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Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

16 3.7
A Christian church led by the Pope in the Vatican that has its own teachings and services
  • noun
translation icon : Iglesia católica
  • The Roman Catholic Church has millions of followers around the world, all united in faith.
  • St. Roman Catholic Church

So you know, in the West we have the Latin Church, Church of Rome, we call it the Roman Catholic Church, right?

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Examples

  • King Henry's divorce and remarriage to Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn, led Henry to leave the Roman Catholic Church.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • There is a silent schism in the Roman Catholic Church.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the nation of Poland.

    Academic text (1999)
  • In any revision, they fear they would lose out to the larger and more powerful Roman Catholic Church.

    Academic text (1996)
  • The concept of clergy privilege dates back to the early years of the Roman Catholic Church.

    Academic text (1990)
  • But there was no question of any doctrinal challenge to the Roman Catholic Church, no challenge in matters of faith or matters of worship.

  • Clearly, we hear a new evangelism coming from the Roman Catholic Church and from Christianity in general.

    Academic text (1996)
  • In Kenya, the Roman Catholic Church has vigorously opposed sexuality education in schools.

    Academic text (1998)
  • But the University's loyalty is to the Roman Catholic Church and not to the AAUP.

    Academic text (1991)
  • In the Twelfth and Thirteenth centuries, an organized body of law was developed for the Roman Catholic Church.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

Catholic Church
vsRoman Catholic Church
129 2.7

A Christian church led by the pope in Rome and present worldwide

is the Vatican-centred church led by the pope and characterised by specific doctrine
Roman Church
vsRoman Catholic Church
2 3.4

A Christian church that the Pope leads in the Vatican

is the formal organisation centred in the Vatican with defined doctrine
Church of Rome
vsRoman Catholic Church
1 4.7

The Christian church in Rome led by the Pope

is the official institution emphasising doctrine worship and hierarchical structure
Western Church
vsRoman Catholic Church
6.5

A branch of the Christian church based in Rome led by the pope and bishops

is the specific institution distinguished by worship and hierarchical governance

Surface Forms

Morphology

Roman + Catholic + church

The meaning is directly compositional: 'Roman' (relating to Rome), 'Catholic' (of Catholicism), and 'church' (a Christian body) combine to denote the Catholic Christian body centered in Rome/the Vatican. This label follows a transparent, cross-linguistically common pattern of place/denomination + church, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Roman Catholic Church comes from two simple ideas: Roman shows its leader, the Pope, is based in Rome, and Catholic is a word that means 'for everyone' or 'universal'. That's why the name refers to the Christian Church led from Rome and meant for people around the world.