What is "notification"

Notification \No`ti*fi*ca"tion\, n. [Cf. F. notification. See Notify.]

1. The act of notifying, or giving notice; the act of making known; especially, the act of giving official notice or information to the public or to individuals, corporations, companies, or societies, by words, by writing, or by other means.

2. Notice given in words or writing, or by signs.

3. The writing which communicates information; an advertisement, or citation, etc.

late 14c., from Old French notificacion (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin notificationem (nominative notificatio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin notificare "to make known, notify" (see notify).

n. 1 (context uncountable English) The act of notifying. 2 (context countable English) A specific piece of information that serves to notify. 3 (context countable English) A text message on a cell phone.

1. n. an accusation of crime made by a grand jury on its own initiative [syn: presentment]

2. informing by words [syn: telling, apprisal]

3. a request for payment; "the notification stated the grace period and the penalties for defaulting" [syn: notice]

Notification may refer to:

• Notification (Holy See), a notification by a department of the Roman Curia
• Casualty notification, the process of notifying relatives of people who have been killed or seriously injured
• Death notification, the process of notifying relatives of a military person who has died
• Partner notification, the practice of notifying the sexual partners of a person who has been newly diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease

A notification by the Holy See is an official announcement by a department of the Holy See, the leadership of the Catholic Church in Rome.

The term used in Latin is notificatio, and in Italian it is notificazione. English translations most frequently use the similar word "notification", but sometimes use the word "note" or, as is more common for similar announcements by English-speaking entities, the word "notice".

A notification is issued "by one with executive authority, which usually serves as a reminder of something contained in the law, or explains more clearly the meaning of a law".

Notifications are simply one of the many forms of documents issued by the Holy See. Apart from the more solemn declarations on matters such as doctrine, religious freedom or Christian education, and the legislative, judicial and administrative decrees supplementing or implementing a law, there are instructions, circular letters, directories, notifications, statutes, norms and ordinances.

As for the many other documents of the Holy See, the subject matter determines the department that issues a notification. For instance, a notification regarding copyright governing voice recordings of Pope Benedict XVI was issued by Vatican Radio in September 2005 and notifications concerning liturgical celebrations by the Pope are regularly issued by the office in charge of such celebrations.

Notifications by any department of the Holy See are usually published on L'Osservatore Romano (The Roman Observer), the semi-official newspaper of the Holy See. If the notification is of sufficient importance, it is also included in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis (Acts of the Apostolic See), the official gazette of the Holy See.