The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1908-08-15
NAME CATHOLIC.

Boise, Ida, Aug. g. 1903
Editor Intemountain Catholic: WHY is the
church called Catholic? Is that name claimed OK
cusively W your church. and if so, by what patent
right does she lay claim to it2-F X M.
The questions here asked ara important. The
word Catholic is defined universal and as applied
to the church which has It's al +horitivc head in
itcne i : the proper .al3 of lie Christian church
i"e na'ar has been alw Is cllilued b. the church
as is l. Ter name. VIII / a corporation or com
merc1al company selects proper name to designate
It's business, the whole power of the state is at their
command to protect them IN re use of the proper
Lane they select Not so with III. Catholic church
otncr churches may, as they have frequently done
select that name which time usage and the general
verdict of humanity ascribe to one church It is
matter of great Importance Hence at the Vatican
Council, 1859, one of the subjects debated was the
name by which the church should be known. All
insisted that it should be The Catholic Church,
which had It's origin in the Apostles Creed II be-
heve in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic church,
The adjunct Roman Catholic church, has never
been recognized by the church herself as her proper
name. Twice during the last century an authorize
tive decision rendered that the name as found
in the Apostles Greed should not be qualified nv
any prefix. In 1915 at a congress held in Vienna
some members referring to the church used the ex-
preston, Roman Catholic church, To this title
the representative of the Pope Cardinal Consalve
took exception, saying that the church is Roman
as well as Catholic but that the prefix Roman"
used to designate the church of God could not be
admitted. That the historical, if not divine name
selected by the Apostles and inserted in the Greed
should not be changed. The Vatican Council came
to the same conclusion after long debate on the
insertion of "Roman" merely as descriptive prefix.
like 'holy," but it was decided that the church
should be known officially by the proper name-"The
Catholic Church" By this name the church is and
always has been known. No other church is or ever
has been known by that name, At the commence
ment of the fifth century the Donatists claimed
it for themselves AT a conference held in Garth
age 4112S6 Catholic bishops, and 279 Donatst bisb
ops met to settle their grievances. One of these
grievances that the church according to the for
mer visible society; according to the latter it
was invisible society, consisting of the just alone
At the end of three days the delegates. who nr.,
sided, decided in favor of the former The Donaf
lists dssented and persisted in calling their dissent
ing church "the Catholic church." Their claim
then and since and has been repudiated Some
members of the Anglican church persist in callino
themselves Catholics and their church "tbe Cath
bic church." but disinterested parties onlv smile
1t the claim They object strenuously at the name
Protestant as being dlscourteous, yet in England
he King in his coronation oath did not swear 70
protect the Holy Catholic and Apostolic church,