Catholicism - a very brief and potted history
For millions of Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and other such reformed Christians, the term 'catholic' refers to the original Church - and 'Roman' Catholic refers to those under the authority of the pope - a position which (arguably) emerged out of the embers of the Imperial Roman Empire. Since the Great Schism, many centuries ago, the term 'Orthodox' is still used. Right up until the separation of the Eastern and Western Church, and way before the Reformation, it was synonymous with the word Catholic but in its original meaning, referring to what we as (non-Roman) Catholics understand as the original, universal Church. In other words, we see Catholicism as the original faith as handed to us by the Apostles; as it was (and still is by millions of people) first believed, taught and practised. Over centuries these terms took on different meanings for different people.
At the time of the Reformation, people like Luther and Calvin believed that Rome had corrupted the Catholic Church and it was in great need of reforming, not just in terms of its structure, but also the many doctrines taught as Roman Catholic 'truths.' All the people who accepted Luther and Calvin's position came to see the term Catholic as meaning the ancient pre-Roman Christian faith - that is - the faith of the New Testament Church, before the Roman Empire legalized the Church.
To add to this ever growing diversity of positions, along came Henry the VIII who, after having quite a nasty spat with the pope, finally declared himself as head of the Church in England. This Church later came to be known as the Church OF England. Henry who was initially trained to be the Archbishop of Canterbury and thought he knew as much theology as the Pope, called himself "a Catholic but not a pope Catholic"! Of course we must remember that Martin Luther hacked the Roman Church off way before, arguably making the path easier for Anglicanism - please see our Lutheran Page. Even today, there are members of the Church of England who see it as the daughter of the original Catholic Church, which existed in the British Isles long before the Pope sent missionaries under Augustine of Canterbury. Many call themselves Anglo-Catholics.
In the late 19th century, Pope Pius called a Vatican Council, unhappy with what was going on in Europe at the time. In particular, the fact that the Roman Church had lost the Italian Papal States and had been unsuccessful in converting Protestants in the Counter-Reformation, but he was also in a stew over the actions of what he called 'rogue' priests and bishops, one being Arnold Harris Mathew, a former RC priest and Englishman. The rise of secular humanism also caused contention and created the beginnings of the modern, secular state. Last, but not least, there were huge issues surrounding the development of 'modern social sciences' which the Pope saw as a direct attack on moral doctrines of the Church. Essentially, Pius had to work out a way for everyone to bow to his command. He needed somehow to seduce the RC faithful to view him as infallible. Doesn't this all smack of the Roman Emperors calling themselves immortal?
The Council was called 'the Vatican' rather than 'Ecumenical' because the Pope (in protest over loss of the Papal States) had withdrawn to an area of Rome where he had some private apartments, and of course, where St. Peter's Basilica was located; and refused to leave. This was the case until Mussolini recognized Vatican City as an independent, sovereign nation.
Faced with all this hassle, the pope summoned the bishops to Rome. Out of this council, which officially did not end until the pontificate of John XXIII, came a dogma that had never been accepted by the Universal Church, even though a few Popes had tried very unsuccessfully to enforce it, and that was Papal Infallibility! This new initiative held that the Pope, as successor to Peter, could speak infallibly on matters of dogma. What better way to get people to do as you dictate but say your authority cannot be questioned because it is from God! Manipulative yes - but not that clever - because not everyone was conned by it.
Protests by other clergymen were made in such a significant and historic way. They further loosened, as did Henry the VIII, the grip Rome had on the world of Catholicism ... they just didn't get the same press as the Tudors. Everyone knows what Henry the VIII did for the sake of his earthly nuptuals, but not everyone is aware that the Pope was challenged, and quietly beaten, by its own clergy in the 18 hundreds.
So these bishops, led by the Archbishop in Utrecht in Holland, refused to accept papal infallibility and said that they would retain the original way of governing the Church through the authority of an Ecumenical Council. These faithful came to be known as 'Old Catholics' and were mainly located in Holland, Britain, Germany and Austria. Many Churches (as do we) in Northern Europe celebrate the heritage of Old Catholicism because our Holy Orders mainly come from this line. Without it, we would not have any married men or women in Catholic Orders.
The last category is the newest and most widely developing metamorphosis of Catholicism and duly called 'Ecumenical Catholicism', born of the Arnold Harris Mathew line, the founder of the Old Catholic Church in the United Kingdom. Many EC churches comprise of Old and/or Liberal Catholics, former Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Anglo-Catholics and a sprinkling of non-conformists. They pray for Christian equality and (mostly) endorse women's ordination at all levels of service, as well as supporting the ordination of married men. They strive to be welcoming and affirming communities to all people of God. We all share a general agreement on what can be described as the essential doctrines of the early Church (see our Statement of Faith) and above all else the ECC+C sees Christian love as the ultimate manifestation of the Holy Spirit and the Redemptive Life of Jesus, the Christ.
In 1932 the Convocation of Canterbury established 'intercommunion' between the Church of England and the Old Catholic Churches on the terms of the Bonn Agreement of the previous year.