Care needs to be taken not to confuse the modern Roman Catholic Church with the church of Christendom. All churches have to live with their history but the modern Catholic Church, following the Second Vatican Council in 1962-5, has a deep commitment to ecumenism.
The most distinctive feature of the Catholic Church is perhaps its extent. It is the only world church. That means it is the only church that embraces the world in a single structure. It is also the biggest. With 1 billion adherents, it accounts for half the Christians in the world.
My impression is that Catholic Priests retain a close relationship with their Diocese of origin. They are selected by the Bishop (in practice a far more significant figure than the Pope) and trained in the Diocese. They can be moved at will by the Bishop, within the Diocese, and so do not seem to retain a link with a particular local church like Orthodox priests. Of course this is cut across by various religious orders and it is not impossible to move between Dioceses.
The Vatican Council stated that God's grace is bigger than the Catholic Church and so operates elsewhere. So, for example, marriage is an example of God's grace in operation even where two non-Christians are married. The Catholic Church offers assurance; membership of this Church is a guarantee of salvation.
It is these statements that have deepened the commitment of the Catholic Church to ecumenism. Their approach is through dialogues and in Britain the best known will be ARCIC (Anglican Roman Catholic International Conversations). There are many other similar dialogues.
Disclaimer: My aim in these accounts of ecclesiology is to paint a positive overall picture, although I may from time to time touch upon problems and issues. I am not an expert in this field and may make some mistakes. I welcome any comments that will help me present a clearer and more accurate picture. Please note I am not aiming for an in-depth analysis at this stage.
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