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All Catholics are Christians. However, not all Christians are Catholic.
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Catholic AnswerRoman is an epithet first commonly used in England after the protestant revolt to describe the Catholic Church. It is never used by the Catholic Church..
To the best of my knowledge, there are no official statements of the Church on this issue. Vatican Council II spoke of "degrees of incorporation" and noted that protestants and Eastern Orthodox are partially incorporated in the church and so in various degrees enjoy an imperfect communion with the Catholic Church. Vatican Council II basically said that separated Christian by their baptism do belong to the Church in some way, but they still lack "full incorporation", St. Robert Ballarmine identified this "full incorporation" as "actual membership." It is the opinion of the best theological minds, on this subject, that protestants are Christians to the extent that they are validly baptized and believe in the Nicene Creed in its traditional interpretation, but they are seriously handicapped as to grace as they have no access to the sacraments. Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. wrote his doctoral thesis on "A Comparative Study of Bellarmine's Doctrine on the Relation of sincere non-Catholics to the Catholic Church." This nearly 200 page thesis only discusses their membership in the Church, not if salvation is possible for them. That has been discussed elsewhere and the Church does hold, to the best of my knowledge, that salvation is possible, but it doesn't seem likely for anyone past the age of reason. This is a very serious issue with many ramifications, much more than can even be summarized on a quick answer site like WikiAnswers. Bottom line, the Church has always infallibly taught that there is no salvation outside the Christ's Church. For a complete discussion of this, please see Salvation Outside the Church by Rev. Petger M.J. Stravinskas. Whether they are members of the Church or not is moot if salvation is not likely. It becomes a matter of semantics having no impact on reality. The other thing to consider is that the word "Christian" as used in the 21st century is basically meaningless, rendering the question itself moot.
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What denomination are most Christians in India?
The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian group in India with 11 million members.
What are some Roman Catholic Church facts about kids?
The Roman Catholic Church is over a billion members !
Is Greece Catholic?
I assume you mean Roman Catholic. If so, then: No, Greece is largely Greek Orthodox. As an anglo-catholic I believe that Orthodox Christians are members of a valid branch of the one, holy catholic and apostolic church. But they are not roman catholic.
What is the largest group of Christians in the world?
The Roman Catholic Church is the largest group of Christians in the world.
What are Christians who aren't Roman Catholic?
Non-Catholic Christians are either from the Orthodox Church or from one of the numerous Protestant denominations.
Is there Church in Mecca?
Roman Catholic AnswerIn the strict sense, ther is "Church" anywhere where there are Christians.
What do you call members of the roman catholic church who are not in the clergy?
The Laity.
Which was first Christians or Catholics?
A simple question, but the answer is rather complex.Christianity normally is used to encompass all religions which believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Catholic, today, normally is used when discussing the Roman Catholic Church. But it wasn't always that way."Catholic" essentially means "universal church." Before the Great Schism (split of the Catholic Church into the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches) and the Protestant Reformation (starting with the Lutheran church), "Catholic Church" and "Christian Church" would have been synonymous. So with this definition, Christians and Catholics began at the very same time.Today, "Catholic" normally is a shortened form of Roman Catholic, although Eastern Orthodox churches should also be considered catholic. Still today, Roman Catholics consider themselves to have historical continuity from the original Catholic Church (see related link with list of Popes). Using this definition of Catholic (Roman Catholic), Christians and Catholics also began at the same time.Some non-Catholic Christians argue that the current Catholic Church is not consistent with the beliefs of the apostles and the founders of Christianity, although Roman Catholic scholars (and some independent scholars) have written numerous books explaining how the current Catholic Church is consistent with the beliefs of the early leaders of Christianity. However, following the idea of 'catholic' held by this portion of non-Catholic Christians, Christians were before Catholics.
What is the estimated number of believers for roman catholicism?
There are approximately 1.2 Billion members of The Catholic Church. There are various "rites" within The Catholic Church (i.e., Eastern, Marian, Coptic, Armenian, etc.). The largest "rite" in The Catholic Church is the Latin Rite. I suppose one might distinguish them as Roman Catholics but the term "Roman Catholic" is not one that The Catholic Church assigns to herself. Technically, there is no such thing as "Roman Catholicism" except, perhaps, to the degree that all Catholics accept the successor of St. Peter (the pope, 1st Bishop of Rome) as the Vicar of Christ on earth. That's true regardless of whether a Catholic is an Eastern Rite Catholic or Coptic or Latin Rite, etc. There is also substantial scriptural (NT) and historical evidence that St. Peter was the 1st pope (Bishop of Rome). He was then succeeded by Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, etc., down to the current pope, Benedict XXIII. Non-Catholics will assign the term "Roman Catholic" to The Catholic Church for their own theological reasons & purposes but The Catholic Church does not recognize that term -- Roman Catholic -- as one that is legitimate or accurate. On another level, all Christians are members of the "catholic"/universal Church of Christ. But not all Christians are members of The Catholic Church. It's a little complicated and can be confusing sometimes.
What is the old Catholic Church and the Catholic Church?
The Old Catholic Church is a group of people who left the Catholic Church after the First Vatican Council. They, as indicated in the answer below, are no longer Catholic as they are not under the Holy Father. There is no "Roman Catholic Church, it's just Catholic, not Roman Catholic. Roman is an epithet first commonly used in England after the protestant revolt to describe the Catholic Church. It is never used by the official Catholic Church..AnswerOnce you split from the leadership of the pope, you cease to be Catholic. Members of the Old Catholic Church are Catholic in name only.
How many members in the Roman Catholic Church?
There are about 1.2 billion Catholics throughout the world.
How many people are members of the Roman Catholic Church?
There are about 1.2 billion Catholics in the world.
