Roman Catholic Church
From Atheism
The Roman Catholic Church owes allegiance to the Pope in Rome. Roman Catholics believe that the pope is the successor of Saint Peter and has unchallenged authority from Jesus. The Eastern Orthodox Church split off. Later at a time of serious papal corruption Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation.
Roman Catholic or Catholic
Christians who believe in Roman Catholicism call themselves Catholics and dislike the term Roman Catholic. Roman Catholics believe that those who owe allegiance to the Pope in Rome are the one universal Church of Christ, catholic means universal. In Roman Catholic opinion other Christians who reject the authority of the Pope are heretics and don’t belong to the true Church of Christ. Non-Catholic Christians of course don’t believe that they are outside the community of true believers. The Anglican creed traditionally included, “I believe in (…) the Holy Catholic Church.” There Catholic means universal and doesn’t imply allegiance to the Pope. Anglo Catholics are a branch of the Anglican Church. They are, “High Church” and share some Roman Catholic rituals but owe no allegiance to the Pope.
The author of this article is not a Christian and does not believe that there is any true Church of Christ. The author prefers the term, “Roman Catholic” for Christians who accept the authority of the Pope. That avoids confusion with other Christians who also call themselves Catholic.
