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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"Why do movies about [[Satan]] only have Catholics? We never get to see Methodists or Episcopalians put down demons."''
|'''[[Roger Ebert]]''' on ''[[Constantine]]''}}
Historically, America has been predominantly Protestant. Most of the original thirteen colonies were composed of Protestant groups, but you'd never know this from any of the media we{{who}} cover.
It's hard to tell why; maybe it's because the costumes of Roman Catholic clerics are so [[Awesome Anachronistic Apparel|quaint]] and [[Gorgeous Period Dress|distinctive]], perhaps it's the fascination of [[Rule of Symbolism|the mystery and ritual]], perhaps it's that our [[A Man Is Not a Virgin|sex-obsessed society]] is bewildered by the thought of priests, monks, and nuns taking a [[Celibate Hero|vow of celibacy]], or that [[Creepy Cathedral|ornate Catholic churches make the best sets]], or the usefulness of the [[Confessional|sacrament of confession]] as a narrative device. Or maybe it's just downright absurd to associate Southern Baptists with [[Ominous Latin Chanting]] and Gothic aesthetics. Another possibility is that Catholicism is simply a more visible form of Christianity in the bicoastal urban milieu in which most writers work. Not to mention that a considerable number of writers are themselves Catholic (or were [[Raised Catholic|raised that way]]), and may just find it easier to [[Write What You Know|write what they know]].
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Before you worry about a [[Double Standard]], keep in mind most of Catholicism featured in media is usually made up or poorly researched, and usually resembles Protestantism. For example, Purgatory and Limbo are almost always confused.
Note that this trope is reversed in some countries; outside the US [[Captain Obvious|Protestant countries tend to assume Protestantism, Catholic countries tend to assume Catholicism, and
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==▼
▲== Anime ==
* ''[[Kaitou Saint Tail]]'' is a Catholic schoolgirl, her base of operations is a Catholic church, her informant is an "[[Nuns Are Mikos|apprentice nun]]", and all the victims that she helps are also Catholic. Given that they're in a predominantly ''Shinto'' country, it's odd that no one seems to notice.
** Her informant is also blatantly breaking the rules of confidentiality regarding the confessional, which is something real clergy could get a ''lot'' of trouble for.
*** And nuns have no access to confessional secrets! Only male priests do and they can't even share them amongst themselves.
* In ''[[Sailor Moon]],'' Hino Rei, a Shinto miko, attends an all-girls Catholic school. Named T*A, an [[Expy]] of the former
** T*A possibly stands for Thomas Aquainus.
* ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'' is another [[Church Militant]] series set in the United States, which...sorta fits under this trope. [[Anime Catholicism|It's complicated]].
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** Rosette is also stated to be a nun in the manga, while in the anime she's just got a nun-ish uniform. It's complicated.
* In ''[[Trinity Blood]]'', Catholicism is pretty much the only religion, period. Although given that it's set 1000 years [[After the End]] and Europe (which is largely Catholic in [[Real Life]]) was the only bit of the world that wasn't nuked into oblivion, this might be somewhat justified. It is also probably worth noting that the church in ''[[Trinity Blood]]'' is a political and military organization as much as a religious one.
* ''[[
* ''[[Seikon no Qwaser]]'' starts off as an aversion by having latched onto Russian Orthodox imagery but the Vatican shows up as well as part of the background plotting.
* Thoroughly averted in ''[[
* Subverted in ''[[Haunted Junction]].'' The male character's parents are Protestant Christian, in fact his father is a priest.
* Sorta maybe avoided in ''[[Trigun]]''. Wolfwood gets glossed as a 'priest' but doesn't act very ordained, and in the anime he carries a traveling confessional, but the one church that appears in the anime ({{spoiler|where Wolfwood dies}}) is much less Catholic than the one in the manga (where Vash hangs out at the start of 'Colorless Emotions'), which featured a ''very'' clerical-looking officiant and some bling.
** Wolfwood's mental monologue about becoming devils in order to have the power to protect those who ''don't'' doesn't fit too well into any Christian sect, and it's the closest thing to doctrine he ever really puts out. He is in the future, though. Things change.
* Averted in ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]''. Zakuro Fujiwara ''is'' a practicing Christian, but she's Protestant.
* Averted in ''[[
== Comic Books ==
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* Parodied in the 2000AD series ''Pussyfoot 5'', in which a futuristic Catholic Church makes use of a team of [[Stripperiffic|sexy]] [[Action Girl|female commandos]] for [[Rule of Funny|no readily apparent reason]].
== Fan
* Writers of ''[[Kim Possible]]'' fanfic, for some reason, generally assume that the Possibles are Roman Catholic, [[Ass Pull|despite the total and utter lack of canon evidence thereof]].
** [http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1052599/ King in Yellow] deals with religion in his work more than any of the other authors. He portrays the Possibles as Methodist, while Ron's family is Jewish (as per the show). Interestingly, Shego is also Jewish in his stories, as her grandmother was one of the "Lost Children," a group of European Jews who immigrated to the United States during the Holocaust. Of course, the author is a professor of Religious History, so this is to be expected.
* [[The Teraverse]] has a lot of devout Catholics in certain stories, though that's not altogether surprising, since one of the superheroines is a ''flying nun''.
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** Hindus have a different perspective on religion than do people coming from an Abrahamic (Jewish, Christian, or Islamic) background. Hinduism takes the position that there are many paths that all lead to the One Truth, and thus all religions have some merit. To a Hindu, the Christian God may seem to be just another way to experience this truth, and entering a church could be seen as not much different than visiting temples devoted to the various gods. Bollywood movies are also probably inspired from Hollywood examples in this regard.
** The focus on Catholicism versus Protestant is partly because of the ritual trappings of the denominations, partly because of it's longer history in India, and mostly because most Indian Christians are Catholics. Syrian Christian churches are native churches with a longer history, but they are South Indian and rarely do Bollywood films portray South Indian characters or situations.
* Attempted subversion in ''[[Raising Helen]]''. The title character, upon gaining custody of her deceased sister's children and moving to New York City, enrolls them in a private school which she at first thinks is Catholic, but turns out to be Lutheran and she is confused by the differences between the two. Unfortunately, so were the filmmakers.
* ''[[The Boondock Saints]]'' opens with a powerful shot of a Catholic priest in a beautiful church... reciting the ''Protestant'' formula of the Lord's Prayer. (The Catholic Mass has a short invocation by the priest in between "deliver us from evil" and the doxology, and the latter section is omitted entirely when the Our Father is recited outside of Mass. Also, the Lord's Prayer comes after the Eucharistic Prayer, not before the homily.)
** Actually some priests will say a short prayer before the homily. Often it's the Hail Mary, but I knew one priest who said the Our Father (he said the Catholic version though).
* In the recent movie ''[[Henry Poole Is Here]]'' the main character, Luke Wilson's, home has a supposed miraculous appearing of the Face of Christ on a wall. The claim is investigated by a priest {{spoiler|played by George Lopez none the less}} along with most of the film using Catholic imagery. Justified by the fact that the movie is set in a suburb of LA and the majority of the surrounding neighbors are Hispanic Catholics.
* ''[[Dogma]]'' features two fallen angels attempting to destroy the world by disrupting a Catholic church's anniversary celebration, and George Carlin's character is the Catholic priest more concerned with the event going off without a hitch than the warnings about the angels.
** Oddly enough, the movie postulates that Catholic dogma can
* ''[[Brideshead Revisited]]'' (2008 version) is a strange subversion of this trope. The director stated in several interviews that he had a problem with all organized religion, but further remarks indicated that what he meant by that was actually the more evangelical strains of Christianity. In the film, the main family portrayed is very Catholic—as [[Evelyn Waugh]], author of the novel the movie was loosely based upon, made them—but
* Averted in ''[[Soul Surfer]]''. Christianity is clearly Evangelical and in fact some of the hymns are the same as this troper remembers.
* ''[[Stigmata]]'' is about a priest investigating a woman who has manifested the title wounds and speaks in tongues.
** Made very funny, as (former altar boy) Roger Ebert points out, because the filmmakers think that the woman's having been entered by the Holy Ghost is the same thing as demonic possession.
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* ''[[Film/Home Movies|Home Movies]]'' made an attempt to avert by having the main character be a Methodist [[Did Not Do the Research|'''priest''', complete with a priest collar.]] He was married and had children which is in keeping with protestant '''ministers''', however.
* In ''[[Desperado]]'', El Mariarchi goes to confession, and in the other scene, he makes a sign of the cross. Protestants do not practice any of these.
* [[Disney Animated Canon|Walt Disney films]] ''love'' this trope. [http://www.catholicezine.com/news-articles/news.pl?aid=82470 Read the article first]{{Dead link}}
** ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' is likely the best example, though, it is justified, because the whole movie takes place in Notre Dame, and everyone knows that it is a ''Catholic'' church.
** Three characters in ''[[Robin Hood (Disney film)|Robin Hood]]'' are religious figures: Friar Tuck, a Church Mouse, and the mouse’s wife, "Little Sister." They are shown taking care of a Catholic church; Friar Tuck rings the bells and the Church Mouse plays the organ.
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** ''[[Sleeping Beauty (Disney film)|Sleeping Beauty]]'''s background is inspired from Medieval Catholic art.
** In ''[[Pinocchio (Disney film)|Pinocchio]]'', the fairy who brings the puppet to life is often interpreted as Mother Mary figure.
** The live-action film
* Averted in ''[[Frailty]]''. While the family's religion is never discussed in the final cut of the film, a deleted scene reveals them to be Baptist. Bill Paxton stated that he cut the scene in order to make them "generically Christian."
== Literature ==
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** One of the subplots in King's ''[[Needful Things]]'' involves a conflict between Catholics and Baptists in Castle Rock, Maine that escalates into a murderous riot.
** However, other religious characters in his work (Margaret White from ''[[Carrie]]'', Mother Abagail from ''[[The Stand]]'', Vera Smith from ''[[The Dead Zone]]'', David Carver from ''[[Desperation]]'', Paul Edgecombe from ''[[The Green Mile]]'') are Protestant.
* Averted in the ''[[Belisarius Series]]''. Romans are Eastern Orthodox and Axumites are Coptics. Obviously. However this is before the schism between Constantinople and Rome reached its climax. There are also Monophysites which is an esoteric interpretation of Trinitarian speculation of interest only to those who are insiders in the Church already or philosophy geeks who just like that sort of thing. What is more important plotwise is the political tensions that arise from theological differences as the author has little interest in theology for its own sake and sometimes seems to regard it with distaste.
* Averted in the ''[[Honor Harrington]]'' series. The Grayson state church is very much Protestant.
** They go far enough from mainstream theology over a thousand years they are a kind of [[Recycled in Space|Space Mormons]].
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* [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]]'s fiction prominently features Russian Orthodox Christians, and portrays Catholicism as something foreign and frightening. Dostoevsky was himself Orthodox, and hated Catholicism (particularly the Jesuit order). ''[[The Idiot]]'' even includes a scene where Prince Myshkin launches into a [[Character Filibuster]] denouncing Catholicism as anti-Christian, and worse than atheism.
* ''[[Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn]]'': Aeodonism is more or less, the copy of the Roman Catholic Church in Medieval Times.
* [[C. S.
* ''[[Technic History|A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows]]'' has what seems to be an evolution of Eastern Orthodoxy, which is fitting as it centers on a planet that is Serbian in culture (its politics are more British with a limited aristocracy headed by a semi-democratic monarch).
▲== Live Action TV ==
* In ''[[NCIS]]'' Abby Sciutto is Catholic and her involvement with a local convent is frequently mentioned and occasionally a minor plot device.
** [[Anyone Can Die|Kate]] is Catholic too, indeed even more explicitly than Abby
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** Not forgetting the fact that Face was raised in a Catholic Orphanage and there's the episode where he and Murdock disguise themselves as Nuns to help a similar Orphanage.
* ''[[Father Murphy]]'': The main character of the show imitates a Catholic Priest running an orphanage. This would go against the trope of protestant clergy in Westerns.
* In all ''[[Law &
** The cast for the first three years had five Catholics (Greevy, Logan, Cragen, Stone, and Robinette). Schiff, like his real world counterpart Morganthau, was Jewish. Then in ''[[Law and Order Special Victims Unit]]'', Elliot Stabler's Catholic faith plays a big part in his life.
** On the other hand, the various ''[[Law and Order]]'' series have a higher percentage of church-related plotlines that involve Protestant denominations that most series. Notably, when the Catholic Church is involved, the episode includes either an a subplot involving Elliott or an investigation that at some point includes an accusation of pedophilia, whereas Protestant-focused episodes are pretty diverse in theme.
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** An exception is Stella of ''[[CSI: NY]]'', who is apparently Orthodox—she makes the Sign of the Cross top, down, right, left (Catholic is top, down, left, right).
*** However, this was depicted as happening in a Catholic church.
*
* Likewise, Booth, the token Christian on ''[[Bones]]'', is Catholic, and holds a deep-seated dread of nuns. Somewhat justified in that the actor, David Boreanaz, actually is Catholic, and was raised Catholic and went to Catholic schools. Also justified in [[Nuns Are Spooky]].
** Booth is also an Irish name.
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* ''[[Homicide: Life on the Street]]'' accurately represents Baltimore's high Catholic population: Lt Giardello, Det Crosetti, Det Pembleton, Det Felton, Det Gharty, and Bessie-Lou all are Catholics. However, Det Lewis is a Baptist and Det Bayliss later converts to Zen Buddhism. Det Munch is Jewish, but says the only thing on which he and Judaism agree is not working on Saturdays.
* On the HBO prison drama ''[[Oz]]'' Father Ray Mukada, a prison chaplain, is a Catholic priest, and Sister Peter Marie, the prison psychologist, is a nun. The series features a significant number of other Catholics, as many characters are Irish, Italian or Latino. Even so, the series does feature characters of other religions, including several prominent Muslims, a rarity in American media. This trope was also subverted somewhat in Season Four with the introduction of the character Jeremiah Cloutier, an Evangelical Protestant minister.
* Nurse
* Elaine on ''[[Seinfeld]]'' learns that boyfriend Puddy is religious, and believes that she's going to Hell. While the religious stations preset on his car radio sound born-again Protestant, the couple wind up being counseled by his priest.
* The two times that a church has appeared on [[WWE]] programming (when Steve Austin and Booker T had a brawl in one, and when Vince and Shane McMahon used one as a backdrop to mock Shawn Michaels' faith), it was a Catholic church, complete with confession booth, font of holy water, etc. Note that the real-life Michaels, and thus presumably the character Michaels, is a Born-Again Evangelical, not a Catholic (although he was baptized Catholic as a baby). As well, the short-lived Reverend D'Von character, while talking like a Southern Baptist, dressed like a Catholic priest, and his entrance video had a very gothic stained-glass motif.▼
** This might be because the McMahons are of Irish descent.▼
** Mike Shaw's '''Friar Ferguson''', "The Mad Monk", lasted only a handful of matches before the Catholic church and the New York media raised enough pressure to have him removed.▼
** Averted in the WWF/WWE's one ''successful'' religious gimmicked character, Brother Love, who was a pastiche of Baptist Televangelist cliches.▼
** Oddly inverted in [[Rey Mysterio, Jr.]], who, while being notably Roman Catholic and heard to recite prayers in proper form, uses a modified, two-handed sign of the cross in the ring (both hands to forehead, chest, then one hand to either shoulder) while using the regular version in backstage skits.▼
* On the other hand, in the series ''[[Blood Ties]]'' the fact that the vampire is a good Catholic comes from his being greatly benefited by Catholicism. It was his dad, Henry VIII, who first split the Church, looking for a divorce and wanting to free England from Rome,and Henry Jr., our vampire, wanted to be king, obviously, thus he favored the Catholic Church. Never mind that most of England was Protestant by then, and the Catholic Queen Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII, was nicknamed Bloody Mary because of her desire to set England back to being Catholic. She tried to do this by killing off Protestants.
** There were still plenty of Catholics around, even if Elisabeth did her best to kill them off. They shipped in "properly" ordained priests from the continent and hid them from the authorities. It's not that easy to change an entire country's religious beliefs.
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{{quote|'''Father Gregory:''' I was her confessor. Divulging her name would violate the code of my faith [screen cuts to Scully's simple cross necklace] ...and yours, I see.}}
* Justified in ''[[Blue Bloods]]'', where the Reagan family are Catholics of Irish descent. Other denominations are present, too; the black reverend who's apparently a longtime thorn in Frank Reagan's side is an indeterminate Protestant denomination.
== Music ==
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** This explains why the Contemporary Christian Music industry, historically based out of Nashville, tends to be dominated by Protestants. Some artists who identify as Catholic have attained popularity in CCM, though their lyrics tend to avoid doctrinal specifics. Contemporary Catholic Music does exist as its own subgenre, but bring up the name of a prominent Catholic artist to a frequent listener of Christian radio and you'll probably get a blank stare.
== Professional Wrestling ==
▲* The two times that a church has appeared on [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] programming (when Steve Austin and Booker T had a brawl in one, and when Vince and Shane McMahon used one as a backdrop to mock Shawn Michaels' faith), it was a Catholic church, complete with confession booth, font of holy water, etc. Note that the real-life Michaels, and thus presumably the character Michaels, is a Born-Again Evangelical, not a Catholic (although he was baptized Catholic as a baby). As well, the short-lived Reverend D'Von character, while talking like a Southern Baptist, dressed like a Catholic priest, and his entrance video had a very gothic stained-glass motif.
▲** This might be because the McMahons are of Irish descent.
▲** Mike Shaw's '''Friar Ferguson''', "The Mad Monk", lasted only a handful of matches before the Catholic church and the New York media raised enough pressure to have him removed.
▲** Averted in the WWF/WWE's one ''successful'' religious gimmicked character, Brother Love, who was a pastiche of Baptist Televangelist cliches.
▲** Oddly inverted in [[Rey Mysterio, Jr.]], who, while being notably Roman Catholic and heard to recite prayers in proper form, uses a modified, two-handed sign of the cross in the ring (both hands to forehead, chest, then one hand to either shoulder) while using the regular version in backstage skits.
== Radio ==
* Garrison Keillor's "News from Lake Wobegon" anecdotes from ''[[A Prairie Home Companion]]'' often allude to the relationship between the town's Lutherans and Catholics. Keillor has joked that "Even the Catholics up here are Lutheran."
== Tabletop Games ==
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** And when Gabriel appears to Mohammad, creating Islam, she cops so much strife for it that she barely visits Heaven anymore.
* The [[Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game|MMORPG]] ''[[Ragnarok Online]]'' has a priest healer class with Catholic-themed skill names ([[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic|in Latin, no less!]]) such as "Signum Crucis" (Sign of the Cross), "Impositio Manus" (Laying-on of hands), "Angelus" (a Catholic prayer) and "Magnus Exorcismus" (Great Exorcism). However the Catholicity ends with the [[Stripperiffic|questionably dressed]] ''female'' priest characters.▼
▲== Video games ==
▲* The [[MMORPG]] ''[[Ragnarok Online]]'' has a priest healer class with Catholic-themed skill names ([[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic|in Latin, no less!]]) such as "Signum Crucis" (Sign of the Cross), "Impositio Manus" (Laying-on of hands), "Angelus" (a Catholic prayer) and "Magnus Exorcismus" (Great Exorcism). However the Catholicity ends with the [[Stripperiffic|questionably dressed]] ''female'' priest characters.
** Although female Acolytes, the class preceding Priest, are one of the most conservatively dressed classes in any MMORPG ever. There may be some symbolism going on here, like the progression into womanhood (ala [[Nuns Are Mikos]] and the Miko's association with purity/virginity)
** And the male Priest's attire is a bit questionable and all, you know, at least for the profession.
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* Averted in ''[[Half-Life 2]]''. Father Gregori, the only real Christian presence in the game, appears to be a Greek Orthodox priest.<ref>"appears" is the operative word, as he is hysterical and most likely not an ordained member of any Church</ref>
* [[All There in the Manual|Not that this is in any way represented in-game]], but the backstory of ''[[Sword of the Stars]]'' uses this trope. Justified by, apparently, having all other major religions and christian denomination being either wiped out or heavily marginalized during interspecies fighting prior to first contact. Catholicism is described as having eight billion adherents, and is being exported to the [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Tarka]] who find the idea of a self-sacrificing peaceful god to be interesting.
== Web Original ==
* It is very common in Youtube videos and photo websites purporting to show photographic evidence of Vatican involvement in the Third Reich to include photos of Protestant Reich Churches, and Protestant clergy and worshipers, (often of the Deutsche Christen, DC, variety). Probably the most infamous person whose website features this would be [http://alamoministries.com/content/english/Antichrist/nazigallery/photogallery.html Tony Alamo] (though his infamy is for [[wikipedia:Tony Alamo#Controversies|unrelated reasons]]). That page is pretty humorous if you are aware that the most common subject of the photographs, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120417231816/http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/hist/jpetropoulos/church/keithpage/protesta.htm#The%20Protestant%20Church%20and%20the%20Third%20Reich Ludwig Muller] was the most powerful Protestant in Nazi Germany. For a political analogy, it would be like if a German made a website denouncing the US Democratic Party, but then put a bunch of pictures of Bush on it (and compensated for this by inserting the word Democrat before President Bush every time in the caption to fool [[Viewers are Morons|unknowledgable viewers]]). Also, with Muller on the top left (and in the right photo as well), and Protestant Bishop [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Coch Friedrich Coch] on the top right, it means the top features on the "Nazi Catholic Vaticanites" website are, in reality, solely prominent ''Protestants''.
* In the [[Chaos Timeline]], there is no big Catholic-Protestant split (except for some minor, uninfluential movements). Instead, power gradually shifted to the governments of the Catholic nations - a bit like our Anglicanism, or Gallican church, while the rituals and most of the doctrine were kept unchanged. (In this world's Nippon, the tenno frex is head of the Nipponese Catholic church!) [[The Pope]] was gradually reduced to a mere figurehead - although this changed unexpectedly again when he had to go to Australia after the revolution in Britain.
== Western Animation ==
* Reverend Lovejoy in ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' is Protestant, true, but he's fairly "High Church": fancy robes, stained glass and all that. Looks almost Catholic. It has been suggested he is Episcopalian. However, an episode dealing with Creationism showed him having contempt for Episcopalians, and an episode in which Bart and Homer converted to Catholicism revealed that his denomination is in fact the Western branch of the New Reformed American Presbylutherans (a denomination that broke with the Catholic Church over the right to attend to church with wet
** The creators even stated that Lovejoy was supposed to be a generic Christian religion and thus was deliberately designed to present several clashing elements, making any kind of identification impossible. Most notable is his wardrobe. He wears a Catholic collar, but Episcopalian robes. The church's leader is the Parson, who is "the earthly embodiment of the elected chair of the national congress of deacons."
** In "Like Father, Like Clown", Lovejoy co-hosts an ecumenical radio talk show with a Catholic priest and Jewish rabbi (who's Krusty the Clown's father).
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{{quote|'''Marge:''' Shouldn't we give him the Last Rites?
'''Rev. Lovejoy:''' That's ''Catholic'', Marge. You may as well ask me to do some kind of voodoo dance! }}
** When Bart and Homer convert to Catholicism in "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star", Marge is given a glimpse of Catholic Heaven (with Mariachi, Pinatas, spaghetti dinners, Irish pubs, Riverdance, and fistfighting) and Protestant Heaven (with [[White Anglo Saxon Protestant|badminton and croquet]], and everyone talking in vaguely [[British Accent
*** What makes this really absurd it that Jesus was neither Catholic or Protestant: he
* In ''[[Family Guy]]'', Peter's father Francis is Catholic. Many cutaway gags involve the Pope.
** In fact, "The Father, the Son and the Holy Fonz" suggested that the entire family is Catholic, sans Lois, who is Protestant, and Brian, who is an atheist (apparently, although this was mentioned in a later episode). In fact, Lois being Protestant was the main (and probably only) reason of why Francis hated her so much. Curiously, Lois sometimes is seen trying to convince the rest of the Griffins to go to (a Catholic) church. [[Fridge Logic|Wouldn't he be happy she converted?]]
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* Averted in ''[[King of the Hill]]'', The Hill family belongs to a Methodist church.
** Justified, as Catholicism was historically rare in Texas among families who were not of Hispanic, Irish, or Polish descent.
== Real Life ==
* There was a certain stretch of time were all Christian Churches regarded themselves as all being part of a single "Catholic" (which means "Universal" in Greek) church right up until the Great Schism of 1054 between Rome and Constantinople
** Though the ''formal'' split occurred at around 1054, cracks were already showing between East and West around about 700 AD. And while the Schism of 1054 was the first ''major'' split, there were many small groups who splintered off the bigger church centuries before. Examples of such groups that continue to exist are the Assyrian Church of the East and the Coptic and other Oriental Orthodox churches.
*** The importance of the 1054 split has been heavily exaggerated by polemical historians; the actual events in question read like absurdist farce, and the two halves nearly reunited on several occasions after that, only to splinter apart again at the last second.
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*** Despite the split, Orthodox and Catholics are generally allowed to attend each other's Divine Liturgies (Masses) in special circumstances, since they consider each other's Sacraments/Sacred Mysteries to be valid. The two circumstances most often listed are, in fact, in prison and on a battlefield.
**** Attend each other's Masses, yes, but not necessarily receive communion. An Orthodox church is not supposed to offer communion to a non-Orthodox Christian nor is an Orthodox believer supposed to receive it from a non-Orthodox minister. (Curiously, traditional Catholicism *does* allow the offering of communion to the Orthodox, though not to Protestants.)
***** Not curious at all. It's a doctrinal distinction. Catholics and Orthodox both believe in transsubstantiation and the Real Presence, Protestants don't.
* The [[American Courts|United States Supreme Court]] has,{{when}} for the first time in its history, no Protestant judges.{{verify}} In fact, it has six Catholics and three [[You Have to Have Jews|Jews]]{{verify}} (for context, the Court is now{{when}} over 33 percent Jewish, while the nation they represent is ''less than'' 3 percent Jewish!).{{verify}} Oddly enough, the nation has had only one Catholic President out of 43.{{when}} Kennedy's religion was a matter of controversy at the time, as Americans have been traditionally wary of Catholicism's recognition of a European figure as a seat of authority (the Pope).
* Christianity Is Catholic can be justified in works involving demons, as Catholics are one of very few Christian sects that still trains exorcists.
* Interestingly enough, it happens within Catholicism ''itself,'' especially considering the fact that Catholics are pretty diverse in practices, "non-essential" beliefs and alignments. Catholics in America, for example, are distinct from Italian or Peruvian ones.
** And that's not counting the various factions, such as the Conservatives, Liberals, Traditionalists, Sedevacantists, etc.
** Also, there are the "Eastern Catholic" churches. Yes, there is such a thing. Back in the 1500s when the Mass and other customs were standardized to the standards of the Diocese of Rome - hence the ''Roman'' Catholic - there were large portions of the world where the Catholic churches were not in direct contact with Rome for geopolitical reasons (mostly, Muslim countries and India) and did not adopt the new standards, but maintained their older regional ones. Syriac, Chaldean, Maronite, etcetera... there are about sixteen different varieties, which add up to about six percent of all Catholics. Most of them can also be found in the various English-speaking countries today, due to immigration.
* Interestingly, in some South-Asian countries, you can be registered as being either Christian ''or'' Catholic.
** Although it's technically incorrect, a lot of non-Catholic Christians use "Christian" that way even in the United States. Some even claim that it is ''correct'', because "Catholics ''aren't'' Christian" (usually based on the assumption that the use of the crucifix, instead of the bare cross, means Catholics don't believe in the Resurrection).
* In Medieval Europe, the Roman Catholic Church (and Eastern Orthodox) was the only Christian Church, until the Reformation (which took place during Renaissance) when Protestantism evolved.
** There were also Nestorians, Coptics, Irish, and so on. Also the Roman Catholic Church was, like everything Medieval, far more decentralized then the official rules stated, and had lots of weird cul-de-sacs and [[Jurisdiction Friction|jurisdictional complications.]] Probably it would have been as easy to find a de facto sovereign bishop that paid nominal allegiance to the pope as a de facto sovereign prince that paid nominal allegiance to the Holy Roman Emperor.
** Technically, "Roman" wasn't used until the 1500s.
* All the tropers that were raised Catholic in their childhood probably felt that way. Until they learned about the existence of other Christian denominations.
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