a member of the part of the Christian Church that has the Pope as its leaderCultureThe Roman Catholic Church was the established Church in Britain until the reformation of the 16th century, when it was replaced by the Protestant Church of England and Church of Scotland. After this Roman Catholics were not permitted to hold public positions or receive university education. In the 19th century the Emancipation Act led to greater religious freedom, but Roman Catholics still cannot be chosen for some high positions in public life, and the king or queen may not practise the religion. The Catholic religion is the main religion in the Republic of Ireland, and there has been violent conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. The Catholic Church in the United Kingdom is led by the Archbishop of Westminster, the Archbishop of Glasgow and the Archbishop of Armagh.
Topics Religion and festivalsc2Word Originlate 16th cent.: translation of Latin (Ecclesia) Romana Catholica (et Apostolica) ‘Roman Catholic (and Apostolic Church)’. It was apparently first used as a conciliatory term in place of the earlier Roman, Romanist, or Romish, considered derogatory.