Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church is, literally, the Universal Church of Jesus Christ (from the Greek katholikos, "universal").
The Nicene Creed, the great historical statement of Christian belief, contains the line "I [or we] believe in one holy, catholic and apostolic church". The Apostles' Creed contains a similar affirmation. However, Protestants and Catholics place different interpretations on the term "Catholic" (or "catholic"). Protestants believe that it refers to the general, over-arching spiritual unity of all Christians which transcends individual churches and denominations. Catholics, on the other hand, believe that the Roman Catholic Church, as the single true church founded by Christ, is the universal Catholic Church. Some prefer not to refer to their own church as the "Roman" Catholic Church, on the grounds that such formulations implicitly deny this point of doctrine.
Different churches
The Roman Catholic Church historically regarded Protestant Christianity as heretical, that is, being against Church doctrine. However, this changed in the 1960's when Pope John XXIII called the Second Vatican Council, where the doors of the Church were opened wide, and Protestants referred to as "our separated brethren". This was an exciting period for Catholics and Protestants alike as moves were made to bring the separated churches back together.
The Anglican Church (Episcopalian in the United States) occupies an odd situation, because it encompasses within it factions ("Low Church") that emphasize its Protestant aspects and factions ("High Church") that emphasize its Catholic aspects. Anglo-Catholics regard the Anglican church as part of the Catholic Church, and in the unbroken line of the Apostolic Succession. The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern branches take a position that could be described as saying that the Anglican Church is almost but not quite Catholic. There have long been unification overtures, and Anglican priests who wish to adopt Catholic Holy Orders are often provided with an abbreviated path to that goal.
Controversy
There has been much controversy in recent years about Catholic priests in relation to the abuse of children in their care. Cases of pedophilia and ephebophilia have both been discovered in many churches across the world[1]. Many instances of abuse occurred over long periods of time, with little or no repercussion for priests involved. In some cases, bishops were aware of the abuse but did not effectively deal with it, allowing the abusive priest to continue to remain in contact with minors.
This issue is troubling to all Catholics, but not solely because some priests, about two percent, are taking advantage of their position of authority to entice children under the age of 18 into having sex. The problem is not strictly due to celibacy. There are scattered incidents on the other side of the Reformation divide. The married pastor of a large Protestant Megachurch in Bellevue, Washington recently resigned after similar allegations. What makes the Catholic ones so controversial is that some bishops are moving these priests around, pawning them off on unsuspecting parishes instead of taking them out of the ministry altogether. This has resulted in lawsuits that threaten to bankrupt entire archdioceses, bringing great discouragement to the faithful Catholic giver.
