 | This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: The terms Catholic (Church) and Roman Catholic (Church) are acceptable contemporary names for the worldwide church and its members, headed by the Pope in Rome. Articles should not be changed from using Catholic to Roman Catholic or vice versa without strong reason. |
Many peer publications use the term "Roman Catholic" to describe the church lead by the Pope, yet we notably do not. Why is that? This essay aims to clarify why the flagship article of WP:Wikiproject Catholicism is named "Catholic Church", while many topics use "Roman Catholic Church" instead.
While certainly possessing a controversial history since the Protestant Reformation, the term Roman Catholic is still used today without irony by thousands of individual Catholics, Catholic parishes, and dioceses to describe their church and institutions. For example, in the United States, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York (Official Website) serves the City of New York and surrounding area - while in England, the Archdiocese of Liverpool (Official Website) describes itself as the "The Roman Catholic Church In And Around Liverpool and Region". Though both versions of the name are acceptable, "Catholic Church" is the simplest form that is sufficiently clear for most purposes, thus the flagship article is titled "Catholic Church", with "Roman Catholic Church" listed as an alternative.
However, Roman Catholic has been applied in other contexts in order to avoid ambiguity, particularly when discussing complex histories regarding multiple denominations and in some ecumenical contexts. Many peer publications use "Roman Catholic" as the main article to avoid confusion. This essay will address how Wikipedia has balanced Catholic and Roman Catholic within the article and category user spaces; the members of the Wikiproject Catholicism came to this narrow consensus after numerous discussions, linked in the appendix for anyone interested.
This essay also advocates for continued use of Roman Catholic in at least some contexts to avoid ambiguity when discussing complex topics and incongruity with peer publications. Other essays heavily favor using "Catholic Church" or "Catholic", with limited uses for Roman Catholic; one example is Wikipedia:Proposed naming conventions (Catholic Church). As of yet, there is no governing policy, so the choice of which convention to use remains with the original author of an article, and should not be changed without substantial reason.