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Article: Roman Catholic Church
- Article from:
- International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences
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Roman Catholic Church
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Roman Catholic Church refers to the worldwide assembly of Christians who are in full communion with the pope, the bishop of Rome, who is regarded as the sign and instrument of Catholic unity among bishops and faithful alike. Statistically, Roman Catholics form the largest single Christian body, with close to 1.1 billion members worldwide. The rise of Christian culture in western Europe is virtually synonymous with the history of the Roman Catholic Church.
Although other Christians sometimes refer to themselves as
catholic
(from the Greek word meaning universal or complete), Roman Catholics believe communion with the See of Rome is required for ...