Hi, Allison!
Actually, The Catholic Church is made up of 23 separate sui iuris Churches, each with its own governance (
sui iuris roughly translates to “self governing”), its own traditions and methods of worship (also known as “rite,” although many of these Churches share the same rite) and its own Code of Canon Law. All 23 Churches, however, share the same Dogmas and Articles of Faith (although they may
express this uniform faith in different ways). All 23 Churches also recognize the Pope of Rome as the successor of Peter, the pastoral shepherd of
all Catholic faithful.
Because of this,
any Catholic individual is absolutely free to worship in
any of the 23 sui iuris Churches - each is “just as Catholic” as the next, despite the fact that the Latin Church, commonly known as the
Roman Catholic Church is far and away the largest of the 23, many, many times larger, in fact, than the other 22 Churches put together!
Confusing, huh? Well, if I may, I’d like to copy something I posted in another thread that may make things a bit clearer…
When a pope is elected, he assumes three roles within the Church:
- He becomes the Bishop of Rome;
- He becomes the Patriarch of the Latin Church;
- He becomes the Universal Pastor of all
Catholics in communion with Rome.
The Latin Church is far and away the largest and most influential of the 23 Churches
sui iuris that comprise the Catholic Church - it is worth remembering, however, that it is not the
only one. There are 22 Eastern Catholic Churches, each with its own Church heierarchy (in some cases this is a patriarch, in others a metropolitan archbishop, and so on) that are in
full communion with the See of Peter and, as such, are
just as Catholic as the Latin Church.
It’s been estimated that upwards of 95% of the Pope’s responsibilities are directly related to his role as the Patriarch of the Latin Church (or, as the media continues to call it, the
Roman Catholic Church), with the remaining 5% or so dedicated to his responsibilities as the Bishop of the Diocese of Rome (most of these responsibilities being delegated to others) and to actual matters of Faith and Dogma that impact
all Catholics in communion with the Holy See.
Let me give an example: when the Holy Father speaks with regard to an issue such as married clergy, he is speaking as the Patriarch of the Latin Church,
not as the Ecumenical Pontiff of
all Catholics. Since the marital status of the Catholic priesthood is not a matter of Faith or Dogma, he cannot dictate to the other 22 Churches
sui iuris how they address this issue - that’s up to their own Church heierarchy and Code of Canon Law. This is obvious in the fact that a married priesthood in the Eastern Catholic Churches, especially those outside of the USA, is quite common - and I again stress: these are
Catholic priests, every bit as Catholic as your typical Fr. Joe at St. John’s Roman Catholic Church down the street.
(continued)
