Do Roman Catholics have any specific beliefs that differentiate them from other Christians?

Answer 1

A:

Yes. Like all other Christians, Catholics believe in The Bible, but for Catholics this is not enough. Tradition is perhaps equally as important as what the Bible says, on the assumption that tradition came about through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Protestant faiths stripped away much of this tradition as non-scriptural and, in some cases, unbiblical.

As well as heaven and hell, Catholics believe in purgatory and limbo, although limbo is gradually being removed from Catholic teachings. They believe that Mary was born without sin and that she remained a virgin all her life, not just before the birth of Jesus, and that she was taken up bodily to heaven although the Church is unclear whether she had already died at the time of the assumption. For some centuries now, there is a belief that Mary appears to young children or simple rural peasants to ask for some small favour such as the construction of a shrine.

Hagiology is an essential part of the Catholic faith. Saints are revered and can be prayed to for intercession, even when there is evidence that a particular saint never existed. To keep up the supply of saints, new saints are constantly being canonised, with two supposed miracles required to be recognised by the Church leadership.

Being a Catholic means recognising the leadership of the pope, who is the bishop of Rome. Since the First Vatican Council of 1869-70, the pope has been declared infallible when speaking ex cathedra on matters of faith or morals.

Answer 2

It's just Catholic, not Roman Catholic. Roman is an epithet first commonly used in England after the protestant revolt to describe the Catholic Church. It is never used by the official Catholic Church. IF by Roman Catholic, you are referring to Latin Rite Catholics, okay, but then to whom would you like to compare them to?