We all do it. “The church teaches such and such.” “The church lobbied against gay marriage.” “The church failed to protect children.” “The church is homophobic and sexist.” “The church is authoritarian.” “I hate the church.”
The word “church” has multiple meanings. One theologian counted more than a dozen ways “church” was used in the documents of the Second Vatican Council, referring to everything from a building to the Mystical Body of Christ.
“Church” is the word we use to translate the Greek word “ekklesia,” which originally had the meaning of an assembly called together by a secular authority.