The Catholic Church is actually composed of 24 churches — one Latin (Roman), which comprises perhaps 98% of all Catholics worldwide, and 23 "Eastern" or “Oriental” churches.
Catholics also follow the teachings of Jesus Christ but do so through the church, whom they consider as the path to Jesus. They believe in the special authority of the Pope which other Christians may not believe in, whereas Christians are free to accept or reject individual teachings and interpretations of the bible.
The Roman Catholic Church, which has over 1.3 billion members–slightly over half of all Christians worldwide–does not view itself as a denomination, but as the original pre-denominational Church, a view rejected by other Christians. Protestant denominations account for approximately 37 percent of Christians worldwide.
This declaration informs all the people of the world that the 13 united colonies are free from British rule and any political connections with Great Britain.
