The heresy of Americanism

[SHW]

That could be true, but the ostensible reason was to honor Queen Henrietta Maria of England.

Mighty suspicious, I know

The queen was a Roman Catholic from France. Her father was king of France (Henry of Navarre, a convert from Protestantism) and her mother was a Medici. These were powerful associations.

Thanks! I hadn’t heard this before.

Ah, ulterior motive! Wonder why they did not name it Henriettaland? Guess it was because they called her Queen “Mary?”

"Maryland soon became one of the few predominantly Catholic regions among the English colonies in North America. Maryland was also one of the key destinations where the government sent tens of thousands of British convicts punished by sentences of transportation. Such punishment persisted until the Revolutionary War.

The Maryland Toleration Act, issued in 1649, was one of the first laws that explicitly defined tolerance of varieties of religion (as long as it was Christian). It has been considered a precursor to the First Amendment."

from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Maryland

 

[JReducation]

Catholics in Maryland also welcomed Jews, which none of the other colonies did, at least not openly.

In addition, Maryland was one of the few states where the Church and the government actually cooperated on some projects without violating the Constitution. For example, Mother Seton’s Sister’s of Charity, who eventually merged with the Daughters of Charity, ran the first schools to offer the school lunch program for poor children in Baltimore. This later spread all over the country.

Bishop Carroll and his cousing James Carroll managed to get charters for Georgetown Colllege, which later became Georgetown University and St. Mary’s College, which later became Mt. St. Mary’s and today is St. Mary’s University. Marylanders managed to prove that the state and the Church could cooperate for the common good without violating the Constitution and without compromising the faith.

Catholics in Maryland cooperated in the underground railroad. Maryland was one of the few southern states that remaind faithful to union and to Catholic doctrine on social justice when it came to serving the needs of the poor.

The point that I’m making is that the “heresy of Americanism” was a valid concern of the Church and states like Maryland proved that one could be Catholic and American. The so called heresy was a belief that to be Catholic meant to be a papist and one should be suspect for being opposed to individual liberties, especially freedom of speech. There is not such a teaching in the Catholic Church. There never was.

There were individual popes and bishops who suppressed freedom of speech for their own purpose. But this was not a teaching of the Church. The teaching of the Church was and still is that silence in the face of error is wrong. Basically, the Church has always held, “The state has the obligation to ensure that what is said in public is truth and if it is not truth, it must allow for a rebuttal from those who know the truth.”

It seems that many felt and probably still do, that the Church has no right to make rules regulating freedom of speech. If freedom means that anyone can say anything they want without opposition, why can’t I yell out, “Fire!” in a movie theatre?

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[SHW]

It seems that many felt and probably still do, that the Church has no right to make rules regulating freedom of speech. If freedom means that anyone can say anything they want without opposition, why can’t I yell out, “Fire!” in a movie theatre?

How true! Why do we also have a commandment against “bearing false witness against thy neighbor,” which also includes slander and calumny? To protect a person’s God-given right to his own good name/reputation!

Christianity/Catholicism gives us freedom to do the right and honorable thing; it does not give us freedom to sin.

Romans 6:22
But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

A nation’s laws should do this exact same thing if its peoples desire to have the blessing of God upon their nation. (2 Chronicles 7:13-14)

Enjoyed your post about the history of Maryland.

 

[JReducation]

How true! Why do we also have a commandment against “bearing false witness against thy neighbor,” which also includes slander and calumny? To protect a person’s God-given right to his own good name/reputation!

Christianity/Catholicism gives us freedom to do the right and honorable thing; it does not give us freedom to sin.

Romans 6:22
But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

A nation’s laws should do this exact same thing if its peoples desire to have the blessing of God upon their nation. (2 Chronicles 7:13-14)

Enjoyed your post about the history of Maryland.

MD is my neighbor to the north. I was born and raised in VA. I am familiar with the area and its history. If you want to see God’s country, go the the mountains of MD, VA and W. VA.

Maybe I’m a little bias.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[Michael_Mayo]

George Weigel puts is in a contemporary context:

eppc.org/publications/catholic-americanism/