When one thinks of “catholic”, there is often a immediate association with being “Roman Catholic”. This association is not only incorrect, it does it injustice to the definition of the word catholic.
The word “Catholic” comes from the Greek “katholikos” meaning “universal.” To be Catholic, in the sense of the word, means to be part of a single united church that stands together.
The expression of the Faith is what differentiates the various rites in the Church. For example, a Maronite church has its roots in the Syriac tradition, whereas Melkites, Ruthenians, and Ukranians celebrate the Byzantine tradition, originating in Constantinople. It is the same with the Coptics, Chaldeans, and Romans. These traditions are merely cultural, but the beauty of being part of the Catholic Church means we are still united as One, as Christ calls all to be One. Any person who is Catholic can receive the Sacraments in any Catholic Church since we all maintain the same belief concerning the Trinity, Sacraments, the Theotokos (i.e. The Virgin Mary), the Communion of Saints, and other dogmatic and moral issues that are Scriptural and Traditional (i.e. dogmas that are consistently upheld and defended by ancient Christian writers).