A Catholic Perspective on the 250th Anniversary of the United States

By Fr. Christopher Foeckler, MJ • Phoenix, AZ

Charles Carroll, from Annapolis, Maryland, was the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. Yet, it has been said that he and his cousin, John Carroll, who would become the first Bishop in America in 1790 in the newly founded diocese of Baltimore, made a significant contribution to the molding of the document that explained the “the causes which impel” the thirteen colonies to separate from England. 

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
-Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

Because of their patriotism and personal sacrifices
for the movement of independence, it is said that Jesuit-trained Charles and John Carroll had some influence in asserting this truth at the very head of the Declaration! Later, Benjamin Franklin asked the Papal Nuncio in France that Rev. John Carroll become the first Bishop in America. 

Unlike many European nations, America would have no established national church. John Carroll embraced this arrangement and saw religious freedom as an opportunity rather than a threat.

He cultivated positive relationships with national leaders, including George Washington. Washington frequently expressed support for religious liberty
and welcomed Catholic participation in the life of the nation. In a letter to Bishop Carroll, he acknowledged the “patriotic part” American Catholics played in the accomplishment of the American Revolution. This was a special kind of endorsement in an atmosphere among most of the Protestant patriots where Catholics were denied direct participation in politics by, for example, not being able to hold political office. 

Another idea in the Declaration of Independence that reflected Catholic theology and social teachings was the concept of natural rights, rooted in Catholic theology, which influenced the idea of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Catholic social teaching emphasizes the dignity of the individual, which aligns with the Declaration’s focus on these individual rights. At the basis of all Catholic morality is the fundamental guiding principle of the dignity of the individual human person. Moreover, the notion of a moral law, derived from a divine source, is reflected in the Declaration’s appeal to “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” 

Currently, there is a great deal of thought and discussion about these principles as well as the overall Catholic participation in the American experience. It is history worth recalling and continuing to live out in our days as Catholics in the great United States of America!