Is the term "Roman Catholic Church" offensive?

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Well, most people are not aware of the history and meaning behind the expression and also not aware of the proper name of the Church as the Church understands it. When speaking of the one Church established by Christ which includes all the Churches scattered throughout the world that are under the direction of the direct Successor of the Apostle Peter who coincidentally happens to be the Bishop of Rome, we speak of the “Catholic Church.” When speaking only of the Patriarchate and Rite that is in the primary direct jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome we speak of the Latin Church. This is to distinguish this Patriarchate and Rite from the other Patriarchates and Rites within the one Catholic Church. It is not proper to say “Roman Catholic Church” when speaking of the worldwide Church universal. When speaking of the branch of the Church that follows the liturgy and discipline of the diocese of Rome it is to be called the “Latin Church.” Those that are in communion with the Pope but follow a different liturgy and discipline from a different and ancient diocese are called by that other Church (e.g. Byzantine Church, Ukrainian Church, Maronite Church, Melkite Church, Chaldean Church, etc.). Presumably one could say “Latin Rite Catholic Church” or “Byzantine Rite Catholic Church,” etc. and etc.

“Roman Catholic Church” has never been officially accepted nor recognized by the Church as a proper name for her. It comes from Anti-Catholic Anglicans as a slur to deny the authenticity and catholicity of the one Church founded by Christ under the direction of the Successor of St. Peter who coincidentally happens to have his See situated in Rome. It also is used to give the impression that the Catholic Church comes from Roman Paganism and that the Pope is like a pagan Roman Emperor with the title “Pontifex Maximus” and is worshiped like a god. Unfortunately, this improper name for the Church has been widely accepted by all English speakers including Catholics. It can at times be offensive depending on the way its used and the intention of the one using it. Some anti-Catholics do use it as a slur. But, most of the time it is not intended to be offensive, it’s just used out of ignorance or because it is just so commonly used.
 
Roman_Army said:
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The correct term is Latin Rite, or perhaps the Catholic Apostolic Church
We have used the term Roman Catholic for so long now that it is no wonder modern day cotholics are not aware of the negative reasons Carlan>
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Carlan said:
The correct term is Latin Rite, or perhaps the Catholic Apostolic Church
We have used the term Roman Catholic for so long now that it is no wonder modern day cotholics are not aware of the negative reasons Carlan>
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Ahhh… But intent is everything and 99% of those who use the term Roman Catholic are not meaning to be uncharitable. Therefore, I stand by my answer and say I am not offended by it.

As a side note… I am note offended by your neglecting to capitalize Catholic or spell it correctly, because I know that your intent was not to insult. 😉
 
Carlan said:
Roman_Army;5887455:
The correct term is Latin Rite, or perhaps the Catholic Apostolic Church
We have used the term Roman Catholic for so long now that it is no wonder modern day cotholics are not aware of the negative reasons Carlan>
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Another correct term would be “Roman Rite Catholic Church”.
Same as" Latin Rite Catholic Church"
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On its website (cdlex.org/) our diocese calls itself the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington. Makes sense because it’s a diocese of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Some of the parishes refer to themselves in places as being Roman Catholic.

I’m not actually Catholic yet, but I’m working on it it. “Roman Catholic” doesn’t bother me but I’ll probably generally just say Catholic.

I did say “Roman Catholic” to someone the other day - he’s a Methodist and didn’t seem happy to have it be suggested that he wasn’t catholic (small c I suppose).
 
Bbigam said:
I did say “Roman Catholic” to someone the other day - he’s a Methodist and didn’t seem happy to have it be suggested that he wasn’t catholic (small c I suppose).
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This is another reason to deny non-Catholics the use of the name “C/catholic” - whether it is with a small “c” or a large “C”.

You see, non-Catholics WANT DESPERATELY to claim some sense of importance or gravitas for their own small communions which are typically geographically regional or local only. It makes them feel like they are part of something much larger when they can claim to be “catholic”. I don’t deny that they are Christian, but I must object to the idea that their “ecclesial communities” are anything near what Jesus intended when He founded the one Church upon Peter the rock.

Additionally, they want to minimize the Catholic Church’s primacy in the constellation of Christian communities by giving the appearance that the ROMAN Catholic Church is just another denomination among many…just another option to consider if you follow Christ.

But it’s not a level playing field, and we would not be doing non-Catholics any favors by allowing them to believe otherwise for a single moment.
 
Randy_Carson said:
This is another reason to deny non-Catholics the use of the name “C/catholic” - whether it is with a small “c” or a large “C”.

You see, non-Catholics WANT DESPERATELY to claim some sense of importance or gravitas for their own small communions which are typically geographically regional or local only. It makes them feel like they are part of something much larger when they can claim to be “catholic”. I don’t deny that they are Christian, but I must object to the idea that their “ecclesial communities” are anything near what Jesus intended when He founded the one Church upon Peter the rock.

Additionally, they want to minimize the Catholic Church’s primacy in the constellation of Christian communities by giving the appearance that the ROMAN Catholic Church is just another denomination among many…just another option to consider if you follow Christ.

But it’s not a level playing field, and we would not be doing non-Catholics any favors by allowing them to believe otherwise for a single moment.
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Is it possible that you might just be seeking to be offended?
 
why should any Catholic be offended. The following is the commencement of the address given by Pope John Paul II the manner in which he describes himself:

APOSTOLIC JOURNEY TO IRELAND

ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER JOHN PAUL II
TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE IRISH REPUBLIC

Dublin
Saturday, 29 September 1979

Mr President,

I wish to express my gratitude for the warm welcome that I have received on my arrival in Ireland from the people of Ireland, as well as from their distinguished Representatives. I express my sincere thanks to you, Mr President, for the kind words that you addressed to me, with which you have wished to honour not only my person but the Head of the Roman Catholic Church.
 
Roman Catholic is incorrect and improper simply because the name of the Church is not “Roman Catholic” It is the Catholic Church. Look above and you will see that it says “Catholic Answers”. Many Catholics are ignorant of the history and even of the correct name of the Church and use “Roman Catholic” instead of the correct name “Catholic Church”. It’s like calling you Bill when your name is Paul. It just ain’t right.

Check out the link for a complete explantation

catholic.com//thisrock/2006/0601fea4.asp
 
Well Ricko

That John Paul II sure didn’t know what he was talking about…did he?
 
No offense, Pecksniff (and welcome to the forums) but you don’t have a link/source posted for that ‘address’. Could be the paper reporting it got it wrong, could be a lot of explanations, but there isn’t any way for us to verify that what you typed was actually what was said/printed.
 
That is, unless you’re snoopy like me.

Here is the Vatican web site which gives that Dublin 1979 address . vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/1979/september/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19790929_irlanda-dublino-aeroporto_en.html

and here is what was actually said, and I surely do not see “Roman Catholic Church”.
APOSTOLIC JOURNEY TO IRELAND
ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER JOHN PAUL II
AT THE WELCOMING CEREMONY IN DUBLIN
Saturday, 29 September 1979
Moladh go dee le Dia!
Praised be Jesus Christ!
It is with immense joy and with profound gratitude tο the Most Holy Trinity that I set foot today on Irish soil.
I come tο you as a servant of Jesus Christ, a herald of his Gospel of justice and love, as Bishop of Rome, as Successor of the Apostle Peter. And in the words of Peter I offer you the greeting of my heart : “Peace tο all of yοu who are in Christ” (1 Pt 5 :14).
I deeply appreciate the welcome of His Excellency the President of Ireland who, as the representative of all upright citizens, extends to me the warm hospitality of this land.
I am grateful moreover to my Brothers in the Episcopate, who are here to greet me in the name of the whole Church in Ireland, that I love so much. I am very happy to walk among you—in the footsteps of Saint Patrick and in the path of the Gospel that he left yοu as a great heritage—being convinced that Christ is here : “Christ before me, Christ behind me … Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me”.
At this moment of my arrival I feel the need to express my esteem for the Christian traditions of this land, as well as the gratitude of the Catholic Church for the glorious contribution made by Ireland over the centuries to the spreading of the Faith. From this capital city I send my greetings to all the Irish throughout the world.
And as I invoke God’s blessings on Ireland, I commend all her people to the prayers of our Blessed Lady, to the intercession of Mary, Mother of Jesus and Queen of Peace, under whose patronage I place my pastoral visit.
Praised be Jesus Christ !

Now I will look for that address to the President.

OK --found it and by the VATICAN SITE Pecksniff is absolutely correct.
 
Thank you for the confirmation Tantum ergo. I did not think of posting the link but now having found how easy it is I will in the future.
 
I just find it annoying because they use the term “Roman” to designate ALL Catholics simply so they can get some weird pleasure from saying they’re part of the "c"atholic church. It doesn’t offend me, it’s just REALLY annoying.
 
I’m only offended when non-Catholics refer to Roman Catholics as “Romanists” or the Roman Catholic Church as “Romanism”.

Apart from that, if they assume that all Catholics are Roman Catholic, then this only shows their lack of knowledge of the Church itself and its history; they need to read up on the different rites of the Catholic Church.
 
…That’s the name of the organization. ‘Papist’ is annoying, but…
 
Pecksniff said:
why should any Catholic be offended. The following is the commencement of the address given by Pope John Paul II the manner in which he describes himself:

APOSTOLIC JOURNEY TO IRELAND

ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER JOHN PAUL II
TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE IRISH REPUBLIC

Dublin
Saturday, 29 September 1979

Mr President,

I wish to express my gratitude for the warm welcome that I have received on my arrival in Ireland from the people of Ireland, as well as from their distinguished Representatives. I express my sincere thanks to you, Mr President, for the kind words that you addressed to me, with which you have wished to honour not only my person but the Head of the Roman Catholic Church.
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First of all, Pope John Paul II was merely re-telling what the President of Ireland told him in an informal way. Certainly, no Catholic should be offended when it is used in a respectful and non-derogatory manner, as an earlier poster suggested 99% of people who use it do not intend anything bad with it, and certainly intention is what matters.

Still that does not change the fact that it is not the proper name nor adjective to describe the entire universal Church established by Christ as is evident in the Apostles’ Creed and Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. It also does not change the fact that the origins of this “Roman” adjective is negative and that many anti-Catholics and those who deny the Truth still use it with the intention to denigrate the Church.
 
Hey, I love it:

Fact is, Rome is the Mother Church. All other Catholic churches could blow up, but ROme will remain and be the Standard for Orthodoxy and catholic faith.

I love the eastern rites ALOT so don’t misunderstand me. I am simply an old-school Triumphalist. Given our record, I feel entitled. 😉 👍
 
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