The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-04-25
THE cHURcH's NAME.
Objections to the Term Roman
Catholic.


Before the Reformation9f says the Tab
let of London, the Church was called
! Catholic" Before the Reformation
| and potably in England-she was very
| frequently and constantly called "Ro-
{ man.. Sometimes Catholic and Ro-
! man. But after the Reformation we
| Ollie"
1t is not that the pre-Reformation
Catnolcs were in any sense less "Ro-
man than we are. On the contrary.
they We're, If possible. rather more so
For they were constantly calling the
Church by the simple word Roman
Nor did they mean by the term merely
the local Church in Rome. English kings.
English bishops. English clergy. English
parons, were not domiciled in the Roman
local church. Locally, they were sons
and members of the "EccTesia Angli-
cana. But they themselves habitually
describe themselves as the faithful and
devoted sons of the Roman Church.
while the local English Church of
Ecclesia Anglicana is described in convo-
cation as being itself "a special member
of the Roman Church." 70 them. there
fore. the Roman Church was not merely
the local Church of the diocese of Rome,
but the norma, and for all concrete prac-
teal doctrinal and administrative pur-
poses. the persona and equivalent for
the Catholic Church. Hence the dictum
of the medieval theologians: "Ecclesia
Universalis est virtualiter Eccesia Ro-
mana" That pre- Reformation Catholics
in England, from the king and the arch
bishop down to the humbleSt Iayman
should have professed themselves sons
fthe Roman Church''-or. as some peo-
pie would say "RomanistsH-was just as
natural and as logical as that they
should have called themselves Catholics |
The combination of Roman with
Catholic is therefore an outcome not
only of our faith, but of our history |
If we use the name Roman Catholic"
it is only in this sense. and the words |
in the mind and mouth of a Catholic |
always convey their meaning as if |
comma stood between them. 1t is vir- !
tually in this sense that. side by side. |
man" is Joined with ''Catholic" in the !
First Constitution of the Vatican Coun- |
ell
There is, as we know. another wide |
ly different sense which certain mod |
ern AngncanS have imported into the
term. We have called in the restrictive /
or sectional sense, and in it the word
Roman would connote one sort or sec
ton of Catholics. and imply that there
were other Catholics who were not Ro-
man. This is the heretical sense in which
can never accept it. When
we speak of the Church as Roman Cath
Ollie, we no more mean that there is a
part of the Catholic Church which is
not Roman. than when we say the Holy
Catholic Church we imply that there is
4 part of the Catholic Church which is
lot holE. in cOntradlSt1nctlon to the
described above, we may
,all the latter the hyphen-sense, for,
strictly speaking, such meaning re-
luires a hyphen between the words ''Ro-
man, and Catholic" 1t was this hy-
,hen-sense (Roman- Catholic) which was
epudiated by the Relator of the Schema
le Eide Catholica at the Vatican coun-
~. h
Then. to put it practically always
part from the lawyer. who comes TO
make ones WILD: What have you
lrawn with those compasses?" "A cir
lie. You mean d round circle with
very point in its circumference equi-
istant from the center?'' "Of COURSES
III circles are round like that. | do not
now of any circles that are not"
ari: "Of what religion ere your" Il
m Catholic" "YoS mSan Roman
'atholic." "Of course All Catholics are
Roman. and / do not know and Cath
lies who are not" That is to say, our
oble and historic Catholic name is all
efficient. But if certain people-people
18th purpose-7insist upon styling us
,oman catholics-with an emphasis on |
ne Roman-and on thus counting ex-
lanations, we cheerfully accept the 1
anne, but in its true and Catholic sense,
nd they have only themselves to blame
they elicit at the same time our ex-
Ianations, ard as abundantly and as
lplicity as they are ssSely to desire
lcm.