LT,
I don't even think the word "universal" was used in the first century at all. It was a term used later on but just to identify all those in the Christian faith. The term Catholic today has a very different connotation. To me the church (ecclesia) is the believers in Christ (the people), not the building, organization or denomination. When organizations started popping up and giving themselves denominational names as Catholic, Baptist, Protestant, etc. and began to make rules and doctrines unique to them that you have to accept to belong to that denomination, they succeeded in dividing the body of Christ instead of uniting it. (by promoting a sect, i.e. RC) Lilly