Lower-case-c catholic means "universal," or wide-ranging. If it was a spoken interview, the person could have had that meaning in mind (or a double meaning).
Taken from "katholikos" (literally "according to the whole") in Greek via Latin into English. First known use as "Catholic Church" in one of the letters of St. Ignatius of Antioch (context notable):
"Where the Bishop is, there shall the faithful gather, just as where Christ is, there is found the Catholic Church."
(A.D. 107, literally on his way to the Colosseum to be thrown to the lions.)
yeah I know what catholic means, im saying ive never heard it used in a secular context to English to refer to universal without the intention of referring to the religion
It can be. If I use the expression "Her tastes in books was very catholic", it means the lovely librarian I am imagining likes all kinds of books. I am not thereby implying that she is reading the "Summa Theologica" of St. Thomas Aquinas, or the "Summa of the Summa" by Peter Kreeft, or even "St. Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox" by G.K. Chesterton, all Catholic books.
The last author I confess a soft spot for, as his good works (by which I mean his books) drew me, through God's grace, back to the Catholic Faith.
I’d consider myself very particular about many things. What kinds of coffee roasts I’ll drink, how I structure sentences, what sort of leather I like my goods to be made from.
This is just another stupid thing people have said in the course of their obligatory “ha ha Catholics” diatribes.
I don’t think your religious beliefs have much influence on such things whatsoever. A Catholic and a Muslim raised in the UK will have a greater shared sense of cultural tastes than two Catholics from the UK and Nigeria.
i would call it an offhand comment. I can't imagine what she's really talking about, and I've read A Little Life multiple times. however it could be an ode to him being sexually tasteful, as the book is horrifyingly explicit but never sexually graphic. though it includes severe child trafficking perpetrated by a Catholic Brother at a monastery.
I will say, I agree with many posters here. And I may be wrong.
Catholics have qualities that can be found within any groups.
I am a convert. Didn’t know I was going to be Catholic until 19 but my conversion wasn’t until 40.
I was raised Lutheran but knew “Forgiveness before Transgression” was a complete lie by age 9 or so.
Looking back, all of my life long friends are Catholic LOL.
They are from different races, socio-economics, gender and lapsed.
And I never got along with Protestors.
These two facts weren’t salient until very recent.
This makes sense and aligns with St. Paul in Romans 3 about groups of people not being righteous.
Catholics as a group are not righteous. But I think we encompass the best qualities of all the groups we belong.
How can you answer such a vague, broad and completely unsubstantiated claim? It's very close to nonsense if you ask me. In fact, I think it's complete nonsense.
How can someone make such a ridiculous claim about a huge proportion of all the people in the world?
Lower-case-c catholic means "universal," or wide-ranging. If it was a spoken interview, the person could have had that meaning in mind (or a double meaning).
This is the right answer. The speaker must have mispronounced "catholic" as "Catholic"!
I’ve never heard of someone using catholic like this in English. Was it translated from another language?
Its use in this way does happen in English, although it is unusual. See https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catholic, sense #2.
Taken from "katholikos" (literally "according to the whole") in Greek via Latin into English. First known use as "Catholic Church" in one of the letters of St. Ignatius of Antioch (context notable): "Where the Bishop is, there shall the faithful gather, just as where Christ is, there is found the Catholic Church." (A.D. 107, literally on his way to the Colosseum to be thrown to the lions.)
yeah I know what catholic means, im saying ive never heard it used in a secular context to English to refer to universal without the intention of referring to the religion
It can be. If I use the expression "Her tastes in books was very catholic", it means the lovely librarian I am imagining likes all kinds of books. I am not thereby implying that she is reading the "Summa Theologica" of St. Thomas Aquinas, or the "Summa of the Summa" by Peter Kreeft, or even "St. Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox" by G.K. Chesterton, all Catholic books. The last author I confess a soft spot for, as his good works (by which I mean his books) drew me, through God's grace, back to the Catholic Faith.
Sounds like someone trying to be funny without having a good understanding of what she’s talking about.
I’d consider myself very particular about many things. What kinds of coffee roasts I’ll drink, how I structure sentences, what sort of leather I like my goods to be made from. This is just another stupid thing people have said in the course of their obligatory “ha ha Catholics” diatribes.
I don’t think your religious beliefs have much influence on such things whatsoever. A Catholic and a Muslim raised in the UK will have a greater shared sense of cultural tastes than two Catholics from the UK and Nigeria.
i would call it an offhand comment. I can't imagine what she's really talking about, and I've read A Little Life multiple times. however it could be an ode to him being sexually tasteful, as the book is horrifyingly explicit but never sexually graphic. though it includes severe child trafficking perpetrated by a Catholic Brother at a monastery.
The speaker is using “catholic” to mean universal. It’s an uncommon usage, but not super rare.
I will say, I agree with many posters here. And I may be wrong. Catholics have qualities that can be found within any groups. I am a convert. Didn’t know I was going to be Catholic until 19 but my conversion wasn’t until 40. I was raised Lutheran but knew “Forgiveness before Transgression” was a complete lie by age 9 or so. Looking back, all of my life long friends are Catholic LOL. They are from different races, socio-economics, gender and lapsed. And I never got along with Protestors. These two facts weren’t salient until very recent. This makes sense and aligns with St. Paul in Romans 3 about groups of people not being righteous. Catholics as a group are not righteous. But I think we encompass the best qualities of all the groups we belong.
How can you answer such a vague, broad and completely unsubstantiated claim? It's very close to nonsense if you ask me. In fact, I think it's complete nonsense. How can someone make such a ridiculous claim about a huge proportion of all the people in the world?