You may want to check your source for this excerpt. The Roman Catholic Church did not even exist when this was written nor had the primacy of the Bishop of Rome been established. In this letter the words "Catholic Church" are not capitalized. He was clearly speaking of the catholic or universal church of the believers in Jesus Christ. I don't think anyone will dispute the importance of the authority of the local bishop to the local church in those days but Ignatius was NOT referring to the Bishop of Rome in this letter.
My source for The Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnæans is The Christian Classics Ethereal Library and it's run by Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I'm sure they would be delighted to hear from you if you think they have too much of a pro-Catholic bias.
As for the use of the term "Roman Catholic Church," you are correct that term came much later, but we are talking about the Catholic Church of which Benedict XVI is the Pope.
Your contention about the primacy of the pope not yet being defined is true, but gravity wasn't defined until the 17th century and people still had a fear of falling.
In this letter the words "Catholic Church" are not capitalized.
Again, you might want to take that up with the people at Calvin College.
He was clearly speaking of the catholic or universal church of the believers in Jesus Christ.
I couldn't agree more.
I don't think anyone will dispute the importance of the authority of the local bishop to the local church in those days but Ignatius was NOT referring to the Bishop of Rome in this letter.
That is an OPINION that cannot be substantiated.