Home Forums All Things Catholic What is a “Roman Catholic?”

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  • #1263
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    One Evangelical Protestant apologist once claimed that the Catholic Church isn’t really catholic. “After all,” he argued, “if it’s ‘Roman,’ it cannot be catholic,and if it’s ‘catholic,’ it cannot be Roman.” The fact is,the moniker “Roman Catholic” is actually a term imposed on Catholics from the outside. stemming mainly from Anglican efforts in past centuries to portray themselves as also truly Catholics, their claim being there are three “branches” of the Catholic Church: the Orthodox,”Roman” Catholic, and Anglican. But this argument is not true and it clashes completely with how the early Christians understood their use of the word “Catholic.”

    #6368
    Anonymous
    Inactive
    #6370

    Roman Catholic specifically refers to Catholics of the Latin Rite (the largest).

    There are Byzantine Catholics, Melkite Catholics, etc. Overall there are 23 rites. The Latin Rite is the Western Church and the other 22 are Eastern Rites.

    http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/cath … urches.htm gives a good explanation.

    The Universal, Catholic Church is one, unified body, but the faith developed slightly different in each rite. Most of the differences are liturgical logistics, but there are others as well.

    #6373
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    How do you guys as Roman Catholics feel towards the other rites? Are they in error?

    #6375

    [quote:2tz1clco]How do you guys as Roman Catholics feel towards the other rites? Are they in error?[/quote:2tz1clco]
    No, not at all. It basically that it developed in a slightly different culture but the truths are still the same.

    Essentially the different rites are like the different churches talked about in the Bible – i.e. the church at Corinth, the church at Jerusalem, the church at Phillippi, the church at Rome, etc.

    #6377
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Gesundheit, the other rites are all 100% fully Catholic in communion with the Pope at Rome. The only difference between Catholics of different rites are their traditional practices (such as the order of Holy Mass or how they make the sign of the cross), not their beliefs.

    I think they are wonderful. Our Eastern brothers have a different history and, thus, a different focus than those of us in the Latin Rite. For example, as a generalization, we focus on the crucifixion while they focus on the Incarnation.

    I noticed a thread from earlier in which I mentioned to Victor that in the East they hold that Jesus would have been incarnate even if Adam never sinned, because the Incarnation brought man and God closer than even the condition of an unfallen Adam. When you contemplate the Incarnation as a facet of God’s original plan, rather than an element necessitated by the fall of mankind, it opens a whole new dimension of significance.

    No longer are you focused only on the Incarnation as a necessity for Christ’s atoning sacrifice, but as God’s plan to bring mankind even closer to Him than at our creation.

    “God became man so that man might become God.”

    #6381
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    [quote:l25fm4w8]Gesundheit, the other rites are all 100% fully Catholic in communion with the Pope at Rome. The only difference between Catholics of different rites are their traditional practices (such as the order of Holy Mass or how they make the sign of the cross), not their beliefs.

    I think they are wonderful. Our Eastern brothers have a different history and, thus, a different focus than those of us in the Latin Rite. For example, as a generalization, we focus on the crucifixion while they focus on the Incarnation.

    I noticed a thread from earlier in which I mentioned to Victor that in the East they hold that Jesus would have been incarnate even if Adam never sinned, because the Incarnation brought man and God closer than even the condition of an unfallen Adam. When you contemplate the Incarnation as a facet of God’s original plan, rather than an element necessitated by the fall of mankind, it opens a whole new dimension of significance.

    No longer are you focused only on the Incarnation as a necessity for Christ’s atoning sacrifice, but as God’s plan to bring mankind even closer to Him than at our creation.

    “God became man so that man might become God.”[/quote:l25fm4w8]

    [color=darkblue:l25fm4w8]Little do you know how much that has helped me… <img decoding=” title=”Smile” />
    Thanks Benedict…’
    It helped develop my understanding in more then one area…[/color:l25fm4w8]

    #6386
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    That explaination helped me a lot as well. Thank you so much Benedict.

    #6573
    Anonymous
    Inactive
    #6576
    Anonymous
    Inactive
    #6577
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Yes.

    [url:2zhzcdzf]http://www.BibleChristianSociety.com[/url:2zhzcdzf]

    You can get all his tapes for free (as I have done thrice; once cassette, once CD, and just now MP3). He also has a (sporadic) newsletter.

    #6578
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    John Martignoni is my favorite Catholic apologetics speaker. I’ve been to the website and purchased the CD’s as well. I also have his mp3 downloads on my ipod shuffle so I listen to him while driving too.

    #6584
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    wow, it sounds like he’s your baptist Billy Graham! just kidding…

    #6598
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Peace be with all!

    [quote:xx9o98ip]John Martignoni is my favorite Catholic apologetics speaker. I’ve been to the website and purchased the CD’s as well. I also have his mp3 downloads on my ipod shuffle so I listen to him while driving too.[/quote:xx9o98ip]

    He is one of the best! I have had many email conversations with him in the past. He and his website have been a great source of help to me. I encourage all of you to go to his website[/url:xx9o98ip] and order, for free, his CD’s. They will [b:xx9o98ip]WOW[/b:xx9o98ip] you and put you on fire to explain the Faith!

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