As I looked up at the spires of the magnificent Cathedral
of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, Georgia, I was startled when our walking tour
guide, stated, “When Savannah was established lawyers, Jews, slaves and Catholics
were not allowed to live here.” It had been the second time in a week that I
felt the sting of prejudice toward Catholics.
The first: While visiting Pinehurst, No. Carolina, I
stopped into a lovely shop that displayed many Christian items along with
delicious looking fudge. As I wandered about, I spotted Jack Chick booklets
…some of the most anti-Catholic literature of modern days…I left, wiping the
dust of that store off my feet. It was a hurtful reminder of how some Christian brethren
still
feel about Catholics.
In this day of political correctness, Catholic bashing is
still the #1 sport. I could only imagine
what it must have been like in 1700 America esp. in the deep south. It’s ironic
that in our great nation, built on religious freedom, early settlers
discriminated against the Catholic faith. What religious freedom really
referred to was…As long as you are not Catholic then Religious Liberty is
afforded you. Upon hearing what our guide said, I wondered how extensive was prejudice against Catholics in American history.
I discovered, to my dismay, that admired persons
such as, Mark Twain (A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court), Edgar Allan Poe, (Pit & the Pendulum),
cartoonist, Thomas Nast, & President Ulysses S. Grant supporter of the Blaine Amendment, rallied against Catholics through their professions.
American Anti-Catholicism has its roots in the Reformation, no surprise. It was thought
that common hatred of the Roman Catholic Church could bring together Anglicans and Puritans despite their many other disagreements.
In the years between 1642-1776, Wikipedia states:
The colonial charter of Savannah prohibited Roman Catholics from settling in Savannah.
The English trustees feared that Catholics would be more loyal to the Spanish authorities
in Florida than to the English government in Georgia.
2. The Catholic religion was charged with anti-freedom and democracy because of the failure to understand the teaching authority of the Church.
1800-1900
Until the 1830s, Catholics remained a very small minority. This changed dramatically with Irish and German immigration. Catholic immigrants in the 1800s, notably the Irish, were seen as conformists unable to be fully assimilated into the American system. In time, the influx of millions of Catholic immigrants in the 19th-Century added to the religious diversity of the United States despite fierce opposition and occasional violent actions.
Anti-Catholicism was widespread in the 1920s. Catholic churches were targeted by the Klu Klux Klan. Restriction laws placed a quota on how many people were allowed to enter from each foreign country. Quotas for Catholic countries were set so low that Catholic immigration virtually halted by 1924.
Until the 1830s, Catholics remained a very small minority. This changed dramatically with Irish and German immigration. Catholic immigrants in the 1800s, notably the Irish, were seen as conformists unable to be fully assimilated into the American system. In time, the influx of millions of Catholic immigrants in the 19th-Century added to the religious diversity of the United States despite fierce opposition and occasional violent actions.
Anti-Catholicism was widespread in the 1920s. Catholic churches were targeted by the Klu Klux Klan. Restriction laws placed a quota on how many people were allowed to enter from each foreign country. Quotas for Catholic countries were set so low that Catholic immigration virtually halted by 1924.
In Alabama, Hugo Black
was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1926 having built a political base by denouncing the Catholic Church at local Klan gatherings. Christianity Today editorialized that,
"Black's advocacy of church-state
separation, in turn, found its roots
in the fierce anti-Catholicism of the Masons and the Klu Klux Klan…” My, my,
my!! No wonder the Blessed Mother warns against the Masons.
 | |
|
Famous 1876
editorial cartoon by Thomas Nast depicting
Roman Catholic bishops as crocodiles
attacking public schools, with the connivance
of Irish Catholic politicians
(Wikipedia)
|
In 1928, Al Smith became the first Roman Catholic to win the nomination for President, but Protestant
ministers spoke out against him because of his faith. However, Smith's strong
anti-Klan position split the South,
carrying the Deep South. The surge proved permanent, as Catholics comprised a
major portion of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal Coalition. President Roosevelt depended heavily in his
four elections on the Catholic vote.
World War II was the decisive event that brought
religious tolerance to the front in American life. Differences in religious
belief fell away as military life reminded man of all they had in common as
Americans. Friendships and trust were forged in the fire of war.
Then there was Eleanor Roosevelt….who had a public
disagreement with Francis Joseph Spellman, the Catholic
Archbishop of New York. Roosevelt had attacked proposals for federal funding of
certain nonreligious activities at parochial schools, such as bus
transportation for students. She feared the Catholic Church gaining school aid, stating, "Once that is done they control
the schools, or at least a great part of them." Really?
John F. Kennedy had a smear against him because of his Catholicism.
Famed preacher & author, Norman Vincent Peale, rallied the aid of
Protestant ministers to preach against having a Catholic in the White House.
His efforts were exposed by the press in a time when the main stream media was fair & balanced.
On
the surface, after 1980 the historic tensions between
evangelical Protestants and Catholics seemed to fade. Political
leanings shifted. By 2000, the Republican
coalition included about half the Catholics and a large majority of white
evangelicals.
Historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. characterized
prejudice against Catholics as "the deepest bias in the history of the
American people." Conservative writer Peter Viereck once commented that "Catholic baiting is the anti-Semitism of
the liberals." Historian John Highham described anti-Catholicism as "the most luxuriant, tenacious
tradition of paranoiac agitation in American history".
LGBT
activists and others criticize the Catholic Church for its policies on issues
relating to human sexuality, contraception and abortion. In 1989, Gay Rights
protesters stormed St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYCity during Sunday Mass,
desecrating Holy Communion hosts. One hundred eleven protesters were arrested.
On January 30, 2007, John Edwards' presidential campaign hired Amanda Marcotte as blogmaster. The Catholic League took offense at her
obscenity- and profanity-laced invective against Catholic doctrine and satiric
rants against Catholic leaders, including some of her earlier writings, where
she described sexual activity of the Holy Spirit. She eventually resigned.
No one can deny Catholic prejudices in the Mainstream
Media and the Entertainment Industry with attacks on television shows such as,
"Nothing Sacred," Broadway offerings like "Corpus Christi"
and exhibits like "Sensation" at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. In an
advertisement for Grateful Palate, a food and wine wholesaler, a nun named
Sister Mary Lemon Curd is featured (in full habit) with the following quote:
"I love Grateful Palate products, especially Burton & Co. curds....
Sometimes I just rub it all over my...oops. Never mind.... I’d rather eat curd
than anything else, except the holy sacrament." http://americamagazine.org/issue/281/article/last-acceptable-prejudice. Can you expect less from industries that have sold their
immortal souls?
In this modern era, there's no reason for ignorance of the Catholic faith. One need only go to the Internet to be properly educated. God-willing, someday, people of different faiths will realize the enormous contributions the Catholic Church has made & the veil of prejudice may be lifted. Read: Violating Catholic Conscience for this info
As the beloved Bishop Fulton J. Sheen said, "Not 100 in the United States hate the Roman Catholic Church, but millions hate what they mistakenly think the Roman Catholic Church is."
As the beloved Bishop Fulton J. Sheen said, "Not 100 in the United States hate the Roman Catholic Church, but millions hate what they mistakenly think the Roman Catholic Church is."
