Roman Catholic Church


noun
  1. the Christian church of which the pope, or bishop of Rome, is the supreme head.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Roman Catholic Church in a sentence

  • Just a few priests ordained in the Roman Catholic Church have joined the schismatic cause.

    The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
  • There were grades of rank among the priesthood; but not more so than in the Roman Catholic Church.

  • Religious intolerance was one of the features of the age and of the Roman Catholic Church.

  • In the Roman Catholic Church feasts are "movable" and "immovable," but the celebrants are uniformly immovable until they are full.

    The Devil's Dictionary | Ambrose Bierce
  • They waited for the other tram by the Roman Catholic Church, whose florid bulk was already receding into twilight.

    The Longest Journey | E. M. Forster

British Dictionary definitions for Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

noun
  1. the Christian Church over which the pope presides, with administrative headquarters in the Vatican: Also called: Catholic Church, Church of Rome

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The branch of Christianity headed by the pope. The Roman Catholic Church is governed by a hierarchy with the pope at the top and, at the lower levels, bishops and priests. The sacraments of Communion and confession are especially important in the Roman Catholic Church; Catholics also differ from most Protestants in emphasizing veneration of the saints, especially Mary, the mother of Jesus, and seeking the intercession of the saints (praying to them so that they will in turn pray to God). The Roman Catholic Church leadership strongly opposes abortion (see also abortion) and artificial means of birth control.

Notes for Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholicism is the dominant faith in Europe around the Mediterranean Sea, in much of eastern Europe, in Ireland, and in Latin America.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.