Don't forget about Eastern-rite Catholics!

[Saint Frankenstein]

It honestly irks me a bit when the Catholic Church is referred to as the "Roman" Catholic Church, as if the Eastern Catholics don't exist. This is usually a Protestant thing stemming from anti-Catholicism and a way of denying the Church's universality, really. That term only really makes since if you're specifically referring to the Latin-rite of the Catholic Church and not the Church as a whole. But, yes - there is the Latin-rite and the Eastern-rite of the Catholic Church. Most Catholics, yes, are Latin-rite (such as myself), and there are even different rites under the Latin rite, but there's 23 "particular churches" that aren't and follow different theological and liturgical traditions. They number about 16 million and are mostly in the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe.

Eastern Catholic Churches - Wikipedia

As full members of the Catholic Church and in full Communion with the Pope, we are free to attend churches of whichever rite we please. I was Baptized and Confirmed in a Latin-rite parish but I could choose to attend an Eastern-rite parish if I pleased. (So there would really be no reason for me to become Orthodox, if I started to fancy Eastern Christianity over Western Christianity. It's all there in the Catholic Church, and there are Eastern-rite parishes in my area.)

Just wanted to bring this up because our Eastern Catholic brothers and sisters are often left out of conversation.

 

[Spiderman]

That's right. Roman Catholicism is just one of 20+ rites of Catholicism, some of which allow married priests

 

[LuisDantas]

It seems to me that even most Catholics and Orthodox Christians tend to be unaware of the difference between Eastern Rite Churches and Eastern or Oriental Orthodox Churches.

It can get a bit academic for the casual overseer, and it can certainly be confusing to the uninitiated.

For instance, aren't several Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches named "Catholic" (a word that means "Universal") without any claim of being in full communion with the Pope?

I suppose some effort at improving awareness of the somewhat complex reality of the Catholic Churches would not be lost.

 

[Glaurung]

For instance, aren't several Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches named "Catholic" (a word that means "Universal") without any claim of being in full communion with the Pope?

Yes, and more. The Eastern and Oriental Churches both claim to be the Catholic Church.

However, the term Eastern Rite Catholicism almost always refers to the Eastern churches in communion with the Holy See.

The whole Catholic/Orthodox naming distinction simply exists to distinguish the three major communions. Orthodoxy claims to be catholic, and Catholicism claims to be orthodox.