It is a tribute to Carroll’s statesmanship that, as American Protestants first rejoiced at the impending destruction of the papacy by Napoleon, and later mourned the pope’s restoration by the British, little of their hostility was carried over to American Catholics. Somehow, American Catholics were perceived by other Americans as different from European Catholics: true democrats and loyal Americans. Anti-Catholic prejudice and discrimination were still around, but their tone had been softened and their strength was eroding. It is a shame that the new waves of Catholic immigrants who were about to descend upon the nation in the post-war period would frighten Protestant Americans all over again into a renewal of their anti-Catholic hatreds.
http://www.cyberfaith.com/examining/images/CFp_ER_CR11_carroll.jpg
Archbishop John Carroll
priest and patriot
Advanced in years and wearied by nearly four decades of American church leadership, Carroll survived the end of the War of 1812 by only a few months. He had begun his public service with a diplomatic mission to Canada during the revolution, and had brought his service to a close with the diplomatic task of leading his church through a controversial war. Many of his dreams remained unrealized, but his accomplishments were vast and beyond question:
1.** He had welcomed the constitutional separation of church and state, and it had benefited his people immensely.**
Boy I wish I still lived there!