What is the official name for the Catholic Church?

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A “Bible Only” friend of mine likes to use the title Roman Catholic Church when telling me what errors he thinks we teach. He equates us with pagan Rome when he does it. I told him I don’t think that is the official title for the Church but Protestants gave it to us and it stuck. I told him that most of Western Catholics are Roman/Latin Rite but their are about 24 other Rites in the Catholic Church. I also think he doesn’t like us calling ourself The Church because He doesn’t think Christ founded the Roman Catholic Church because the Church is made of all Born Again Believers. What would be a good short answer?

Jeffrey
 
Apart from the great schism of Photius and then that of Caerularius, in the ninth and eleventh centuries, when the Eastern Othodox Church broke with Rome, the Church was “One” until the Protestant Reformation which started with Luther in the 16th century, and abortion was universally condemned.

The ‘abuse’ of indulgences furnished Luther with an opportunity to attack indulgences in general, and this attack was the immediate occasion of the Reformation in Germany. A little later the same motive led Zwingli to put forth his teachings, thereby inaugurating the Reformation in German Switzerland.

Both Luther and Zwingli declared that they were attacking only the abuses of indulgences; however, they soon taught doctrine in many ways contrary to the teaching of the Church.

In Germany, Luther had omitted the word Catholic from the Creed, but this was not the case in England. The term “Roman” or “Romish” Catholic first came into use by Protestant writers in the early 17th century who highly resented the Roman claim to any monopoly of the term Catholic.

Until this time Catholics were united in accepting the authority of the Magisterium (teaching body) of the Catholic Church, although there have always been individual and small groups of dissenters just as there are today.

The Church Jesus founded was first called the Catholic Church by one of the Apostolic fathers, Ignatius of Antioch I think it was, and several others also.

That is probably the problem. Protestants wanted to disassociate the Catholic Church from the Church of the 1st, 2nd & 3rd centuries in order to claim that it is a corrupted version of Christianity that was established by the Roman Emperor Constantine.
 
The official name is The Catholic Church. Look at the Catechism or the Vatican website. You will never see the Catholic Church refer to herself as the Roman Catholic Church.

Your friend makes the Protestant mistake of thinking the universal (Catholic) Church is nothing more than the name of the collection of all believers. But this is wrong. The Church is a supernatural organism, of which we are members. Even Protestants are members, though they are in imperfect union. The Church as Church has authority and divine assistance that extends far beyond that of individual members.
 
I would simply call her “The Church”. I’ve noticed that it does tend to stick in other people’s craw, especially the Capitalization. I also like “Holy Mother Church”, but “the Catholic Church” is sufficient.
 
I have found Protestants call it RCC because some consider their church part of Christ’s universal, or catholic church - small c. That way, they get around all the issues relating to the origin of the Catholic Church, etc. in their minds.
 
GerardPaul said:
A “Bible Only” friend of mine likes to use the title Roman Catholic Church when telling me what errors he thinks we teach. He equates us with pagan Rome when he does it. I told him I don’t think that is the official title for the Church but Protestants gave it to us and it stuck. I told him that most of Western Catholics are Roman/Latin Rite but their are about 24 other Rites in the Catholic Church. I also think he doesn’t like us calling ourself The Church because He doesn’t think Christ founded the Roman Catholic Church because the Church is made of all Born Again Believers. What would be a good short answer?

Jeffrey
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The Church founded by Christ on Peter is simply **The Catholic Church, **also known as “The Church”.
 
Lets see…

Jesus said… “… I will build My Church, and the gates…”

So maybe the name is

My

.
 
VociMike said:
You will never see the Catholic Church refer to herself as the Roman Catholic Church.
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Rarely is a better word. In the past century, the use of the phrase “Roman Catholic Church” for The Church seems to have made it into at least two papal encyclicals:

Pope Pius XI’s 1929 encyclical, (On Christian Education), Divini Illius Magistriparagraph 54.

Pope Pius XII’s 1950 encyclical, (Concerning Some False Opinions Threatening to Undermine the Foundations of Catholic Doctrine), Humani Generisparagraph 27.
 
Todd_Easton said:
Rarely is a better word. In the past century, the use of the phrase “Roman Catholic Church” for The Church seems to have made it into at least two papal encyclicals:

Pope Pius XI’s 1929 encyclical, Divini Illius Magistri (On Christian Education), paragraph 54.

Pope Pius XII’s 1950 encyclical, Humani Generis (Concerning Some False Opinions Threatening to Undermine the Foundations of Catholic Doctrine), paragraph 27.
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That’s interesting. Especially since it is so inconsistent even in those encyclicals. The first also talks about the “Catholic Church,” while both refer to things like the “Catholic faith,” “Catholic theologians,” “Catholic doctrine” etc, without using the qualifier “Roman”.

Me, I’m not bothered by “Roman Catholic,” but I do get annoyed at stuff like “Romish,” because it is usually seems intended to offend or disparage.
 
Thank you all for your reply! I was told that on the offical letter head of the Catholic Church is printed “The Church of Jesus Christ”. Is this true.

Jeffrey
 
GerardPaul said:
A “Bible Only” friend of mine likes to use the title Roman Catholic Church when telling me what errors he thinks we teach. He equates us with pagan Rome when he does it. I told him I don’t think that is the official title for the Church but Protestants gave it to us and it stuck.
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Catholic is from καθολικος, which means something very similar to ‘universal’. It was originally used to refer to the Whole Church: you were a Catholic if you believed what everyone else believed; otherwise, you were a heretic. I am sure that you can see the political connotations already involved.

When the Latin-speaking western churches and the Greek-speaking eastern churches separated, it became a bit more complicated, and the politics of claiming to be Catholic became even sharper. The later separation of the Protestants intensified it again.

“Catholic”, then, is a claim to universalisation; “Roman Catholic” is a counter-claim to localisation. The usage of either is a political act.
 
My husband told me that it was the English that first started referring to the Church as “Roman Catholic” after they broke away. They still wanted to call themselves “CAtholic” so they distinguished themselves from the True Church by calling it “Roman”.

I have no idea whether or not this is true. Anyone know? 🙂
 
Around here most Latin Rite Catholic Churches actually have the words Roman Catholic Church somewhere on their sign. Among other things, it helps to distinguish them from the Melkite Catholic Church, the Byzantine Catholic Church, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church…
 
Verita said:
My husband told me that it was the English that first started referring to the Church as “Roman Catholic” after they broke away. They still wanted to call themselves “CAtholic” so they distinguished themselves from the True Church by calling it “Roman”.

I have no idea whether or not this is true. Anyone know? 🙂
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I can believe it.

In their services, Anglicans do recite the Nicene Creed, including “one holy catholic and apostolic Church”, referring to the one united Church as it was in the beginning. With such an understanding, it becomes quite difficult to ascribe ‘catholic’ to what one sees as merely one part of the whole.
 
a_cermak said:
Around here most Latin Rite Catholic Churches actually have the words Roman Catholic Church somewhere on their sign. Among other things, it helps to distinguish them from the Melkite Catholic Church, the Byzantine Catholic Church, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church…
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Yup. The name “Roman Catholic” also distinguishes us from all those little scatterbug churches that have been breeding lately, which have illicit Orders and use the word “Catholic” in their name.

My diocese is officially known as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of _________. It is no longer a pejorative or a political statement.
 
I remember reading about someone who was criticised about the size of his family when a workmate discovered his wife was expecting another baby.

On being asked, “Haven’t you heard of birth control?” he said, “I take my marching orders from Rome!”

I say I belong to the Catholic Church and referring to it as “The Church” but on the whole I don’t strongly object to being referred to as a Roman Catholic. I take my marching orders, after all, from the Bishop of Rome.

The Pope said it, I believe it, that settles it! LOL
 
a_cermak said:
Around here most Latin Rite Catholic Churches actually have the words Roman Catholic Church somewhere on their sign. Among other things, it helps to distinguish them from the Melkite Catholic Church, the Byzantine Catholic Church, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church…
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mercygate said:
Yup. The name “Roman Catholic” also distinguishes us from all those little scatterbug churches that have been breeding lately, which have illicit Orders and use the word “Catholic” in their name.

My diocese is officially known as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of _________. It is no longer a pejorative or a political statement.
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Mercygate,
I am assuming that your response either unintentionally referenced the Eastern Catholic churches which a_cermak mentioned, or that you are unaware of the canonical status of the churches sui juris. In either case, I strongly recommend that you be more careful with your wording in the future. You might also be interested in reviewing this reference thread in the Eastern Christianity section which clearly establishes the canonical status, unity, and communion of such churches as the Melkites, Byzantines, and Syro-Malabarese among the many other (20+) Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches. So that there is no confusion, these churches are fully Catholic and enjoy the rights and privileges thereof. Their orders are licit and their communion valid. Referring to them as “scatterbug churches” is highly offensive and also incorrect.
 
Catherine_Grant said:
Mercygate,
I am assuming that your response either unintentionally referenced the Eastern Catholic churches which a_cermak mentioned, or that you are unaware of the canonical status of the churches sui juris. In either case, I strongly recommend that you be more careful with your wording in the future. You might also be interested in reviewing this reference thread in the Eastern Christianity section which clearly establishes the canonical status, unity, and communion of such churches as the Melkites, Byzantines, and Syro-Malabarese among the many other (20+) Eastern and Oriental Catholic Churches. So that there is no confusion, these churches are fully Catholic and enjoy the rights and privileges thereof. Their orders are licit and their communion valid. Referring to them as “scatterbug churches” is highly offensive and also incorrect.
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It sounded like mecrygate was referring to some of the modern schismatic western churches that still use the word Catholic in their names such as the True Catholic Church, or the Palmerian Catholic church. Not the older established eastern rites.
 
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