Roman Catholic (term)

See also: Catholic Church, Catholicity, and Catholic (term)

The term Roman Catholic is sometimes used to differentiate the Catholic Church and its members in full communion with the pope in Rome from other Christians who identify as "Catholic".[1] It is also sometimes used to differentiate adherents to the Latin Church and its use of the Roman Rite from Catholics of the Eastern Catholic Churches. It is not the official name preferred by the Holy See or bishops in full communion with the pope as a designation for their faith or institution.[2][3]

The term "catholic" is one of the Four Marks of the Church set out in the Nicene Creed, a statement of belief widely accepted across Christian denominations. Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox consider the term "Catholic" to refer to a single institutional one true church, while Protestant ecclesiology considers it to refer to a church invisible referred to as the Christian Church. The use of "Roman" or "Roman Catholic" to differentiate the Catholic Church dates from the Middle Ages.[4]

Following the pejorative term "papist", attested in English since 1528,[5] the terms "Popish Catholic" and "Romish Catholic" came into use in English during the Protestant Reformation. From the 17th century, "Roman Catholic Church" has been used as a synonym for the Catholic Church by some Anglicans and other Protestants in English-speaking countries.[6] The phrase is used by Catholics to emphasize the unique communion of the Catholic Church with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, considered to be the successor to Saint Peter.[4][7]

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    1. ^ * "Catholic". Collins Dictionary. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
      * "Roman Catholic". Colins Dictionary. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
      * "Roman Catholic". Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
      * "Definition of CATHOLIC". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
      * "Definition of ROMAN CATHOLIC". www.merriam-webster.com. 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
    2. ^ Cite error: The named reference McClintoc71 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
    3. ^ D., Whitehead, K. (2000). One, holy, Catholic, and apostolic: the early church was the Catholic Church. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. ISBN 0898708028. OCLC 45473599.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
    5. ^ "Definition of PAPIST". merriam-webster.com. Archived from the original on 2023-01-04. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
    6. ^ "Everyone claimed to be 'catholic' and 'evangelical' and (eventually) 'reformed', but now each of these became a denominational label. The name 'Roman Catholic' conjoined the universality of the church 'over the entire world' with the specificity of 'only one single see'" ([1] Archived 2023-02-15 at the Wayback Machine) Jaroslav Pelikan, 1985, The Christian Tradition: Volume 4, Reformation of Church and Dogma (1300–1700) (Section on The Roman Catholic Particularity). University of Chicago Press ISBN 0-226-65377-3 pages 245–246
    7. ^ Cite error: The named reference cin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).