|
The Catholic Church is the Church established by Christ on the foundation of the Apostles,
possessing the fullness of the means of salvation which He has willed: correct and complete confession of faith, full
sacramental life, and ordained ministry in apostolic succession. The Church is catholic or universal both because she
possesses the fullness of Christ's presence and the means of salvation, and because she has been sent out by Christ
on a mission to the whole of the human race.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1997 |