Are all churches labeled "Catholic" the same?

Question

I have just moved to a new town and am hoping to find a church to go to. I grew up in a city where I went to the same Vietnamese Catholic church my entire life. In searching for churches online, I've come upon many churches in the area that are called (for instance): Holy Trinity Catholic Church and St. Juan Diego Parish. My question is: If a church labels themselves "Catholic", does this mean they are all the same? What is the difference between a "Catholic church" and a "Catholic Parish"? I don't want to accidentally go to a different-religion church. How do I choose a Catholic church that best resembles my former church and beliefs?

Answer 1

Check out if the parish or church is in the diocesan Catholic directory.

Many groups that use the word catholic in their titles are not in communion with the Pope of Rome nor teach according to the doctrines and morals the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of the Papal Communion.

A parish is a local subset of a diocese, the regional church for Catholics.

Check out the parish before participating

Answer 2

A parish is "an administrative part of a diocese that has its own church in the Anglican, Roman Catholic, and some other churches." A church is one building where people worship.

All Catholic churches are, basically, the same. They worship the same religion and follow the same "script" for mass. There might be some basic differences (some priests are better than others, some churches like folk masses and some don't, and some churches are bigger and more fancy than others), but for the most part, they're all the same. If you're Catholic, you can go to any Catholic church in the world.

Answer 3

No.

Most Catholic churches (but not all) in the Far East, North and South America, and Western Europe belong to the Latin Rite (Roman) Catholic Church.

Actually there are over 20 different Catholic Churches that make up the worldwide Catholic Church.

In addition to the Latin Rite (Roman) Catholic Church, the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches are in full communion with the Pope, and are part of the same worldwide Catholic Church.

Eastern Rite Catholic Churches include:

Alexandrian liturgical tradition
+ Coptic Catholic Church
+ Ethiopic Catholic Church

Antiochian (Antiochene or West-Syrian) liturgical tradition
+ Maronite Church
+ Syrian Catholic Church
+ Syro-Malankara Catholic Church

Armenian liturgical tradition:
+ Armenian Catholic Church

Chaldean or East Syrian liturgical tradition:
+ Chaldean Catholic Church
+ Syro-Malabar Church

Byzantine (Constantinopolitan) liturgical tradition:
+ Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church
+ Belarusian Greek Catholic Church
+ Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church
+ Byzantine Church of the Eparchy of Križevci
+ Greek Byzantine Catholic Church
+ Hungarian Greek Catholic Church
+ Italo-Albanian Catholic Church
+ Macedonian Greek Catholic Church
+ Melkite Greek Catholic Church
+ Romanian Church
+ Russian Byzantine Catholic Church
+ Ruthenian Catholic Church
+ Slovak Greek Catholic Church
+ Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13121a.htm

Watch out for "Catholic" churches that call themselves "Traditional" or "Old" because they have broken away from the Pope.

With love in Christ.

Answer 4

Most of the time the answer will be yes. But, there could be a church that uses "Catholic" but are not in actuality in communion with Rome (specifically the Pope). Also, understand that there are different rites within the Catholic Church. The vast majority in the US are Latin Rite. But if you go to a Byzantine Rite Catholic church, you will notice differences in the Mass (they refer to it as Divine Liturgy).

As to your question about "parish" and "church", in that context they would be the same thing.

If you have a specific question, you can feel free to click on my icon and send me an email.

Answer 5

Catholic is CAtholic generally. you should check with the diocese if there is a Viernamese parish in town - that would be so nice for you! might not be a Vietnamese parish fully but might have more leaning tendency. Church & Parish are pretty much one in the same.

Answer 6

The Watchtower magazine is a Jehovah's Witness (JW) e book and has no longer something to do with the Catholic Church. you would be clever to furnish 0 credibility to it because of the fact the Watchtower enterprise (the JW headquarters) is typically particularly anti-Catholic. maximum of their textile is unsourced, quoting textile out of context. Your ultimate wager is to stay faraway from its guides and use extra credible materials, like the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Catholic coaching source middle (CERC). you would be getting your recommendations at as quickly as from credible materials that way. As on your question, monks do no longer carry forth or coach comparable-gender marriages. to accomplish that could violate Catholic coaching on the marriage sacrament. God bless.

Answer 7

I believe that most Vietnamese Catholic Churches in the US are in communion with Rome, so any Roman Catholic Church should be the same. Anyone out there - if I am wrong, please correct me.
But simply call those in your area and explain what you are looking for.

Answer 8

small c: catholic, simply meaneth universal, global.
King James was small c, and defender of the faith,
as noted in Epistle Dedicatory of Bible Translators.

Roman Catholic, is a Big C, preceded by Roman,
since the Vatican nation is located in Rome, Italty.

United Church baptismal certificates also say RC.

So the point is always read the fine print,
til you get it: understanding = grace glory.

The GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ with you all. Amen.

Answer 9

All Catholics are not the same. When choosing your church the ONE and MOST important thing to look for is that it is Christian. Do they believe that Jesus Christ is God's son and was born to die for us.
I would encourage to find one that promotes opening the bible and reading it.
There is a lot of Catholic and other churches that only claim to be Christian so don't be afraid to ask the people of the congregation questions and check around.
Good luck.

Answer 10

No, they are not all the same.

There are many sects of Catholicism.

Russian Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox
Roman Catholic
etc...

If you wish to go to a Catholic church, I would highly recommend that you speak to the priest before attending so that you can find out if it is the particular sect of Catholicism that you belong to.