From time to time, when we use the phrase "Roman Catholic" rather than just "Catholic," we hear well-meaning but ill-informed folks from other side who think that "Roman Catholic" refers to the Latin rite, or who simply think that "Roman Catholic" is some kind of Protestant pejorative. It is not. If you are going to "Actually..." otherwise, then you must:
Disregard the numerous uses of that phrase on the Vatican website (link to results)
Disregard the defense of the formula "Roman Catholic" by Gerard Mannion (link to bio):
(The Ratzinger Reader, Teaching and Authority: Dimensions of Magisterium, p. 200)
Notice how Mannion argues that you cannot have "Catholic" if it not associated with "Roman."
Disregard the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
Notice how the Catechism says that a church can only by fully catholic through communion with Rome.
Disregard, indeed, the Profession of Faith of Vatican I (Session 2, part 13): "I acknowledge the holy, catholic, apostolic and Roman church, the mother and mistress of all the churches." (footnote omitted)
But, yes, if you disregard Vatican I, the Catholic Catechism, Catholic theologians, and the Vatican's own website, then perhaps our critics have a point.
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