noun
Refers specifically to the Roman Catholic Church, often in historical or formal contexts. The term is less common in everyday conversation, where カトリック教会 is more typical.
公教会は中世ヨーロッパで大きな影響力を持っていた。
The Catholic Church had great influence in medieval Europe.
カトリック教会 is the standard modern term for the Catholic Church. 公教会 is a more formal or historical synonym, less common in everyday speech.
Compound of 公 (public, official) and 教会 (church). The term was historically used to refer to the Catholic Church as the 'public church' in contrast to other denominations.