Catholic? Christian? What’s the difference?

Hi Mason & Teo,
I have heard about your column and I am a baptized Catholic. I go to Word of Life Church with my girlfriend who is a born-again Christian. She asked me, “What is the difference between a Catholic and a Christian?” What would be your answer? (Indifferent)

Dear Indifferent,

Thank you for your interest in our column. We do appreciate your confidence in our ministry in sharing our love for Jesus Christ and the church.

Catholics are Christians, but not all Christians are Catholics. The word “catholic” in Greek means “universal,” in the sense of “in keeping with the whole.” Acts 11:26 states: “it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians.’” In the days of the Apostles, the word Christian represented the whole church, the universal church. All Christians were Catholics, and all Catholics were Christians.

The word Catholic became widely used by the year 110 A.D. to distinguish the universal church from heretical teachings. St. Ignatius of Antioch was a disciple of St. John the Apostle, and he was the first to document the term “Catholic” to describe the “universal” church, the whole church (Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Symrneans, 8:2, c.110 A.D). There was no difference between the two words; the Apostles used them synonymously.

The phrase used by the Apostles, “ekklasia katholicos,” which means the universal church is still used today as a proper name for the Catholic Church. For the early church, if a person did not practice the Catholic faith, he was neither a Catholic nor a Christian.

Within the Catholic Church lives the fullness of Christ’s body united with its head (see Ephesians 1:22-23). She receives from Christ the fullness of the means of salvation which God has willed, including the correct and complete confession of faith, full sacramental life and ordained ministry in apostolic succession. Thus, Jesus gives the church the whole truth, the fullness of truth.

The Eastern Schism in 1054 as well as the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century redefined the meaning of the word “Christian” to mean “those who believe in Christ.” Today, there are approximately 38,000 different denominations in the world that claim to be Christians. Some of them also allege to being “catholic” or “universal.”

Although all separated brothers and sisters can claim to be “Christian” because of their belief in Christ, they are not “Catholic” because they do not recognize the authority of the pope and bishops for preserving truth of faith and doctrine.

It was the Catholic Church that defined the doctrine of the “Trinity” which teaches that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three persons in one.

It was the Catholic Church that protected the Bible across the ages before the invention of the printing press. Monks in monasteries faithfully copied the Scriptures by hand and it took each monk 10 years to copy one Bible. They protected the Bible through wars, famines, plaques, fires and threats from all over before other Christian denominations even existed. It was the Catholic Church, in 393 A.D. the Synod of Hippo and confirmed at Carthage in 397 A.D., that decided which books were to be included in the Bible.

A Catholic is a Christian who also believes in the communion of Mary and the saints, and the Sacramental life as given to the church by Jesus Christ. Not all Christians share the same foundational beliefs.

And then there are those who claim to be Catholics but who do not practice the faith, or preach it, or defend it. They may have been baptized in the Catholic faith but have stopped practicing it. They are Catholics by name only but not by association.

We continue to pray for all of God’s people, those separated from the church, those who are faithful to the church, those who have gone before us and for our children of tomorrow. We pray as Jesus did in John 17:21 “so that all may be one” as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one.

And as God sent his son Jesus Christ into the world, so Jesus sends us into the world to go forth in love and service to one another as he has loved us selflessly.