Do you find the term "Roman Catholic Church" offensive when NCC address it as such?

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Mannyfit75

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To My Eastern Catholic Brothers,

In the Apologetic thread I have a discussion with Protestants about when the Catholic Church officially started. Many times of their discussion, they often address the Catholic Church as Roman Catholic Church.

I find this general term to describe our Church as just Roman Catholic Church offensive because the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches are not consider Roman. They are different in their rite and style of worship especially in their liturgy. So yes, I do find it offensive.

I want to know if you find it offensive when Protestants call our Church as Roman Catholic Church instead of the Catholic Church. Do you think the more proper term would be One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church?
 
Hey Manny,

I don’t care for the term at all. Usually when Protestants say it, it’s meant to be offensive (although I don’t see how?). However, it seems to indirectly perpetuate a myth that the Catholic Church consists of only the Roman Church, which isn’t true. The Catholic Church is made of 23 Churches, and is a Communion of Churches.

It also upsets me when many Latin Catholics use the term, and act as if they are the only part of the Church. I’m almost an Eastern Catholic (Maronite) and I love the diversity of spirituality, liturgy, customs in the Catholic Church. I also don’t like how EWTN caters mostly to the Roman Church. If it’s going to be a Catholic network, they need to focus on the other 22 Churches of the Catholic Church. That’s for another thread though.

Alaha minokhoun
Andrew
 
Mannyfit75 said:
To My Eastern Catholic Brothers,

In the Apologetic thread I have a discussion with Protestants about when the Catholic Church officially started. Many times of their discussion, they often address the Catholic Church as Roman Catholic Church.

I find this general term to describe our Church as just Roman Catholic Church offensive because the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches are not consider Roman. They are different in their rite and style of worship especially in their liturgy. So yes, I do find it offensive.

I want to know if you find it offensive when Protestants call our Church as Roman Catholic Church instead of the Catholic Church. Do you think the more proper term would be One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church?
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Manny-

These folks are calling the Church by the title they are taught in their own churches. Even Swaggert was ignorant about the Catholic Church.
 
Harpazo said:
Hey Manny,

I don’t care for the term at all. Usually when Protestants say it, it’s meant to be offensive (although I don’t see how?). However, it seems to indirectly perpetuate a myth that the Catholic Church consists of only the Roman Church, which isn’t true. The Catholic Church is made of 23 Churches, and is a Communion of Churches.

It also upsets me when many Latin Catholics use the term, and act as if they are the only part of the Church. I’m almost an Eastern Catholic (Maronite) and I love the diversity of spirituality, liturgy, customs in the Catholic Church. I also don’t like how EWTN caters mostly to the Roman Church. If it’s going to be a Catholic network, they need to focus on the other 22 Churches of the Catholic Church. That’s for another thread though.

Alaha minokhoun
Andrew
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In EWTN’s defense, I have seen them represent many of the other Rite’s, they are all beautiful!! Perhaps you missed those programs.
I don’t find it offensive at all. Personally if someone called me by another Rite, I would just correct them and not be offended at all. We are One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.👍
 
Harpazo said:
Hey Manny,

I don’t care for the term at all. Usually when Protestants say it, it’s meant to be offensive (although I don’t see how?). However, it seems to indirectly perpetuate a myth that the Catholic Church consists of only the Roman Church, which isn’t true. The Catholic Church is made of 23 Churches, and is a Communion of Churches.

It also upsets me when many Latin Catholics use the term, and act as if they are the only part of the Church. I’m almost an Eastern Catholic (Maronite) and I love the diversity of spirituality, liturgy, customs in the Catholic Church. I also don’t like how EWTN caters mostly to the Roman Church. If it’s going to be a Catholic network, they need to focus on the other 22 Churches of the Catholic Church. That’s for another thread though.

Alaha minokhoun
Andrew
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Blessings brother Andrew :hug3:

I admit I do use the term ‘Roman Catholic’. But not at all in the sense that the Latin Rite/Church (and it’s rarely referred to as ‘Roman’ by us Latins) is the only Catholic Church.

I use it simply in the sense that we are bound together in submission to the Pope, the Bishop of Rome. And since other religious leaders like Pope Shenouda also bear the title of ‘Pope’, even simply referring to him under that title can lead to confusion.

And if one says simply ‘Catholic’, numerous Christian groups also lay claim to that title who AREN’T bound in submission to Benedict XVI, so it can also be confusing!

By the way I live near our Maronite Cathedral here in Sydney and attended a Maronite liturgy a while back - just beautiful 🙂
 
I don’t find it offensive. I find it to be an opportunity to teach about the universality of the Church.

I only find it offensive when people know about and understand the relationship between Catholic Churches and continue to call all of them the Roman Catholic Church.
 
I agree with brother Woodstock. I don’t find it offensive, but would rather use it as a platform to explain the issue.

In any case, I’m certain that when the NCC use the term, they are only meaning the LATIN Church anyway - since they probably have no idea that we exist.😦

Blessings,
Marduk
 
no I do not take offense where none is intended, and hope “NCC” don’t take offense at the manner in which I refer to them, if I do err in ignorance.
 
Harpazo said:
Hey Manny,

I don’t care for the term at all. Usually when Protestants say it, it’s meant to be offensive (although I don’t see how?). However, it seems to indirectly perpetuate a myth that the Catholic Church consists of only the Roman Church, which isn’t true. The Catholic Church is made of 23 Churches, and is a Communion of Churches.
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Manny became annoyed when I used the word “Roman” in scare quotes, even though I explicitly acknowledged that it is less than fully accurate because there are some small bodies in union with Rome not part of the Roman Catholic church strictly speaking.

Edwin
 
I thought “Roman Catholic Church” was acceptable when used to identify the entire Church, East and West, as said earlier about our unity with Rome.
When talking about specific Rites, I always try to specify (ie - Latin Rite).
If among Catholics, I just use the term “Catholic” itself if allowable.

I’m Latin Rite though, if that makes any difference.
 
Hi everyone,

Canonically, the Roman Catholic Church is known as the Latin Church. It denotes one of the 23 Sui Iuris Churches in full communion with the Pope of Rome. The other 22 are non-Latin Churches.

In the Middle East, Roum Katholiq refers not to the Latin Church, but to the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. Over there, the Latin Church is known as the “Lateen”.

It would be odd for Chaldean Catholics, such as myself, to be called Roman Catholics because we do not share Roman theology, liturgy, spirituality, and discipline, though off course by virtue of being in full communion with Roman Catholics, we do not consider their patrimony heretical.

If somebody called me a Roman Catholic, I can take this opportunity to explain to him the Eastern/Oriental Catholic Churches.

All Catholics share this in common:
  1. Deposit of Faith - Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition
  2. Holy Mysteries (Sacraments)
  3. Pope of Rome.
All Catholics are differentiated by the following:
  1. Theology
  2. Liturgy
  3. Spirituality
  4. Disciplines
There is often a misunderstanding when theology is mentioned as being different in the various Churches of the Catholic Communion. The theologies are complementary with one another, not in real contradiction with each other. Theology is an expression of the One Faith among regional peoples and cultures.

There is often a misunderstanding with regards the Church as single, and the Churches as plural. There are three levels:
  1. The One Universal Church which we call the Catholic Church.
  2. The Regional Ritual Churches are the 23 Sui Iuris Churches, which includes the “Roman Catholic Church” as one of them.
  3. The Particular Local Ritual Churches are the many Dioceses and Eparchies, which includes among them, the Church of the Diocese of Rome which holds Primacy among all the Particular Churches around the world.
God bless,

Rony
 
Contarini said:
Manny became annoyed when I used the word “Roman” in scare quotes, even though I explicitly acknowledged that it is less than fully accurate because there are some small bodies in union with Rome not part of the Roman Catholic church strictly speaking.

Edwin
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Read Rony’s post. He has very useful information. Yes, I do find calling the Catholic Church as Roman Catholic annoying because it does not describe the Church as truly universal. It negates the Eastern Rite Catholics, which I personally think is insulting. The Eastern Catholics aren’t Roman. They are either Ruthenian, Byzantine, or 20 others Eastern Rites which I have not mentioned.
 
Mannyfit75 said:
To My Eastern Catholic Brothers,

In the Apologetic thread I have a discussion with Protestants about when the Catholic Church officially started. Many times of their discussion, they often address the Catholic Church as Roman Catholic Church.

I find this general term to describe our Church as just Roman Catholic Church offensive because the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches are not consider Roman. They are different in their rite and style of worship especially in their liturgy. So yes, I do find it offensive.

I want to know if you find it offensive when Protestants call our Church as Roman Catholic Church instead of the Catholic Church. Do you think the more proper term would be One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church?
Click to expand...
I’m more offended when Roman Catholics keep referring to the numerous Particular Churches of the East and Oriental East simply as “Eastern Rite Catholics”.

U-C
 
Ungcsertez said:
I’m more offended when Roman Catholics keep referring to the numerous Particular Churches of the East and Oriental East simply as “Eastern Rite Catholics”.
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Yes, I also wish there are more like you who distinguish between East and Oriental East.

Even in matters of Rite, for example, the Liturgy of St. Basil celebrated among the Coptic Orthodox is slightly different from the Liturgy of St. Basil celebated among the Eastern Orthodox.

Blessings,
Marduk
 
Mannyfit75 said:
To My Eastern Catholic Brothers,

In the Apologetic thread I have a discussion with Protestants about when the Catholic Church officially started. Many times of their discussion, they often address the Catholic Church as Roman Catholic Church.

I find this general term to describe our Church as just Roman Catholic Church offensive because the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches are not consider Roman. They are different in their rite and style of worship especially in their liturgy. So yes, I do find it offensive.

I want to know if you find it offensive when Protestants call our Church as Roman Catholic Church instead of the Catholic Church. Do you think the more proper term would be One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church?
Click to expand...
I tend to consider it in the manner it is meant to be received. Sometimes it is easy shorthand for “The Latin Church” other times it is meant to qualify or imply that the moniker “Universal Church” is inaccurate - which I find annoying.

The OCA website’s Q&A section seems to go out of its way to use the term “Roman Catholic” which all things being equal, people would know WHOM they are referring to should they just use “Catholic” - which takes fewer keystrokes no less. The underlying message is that qualification is meant. Ditto for certain Protestants who want to use “Roman Catholic” in contrast to referring to themselves as Christians. Folks who mean to imply that “Catholic” has meaning wider than Rome… eh… some well intentioned folks seem less annoying in their usage than others. This may be arbitrary, but Contarini gets a pass (kind of) from me because I like him, even if I do think he is in errof. I think he would say the same of me!

“Catholic” and “Orthodox” alone work equally well.

But then again, it is easy to slip into the use of shorthand at times… So I don’t make a major case.
 
I’m more offended when Roman Catholics keep referring to the numerous Particular Churches of the East and Oriental East simply as “Eastern Rite Catholics”.
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Or alternately folks who speak of “The East” meaning very specifically Byzantine/Greek Christians. *(“In the East we…”) *Interestingly, a Maronite once told looked at me and laughed “You know we consider you Greeks westerners!”
mardukm said:
Yes, I also wish there are more like you who distinguish between East and Oriental East.

Even in matters of Rite, for example, the Liturgy of St. Basil celebrated among the Coptic Orthodox is slightly different from the Liturgy of St. Basil celebated among the Eastern Orthodox.

Blessings,
Marduk
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Something I have had an interest in exploring for some time!

Maybe this could be another thread?
 
I tend to use Latin Catholic, Greek Catholic, and Oriental Catholic or the specific sui iuris name. As Marduk rightly observes, “Eastern Rite” is a pretty big playing field.
FDRLB
 
And the Ethiopians have multiple Anaphorae attributed to St. Basil.
FDRLB
 
Hi everyone,

This applies to English speaking countries:

For Chaldean and Syro-Malabar Catholics, Assyrian and Ancient Christians, the name most often used among us is:

Church of the East

The reason why we name our Churches “of the East” is literally because geographically, out of all the geographic locations of Apostolic Churches, we are in the Easternmost regions of the world. We are East as far as East can go.

The name Oriental Churches typically is not a reference to us because historically we fell out of full communion with the Oriental Churches in the 5th century. For academic and scholarly naming, the Oriental Churches refer to the Antiochene, Armenian, and Alexandrian Churches.

Also, when it comes to popularity, Eastern Christian or Eastern Catholic is more prevalent among us than Oriental Christian or Oriental Catholic or Oriental Orthodox. Sometimes, people confuse us with the Greek Churches when we use the term “Eastern” and we have to always say that we are Aramaic-speaking Churches, not Greek or Hellenistic. So, on this part, we share the concern of Oriental Christians when they get confused with being Eastern Orthodox or Greek Catholic.

God bless,

Rony
 
Ungcsertez said:
I’m more offended when Roman Catholics keep referring to the numerous Particular Churches of the East and Oriental East simply as “Eastern Rite Catholics”.

U-C
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Having seen two of the last four popes use that wording… it’s good enough for me.
 
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