{{Christianity}}
The '''Catholic Church''', sometimes known officially as the '''Roman Catholic Church''', is a denomination of [[Christianity]] headquartered in [[Vatican City]] in [[Rome]]. The Catholic Church teaches the Messiahship and Divinity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and professes worship of the God of [[Abraham]], of the Hebrew Scriptures. The Catholic Church has a single leader or head, the [[pope]], the [[Bishop]] of [[Rome]]. The current pope is [[Pope Francis|Francis]]. Present day governance of the Church is divided hierarchically into dioceses, each overseen by a diocesan bishop, who in turn oversees diocesan priests and deacons on the level of the individual parish.
The word "catholic" means "universal." and refers to the non-Jewish church or gentile church that emerged in the first century. Its use as a name for the Church comes from Nicene-Constantinople Creed of 381, which defines the church as, "one, holy, catholic and apostolic." In the Christological controversy of the fourth century, Catholics opposed the heresy of [[Arianism]].
The Roman Church has always been [[pro-life]] and its leadership is mostly [[conservative]], as illustrated by how it "launched a crackdown on the umbrella group that represents most of [[America]]'s 55,000 [[Catholic]] nuns" for "a prevalence of certain radical [[feminist]] themes incompatible with the Catholic [[faith]]." The Church noted that "the group was not speaking out strongly enough against" [[abortion]].<ref>https://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2012-04-18/american-nuns-vatican/54396560/1?csp=hf</ref>
Members believe that theirs is the oldest [[Christian]] denomination in the world. It is certainly the largest, with more than 1.3 billion officially baptized adherents, or 17.4% of the world's population; over 64 million of these are in the [[United States]]. In recent years growth has been greatest in Africa and Latin America, while membership and influence have declined in Europe.
The Roman Catholic Church asserts that the Pope is the divinely-chosen successor of [[St. Peter]], believing him to be the 'rock' ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 16:18) upon whom Jesus built his Church. The Catholic Roman Church consists of those Christians who are in full communion with the Pope. This includes members both of the Latin Church and of the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches. The Eastern Catholic Churches were once known as the "Uniate" Churches; though once used with pride at remaining in union with Rome after the [[Great Schism|East-West Schism]], this term has fallen out of use due to derogatory connotations that have come to be associated with it over the centuries.
The Catholic Church [[gentile]] church has suffered several schisms over its history. Most notable are those involving the Church of the East following the First Ephesian Council, the [[Oriental Orthodoxy|Oriental Orthodox]] churches following the [[Council of Chalcedon]], the [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox Church]] following the [[Great Schism]] of 1054, and the several [[Reformation]]s of the 16th century leading to the development of [[Protestantism]].
The Protestants made the most radical break. Two of the principal issues raised by Protestants were
The original Christian community was founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Apostles. The Catholic Church considers itself to be the sole and uninterrupted continuation of the first-century Church. St. [[Paul|Paul the Apostle]] was the most prolific contributor to the [[New Testament]] and the most notable of the Early Christian missionaries. Christians were subjected to persecution, first under [[Nero]] in A.D. 64 and again, more severely, under the emperors [[Domitian]], [[Marcus Aurelius]], [[Decius]], and [[Diocletian]], in the second and third centuries.
After almost 300 years of persecution against the Church failed to stop the growth of Christianity, the Emperor [[Constantine I]] had a religious experience and, by the [[Edict of Milan]] issued in the early fourth century, legalized Christianity. Going to war with the co-Emperor of the east [[Lucinius]] over his continued persecution of Christians, Constantine won and became sole Emperor. The age of persecution was over, until the inquisitions. Constantine's Some view Catholicism as a pagan "Christianity" is started by Constantine, a topic better covered in the article essay [[Reasons the Catholic Church is Unbiblical]].
[[Image:Christians.jpg|thumb|450px]]
After Vatican II, 1962–65, the controversy among Catholics over papal authority and infallibility largely ended, though some significant degree of opposition to it remains,<ref>such as by historian Garry Wills, author of ''Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit'' (Sophia Institute Press, 2003), and liberal theologian Hans Kung, author of ''Infallible?: An inquiry'' (1970)</ref><ref>David Carlin, ''The Decline and Fall of the Catholic Church in America'', appendix 2</ref><ref>[http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/3543/vatican.htm Raymond Taouk, ''What are Catholics to think of Vatican II?'']</ref> This dissent is mainly manifested in disagreement with Catholic teaching on birth control and abortion.<ref>[http://www.christianethicstoday.com/Issue/014/Infallibility%20in%20Ethical%20Perspective%20By%20John%20M.%20Swomley_014_26_.htm John M. Swomley, ''Infallibility in Ethical Perspective Christian Ethics Today], Issue 014 Volume 4 No 1 February 1996</ref> For example, 56% of U.S. Catholics said that the pope is not infallible "when he teaches on matters of morals, such as birth control and abortion"; 80% of Catholics believed it is possible to disagree with the pope on official positions on morality and still be a good Catholic.<ref>Time/CNN nationwide poll of 1,000 adults, conducted by Yankelovich Partners, Sept. 27-28, 1995</ref>
Reactions among Catholics to Vatican II fall into three camps. "Liberal" Catholics, drawing on the established Catholic belief in the "journeying" nature of the Church, see Vatican II and the new period that it marked in Catholic history as representing a significant advancement in man's understanding of the Gospels, which in turn justifies changes in Catholic belief and practice. "Conservative" Catholics (including the most recent popes) hold that the decrees of the Councilcouncil, properly understood, are wholly in line with the historic Catholic faith, and that they should not be used as an excuse for unwarranted innovations. "Traditional" (or "[[Traditionalist Catholicism|traditionalist]]") Catholics regard the teachings of Vatican II as problematic, or even as heretical. Some of these Catholics created new churches which use the old liturgies, the largest of them being the [[SSPX]].
===21st Century===