Actually, the term “Catholic” was used to describe the Church of the Bishops who traced their authority to the apostles, as early as the first century. The term means universal. The common understanding of this to mean, “worldwide” is incorrect. Actually, “Roman” was used to signify “throughout the Roman Empire,” which the Romans understood as “worldwide.”
“Catholic,” on the other hand, meant, “universal” in the sense of “objective.” The Gnostics believed that one could discern occultic (”hidden”) meanings of scriptures, and claimed visionary powers to know of events they did not witness. There is the mystery religion which so many Freepers love to rant about. “Catholic,” in contrast, meant that anyone could know the basic the tenets of the faith, and those tenets had the same meaning to everyone; it was a denial of “subjective reality.”
As such, by the 2nd century, the true Christians were citing their belonging to the “Catholic Church” as an appeal to the authority of the disciples and objective knowledge; the Catholic Church was the bishops’ church. In essence, the Catholics offered a choice: believe in the Gnostics, and who knows what you know what they may invent, or believe in the Catholics, and follow the bishops who openly assert their beliefs.
Yes, thank you. Catholic means universal, also meaning the same everywhere, i.e., One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
Something we notice by its lack outside the Church.