäˈnyä [key], officially Kingdom of Spain, constitutional monarchy (2015 est. pop. 46,398,000), 194,884 sq mi (504,750 sq km), including the Balearic and Canary...

astronomy

(Encyclopedia)astronomy, branch of science that studies the motions and natures of celestial bodies, such as planets, stars, and galaxies; more generally, the study of matter and energy in the universe at large. ...

Judaism

(Encyclopedia)Judaism jo͞oˈdəĭzˌəm, jo͞oˈdē– [key], the religious beliefs and practices and the way of life of the Jews. The term itself was first used by Hellenized Jews to describe their religious prac...

papacy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 papacy pāˈpəsē [key], office of the pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church. He is pope by reason of being bishop of Rome and thus, according to Roman Catholic belief, successor in the see ...

Roman Catholic Church

(Encyclopedia)Roman Catholic Church, Christian church headed by the pope, the bishop of Rome (see papacy and Peter, Saint). Its commonest title in official use is Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. “Roman Cathol...

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