What is "roman catholic"

Roman \Ro"man\, a. [L. Romanus, fr. Roma Rome: cf. F. romain. Cf. Romaic, Romance, Romantic.]

1. Of or pertaining to Rome, or the Roman people; like or characteristic of Rome, the Roman people, or things done by Romans; as, Roman fortitude; a Roman aqueduct; Roman art.

2. Of or pertaining to the Roman Catholic religion; professing that religion.

3. (Print.) (a) Upright; erect; -- said of the letters or kind of type ordinarily used, as distinguished from Italic characters. (b) Expressed in letters, not in figures, as I., IV., i., iv., etc.; -- said of numerals, as distinguished from the Arabic numerals, 1, 4, etc. Roman alum (Chem.), a cubical potassium alum formerly obtained in large quantities from Italian alunite, and highly valued by dyers on account of its freedom from iron. Roman balance, a form of balance nearly resembling the modern steelyard. See the Note under Balance, n.,

   1. Roman candle, a kind of firework (generally held in the hand), characterized by the continued emission of shower of sparks, and the ejection, at intervals, of brilliant balls or stars of fire which are thrown upward as they become ignited.

      Roman Catholic, of, pertaining to, or the religion of that church of which the pope is the spiritual head; as, a Roman Catholic priest; the Roman Catholic Church.

      Roman cement, a cement having the property of hardening under water; a species of hydraulic cement.

      Roman law. See under Law.

      Roman nose, a nose somewhat aquiline.

      Roman ocher, a deep, rich orange color, transparent and durable, used by artists.
      --Ure.

      Roman order (Arch.), the composite order. See Composite, a.,

The term "Roman Catholic" appeared in the English language at the beginning of the 17th century to differentiate members of the Catholic Church (in communion with the Pope) from other Christians who use the term " Catholic"; comparable terms in other languages already existed. Being "catholic" is one of the Four Marks of the Church set out in the Nicene Creed, a statement of belief accepted by many churches even if not in communion with the Pope.

In popular usage, "Roman Catholic Church" is usually understood to mean the same as "Catholic Church". The name has continued to be widely used in the English language ever since, although its usage has changed over the centuries. The church known as the "Catholic Church" consists of 24 autonomous churches (all of which are subject to the Pope)— one "Western" and 23 "Eastern" — governed by two sets of codes of canon law. To refer to all 24 autonomous churches together, official church documents often use the term "Catholic Church" or, less frequently, the term "Roman Catholic Church".

"Roman Catholic" is used by some governments and scholars to refer to members of the majority Latin Church within the Catholic Church. In compound forms such as "Roman Catholic worship" the term is sometimes used to differentiate Western (Latin Church) practices from Eastern. The usage of "Roman Catholic" to mean members of the Latin Church or Western Church to the exclusion of those who belong to the various Eastern Catholic churches does not appear in any recent document of the Holy See and popes have used the term "Roman Catholic Church" on various occasions throughout the 20th century to mean instead the whole church without exclusion of any part (see the quotes in the section on Papal references below).

The term Roman Catholic may refer to adherents, religious doctrines and practices, institutions and organizations of:

• The Catholic Church in general, or more specifically the Roman Catholic Church as the main particular church of the Catholic Church
• The ancient Roman Catholic Church as the Patriarchate of the West, before the split of 1054
• Any other church claiming the apostolic origins and historical traditions of Roman Catholicism