Catholicity and the Catholic Church: Protestant Concerns and (Roman) Catholic Perspectives

Abstract

This essay takes up recent Protestant concerns about Catholic theology's understanding of the Church's mark of catholicity. Wesleyan and Reformed authors have argued that the (Roman) Catholic Church is “Roman” but not “catholic.” In their view, the problem is that the Catholic theological conception of catholicity focuses on union with the pope (or bishop of Rome). In a nutshell, Rome has decreed that to possess the mark of universality means to be in communion with Rome. Recent Protestant authors have made the point that not only is this arrogant and narrow, but also it is implausible given that the majority of Christians in the world are not (Roman) Catholic. My essay's first section lays out these concerns, which of course are not new. In my second section, I examine recent Catholic theological perspectives on catholicity. I conclude by suggesting a threefold path forward.