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{{short description|Cultural resistance to Church authority among some New World Catholics}}
{{Distinguish|Americanism (ideology)}}
{{about|Catholic definition and its subsequent condemnation |political liberalism and individualism in America|Americanism (ideology)}}
Coined in the nineteenth century, in ] use the term '''Americanism''' referred to a group of related heresies which were defined as the endorsement of the ]. It was thought that these doctrines were held by and taught by many members of the Catholic hierarchy in the United States in the 1890s. Catholic leaders in the U.S., however, denied that they held these views.<ref>Frank K. Flinn and J. Gordon Melton, ''Encyclopedia of Catholicism'' (2007) p 19</ref>
{{Separation of church and state in the history of the Catholic Church|expanded = historical controversies}}


'''Americanism''' was, in the years around 1900, a political and religious outlook attributed to some ] and denounced as ] by the ].
The Americanist heresy is characterized as an insistence upon individual initiative which the ] judged to be incompatible with what was considered to be a fundamental principle of Catholicism: obedience to authority.{{Citation needed|date=October 2012}} Moreover, the conservatives were anti-republicans who distrusted and disliked the democratic ideas that were dominant in America.<ref name=ISAAC>Isaac Thomas Hecker, 2009-01-07, http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/HAN_HEG/HECKER_ISAAC_THOMAS_1819_1888_.html</ref>{{Verify credibility|date=August 2010}}


In the 1890s, European "continental conservative" clerics detected signs of ] or ], which ] had condemned in the '']'' in 1864, among the beliefs and teachings of many members of the American Catholic hierarchy, who denied the charges.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Frank K. |last1=Flinn |first2=J. Gordon |last2=Melton |title=Encyclopedia of Catholicism |date=2007 |page=19}}</ref> ] wrote against these ideas in a letter to Cardinal ], published as {{lang|la|]}}.
Pope Leo XIII wrote against these ideas in his encyclical '']'' to Cardinal ]. In 1898, Leo XIII lamented an America where church and state are "dissevered and divorced" and wrote of his preference for a closer relationship between the Catholic Church and the State along European lines.<ref> Retrieved 2010-08-20.</ref>


The long-term result was that the Irish Catholics who largely controlled the Catholic Church in the United States increasingly demonstrated their total loyalty to the Pope, and traces of liberal thought in the Catholic colleges were suppressed. Bottom it was a cultural conflict, as the conservative Europeans were specs stated by the heavy attacks on the Catholic church in Germany, France and other countries, and did not appreciate the active individualism self-confidence and optimism of the American church.<ref> James Hennessy, S.J., ''American Catholics: A history of the Roman Catholic community in the United States'' (1981) pp 194-203 </ref> The long-term result was that the ] who largely controlled the Catholic Church in the United States increasingly demonstrated loyalty to the pope, and suppressed traces of liberal thought in Catholic colleges. At bottom, the conflict was cultural, as conservative American Catholics from continental Europe, angered at the heavy attacks on the Catholic Church in Germany, France and other countries, sought to weaken ] attitudes among American Catholics.<ref>{{cite book |first=James |last=Hennessy |title=American Catholics: A history of the Roman Catholic community in the United States |date=1981 |publisher=] |pages=194–203}}</ref>


==Americanism in Europe== ==In Europe==
During the ], which began in 1870, the power and influence of French Catholicism steadily declined. The French government passed laws bearing more and more stringently on the Church, and the majority of French citizens did not object. Indeed, they began to look toward legislators and not to the clergy for guidance.<ref name="ISAAC"/> During the ], which began in 1870, the power and influence of French Catholicism steadily declined. The French government passed laws bearing more and more stringently on the Catholic church, and the majority of French citizens did not object. Indeed, they began to look toward legislators and not to the clergy for guidance.<ref name=ISAAC>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Hecker, Isaac Thomas |volume=13 |pages=194–195 |first=James Joseph |last=Fox}}</ref>


Observing this, and encouraged by the action of ], who, in 1892 called on French Catholics loyally to accept the Republic, several young French priests set themselves to stop the decline in Church power. They determined that because the Church was predominantly sympathetic to the monarchists and hostile to the Republic, and because it held itself aloof from modern philosophies and practices, people had turned away from it. The progressive priests believed that the Church did too little to cultivate individual character, and put too much emphasis on the routine side of religious observance. They also noted that Catholicism was not making much use of modern means of propaganda, such as social movements, the organization of clubs, or the establishing of settlements. In short, the Church had not adapted to modern needs, and these priests endeavored to correct this. They began a domestic apostolate which had for one of its rallying cries, "Allons au peuple." ("Let us go to the people.") They agitated for social and philanthropic projects, for a closer relationship between priests and parishioners, and for general cultivation of personal initiative, both in clergy and in laity. Not unnaturally, they looked for inspiration to America. There they saw a vigorous Church among a free people, with priests publicly respected, and with a note of aggressive zeal in every project of Catholic enterprise.<ref name=ISAAC/> Observing this, and encouraged by the action of ], who in 1892 called on French Catholics to accept the Republic, several young French priests set themselves to stop the decline in church power. They determined that because the church was predominantly sympathetic to the monarchists and hostile to the Republic, and because it held itself aloof from modern philosophies and practices, people had turned away from it. Some progressive priests believed that the church had not adapted to modern needs. They began a domestic apostolate which had for one of its rallying cries, {{lang|fr|"Allons au peuple"}} ("Let us go to the people"). They agitated for social and philanthropic projects, for closer contacts between priests and parishioners, and for general cultivation of personal initiative, both in clergy and in laity. They looked for inspiration to America, where they saw a vigorous church among a free people, with priests publicly respected, and with a note of aggressive zeal in every project of Catholic enterprise.<ref name=ISAAC/>


===Isaac Hecker=== ===Isaac Hecker===
] ]


In the 1890s, this issue was brought forcefully to the attention of European Catholics by Comptesse de Ravilliax's translation of a biography of ] by Paulist father ], with the introduction by Abbé Felix Klein drawing the most ire from the Vatican. His biography, written in English by the Paulist Father Elliott in 1891, was translated into French six years later and proved an inspiration to the French. Father Hecker had been dead for years at this point and had never been viewed by the Pope with disfavor. However, this translation of Hecker's biography and Abbé Klein's introduction to the book made him appear to have been much more of a radical than he in fact was.<ref>Frank J. Coppa, ''The modern papacy since 1789'' (1998) p 138</ref> In the 1890s, this issue was brought forcefully to the attention of European Catholics by Comtesse de Ravilliax's translation of a biography of ] by the Paulist priest ] in 1891; the book's introduction by ] drew ire from the Vatican. Hecker, commonly known as "The Yellow Dart," had been dead for years at this point and had never been viewed by the Pope with disfavor. The French translation of Hecker's biography and Klein's introduction to the book made him appear to have been much more of a radical than he in fact was.<ref>{{cite book |first=Frank J. |last=Coppa |title=The modern papacy since 1789 |date=1998 |page=138}}</ref>


Hecker had sought to reach out to Protestant Americans by stressing certain points of Catholic teaching, but Pope Leo XIII understood this effort as a watering down of Catholic doctrine. Hecker also had used terms such as “natural virtue, which to the pope suggested the ]. Because members of the ] took promises but not the vows of religious orders, many concluded that Hecker denied the need for external authority.<ref>David J. O'Brien, ''Isaac Hecker: an American Catholic'' (1992) p 384</ref> Hecker had sought to reach out to Protestant Americans by stressing certain points of Catholic teaching, but Pope Leo XIII understood that effort as a watering down of Catholic doctrine. Hecker also had used terms such as "natural virtue," which to the pope suggested the ]. Because members of the ] took promises but not the vows of religious orders, many concluded that Hecker denied the need for external authority.<ref>{{cite book |first=David J. |last=O'Brien |title=Isaac Hecker: an American Catholic |date=1992 |page=384}}</ref>


The French liberals particularly admired Father Hecker for his love of modern times and modern liberty and his devotion to liberal Catholicism. Indeed, they took him as a kind of patron saint. Inspired by Father Hecker's life and character, the activist French priests undertook the task of persuading their fellow-priests to accept the political system, and then to break out of their isolation, put themselves in touch with the intellectual life of the country, and take an active part in the work of social . In 1897, the movement received a new impetus when Monsignor O'Connell, former Rector of the ] in Rome, spoke on behalf of Father Hecker's ideas at the Catholic Congress in ].<ref name=ISAAC/> The French liberals particularly admired Hecker for his love of modern times and modern liberty and his devotion to liberal Catholicism. Indeed, they took him as a kind of patron saint. Inspired by Hecker's life and character, the activist French priests undertook the task of persuading their fellow-priests to accept the political system, and then to break out of their isolation, put themselves in touch with the intellectual life of the country, and take an active part in the work of social ]. In 1897, the movement received a new impetus when ], former rector of the ] in Rome, spoke on behalf of Hecker's ideas at the Catholic Congress in ].<ref name=ISAAC/>


===Opposition to Americanism=== ===Opposition===
Some Catholics complained to the Pope, and in 1898, Charles Maignen wrote an ardent polemic against the new movement called {{lang|fr|Le Père Hecker, est-il un saint?}} ("Is Father Hecker a Saint?").<ref name=ISAAC/> The critiques of European conservatives were reinforced by those of ] Catholic bishops in the Midwest, such as ] and ], who were deeply concerned by how completely Americanist Bishops of Irish descent like ], ], and ] had come to dominate the American Catholic Church.<ref>Hennessy, ''American Catholics: A history of the Roman Catholic community in the United States'' (1981) pp 194</ref> ] (1871–1934) the foremost German American Catholic intellectual in the United States, was an outspoken enemy, filling his scholarly journal ''Fortnightly Review'' with criticisms of Americanist theology.<ref>Rory T. Conley, ''Arthur Preuss: Journalist and Voice of German and Conservative Catholics in America, 1871-1934'' (1998)</ref><ref>Rory T. Conley, "Arthur Preuss, German-Catholic Exile in America." ''US Catholic Historian'' (1994): 41-62. </ref>
Conservative Catholics took alarm at what they considered to be symptoms of pernicious modernism or "Liberalism."{{Citation needed|date=October 2012}} They thought the "Allons au peuple" catchphrase had a ring of heresy, breaking down the divinely established distinction between the priest and the layman, and giving lay people too much power in Church affairs. They judged that the insistence upon individual initiative was incompatible with obedience to the authority of the Church, due to the authority invested in the Bishops and their successors by Christ, which forms a fundamental principle of Catholicism. Moreover, the conservatives were, almost to a man, anti-republicans who distrusted and disliked the democratic abbés.{{Citation needed|date=October 2012}} They complained to the Pope, and in 1898, Abbé Maignan wrote an ardent polemic against the new movement called ''Le Père Hecker, est-il un saint?'' ("Is Father Hecker a Saint?").<ref name=ISAAC/>


Many powerful Vatican authorities also detested the "Americanist" tendency, and whilst Pope ] was reluctant to chastise the American Catholics, whom he had often praised for their loyalty and faith, he eventually made concessions to the pressures upon him.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}} Many powerful Vatican authorities also opposed the "Americanist" tendency. Pope ] was reluctant to chastise the American Catholics, whom he had often praised for their loyalty and faith. In 1899 he wrote Cardinal Gibbons, "It is clear...that those opinions that, taken as a whole, some designate as 'Americanism' cannot have our approval."<ref>Russell Shaw, , ''National Catholic Register'' 10 May, 2013</ref>


==Suppression of Americanism== ==Suppression==
] ]


In the encyclical '']'' (1895; “Wide Expanse of the Ocean”), Pope Leo XIII indicated a generally positive view of the American Church, commenting mostly on the success of Catholicism in the US but also noting the view that the Church "would bring forth more abundant fruits if, in addition to liberty, she enjoyed the favor of the laws and the patronage of the public authority." Leo warned the American church hierarchy not support this unique system of separation of church and state.<ref>Thomas E. Woods, ''The church confronts modernity'' (2007) p. 179</ref> In the 1895 encyclical {{lang|la|]}} ("Wide Expanse of the Ocean"),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Longinqua oceani |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_06011895_longinqua.html |author-link=Pope Leo XIII |orig-date=6 January, 1895 |publication-place=Rome, Italy}}</ref> Pope Leo XIII indicated a generally positive view of the American Church, commenting mostly on the success of Catholicism in the US but also noting the view that the church "would bring forth more abundant fruits if, in addition to liberty, she enjoyed the favor of the laws and the patronage of the public authority." Leo warned the American church hierarchy not to support this unique system of separation of church and state.<ref>{{cite book |first=Thomas E. |last=Woods |title=The church confronts modernity |date=2007 |page=179}}</ref>


In 1898, Leo lamented an America where church and state are "dissevered and divorced," and wrote of his preference for a closer relationship between the Catholic Church and the State, along European lines.<ref>Flinn and Melton, ''Encyclopedia of Catholicism'' (2007) p. 19</ref> In 1898, Leo lamented for America where church and state are "dissevered and divorced", and wrote of his preference for a closer relationship between the Catholic Church and the State, along European lines.<ref>Flinn and Melton, ''Encyclopedia of Catholicism'' (2007) p. 19</ref>


Finally, in his pastoral letter ] (January 22, 1899; “Witness to Our Benevolence”) addressed to Cardinal ], Archbishop of Baltimore, Leo condemned other forms of Americanism. Catholicism had long allowed nations to tolerate other religions, but the Church believes that the Catholic Faith must be favored, to the exclusion of other religions, when possible. Finally, in his letter {{lang|la|]}} (January 22, 1899; "Witness to Our Benevolence")<ref>{{Cite web |title=Testem benevolentiae Nostrae |url=https://www.papalencyclicals.net/leo13/l13teste.htm |website=Papal Encyclicals Online |author-link=Pope Leo XIII |orig-date=22 January 1899 |trans-title="Witness to Our Good Will" |publisher=Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. XXXI (1898-1899) |pages=470-479.}}</ref> addressed to ], Archbishop of Baltimore, Leo condemned other forms of Americanism.


Pope Leo XIII also expressed concerns about the ] of some American Catholics: he pointed out that the faithful could not decide doctrine for themselves (see ]). He emphasized that Catholics should obey the ] of the Church, which, according to Catholic doctrine, can teach infallibly in matters of faith and morals. In general, he deemed exposing children to public schools as something to be avoided when possible. The Pope derided the idea that all opinions should be aired publicly, as he felt certain speech could harm general morality. He also condemned the biography of Hecker and Americanism.<ref>Gerald P. Fogarty, ''The Vatican and the American hierarchy from 1870 to 1965'' (1985) p 177</ref> Pope Leo XIII also expressed concerns about the ] of some American Catholics: he pointed out that the faithful could not decide doctrine for themselves. He emphasized that Catholics should obey the ] of the church. In general, he deemed it dangerous to expose children to schools that would prove to be detrimental to their Christian upbringing.<ref>Leo XIII, Sapientiae Christianae(1890) art. 42</ref> The Pope derided the idea that all opinions should be aired publicly, as he felt certain speech could harm general morality. He also condemned the biography of Hecker and Americanism.<ref>{{cite book |first=Gerald P. |last=Fogarty |title=The Vatican and the American hierarchy from 1870 to 1965 |date=1985 |page=177}}</ref>


This document condemned the following doctrines or tendencies: This document condemned the following doctrines or tendencies:

#undue insistence on interior initiative in the spiritual life, as leading to disobedience * Undue insistence on interior initiative in the spiritual life, as leading to disobedience
#attacks on religious vows, and disparagement of the value of religious orders in the modern world * Attacks on religious vows, and disparagement of the value of religious orders in the modern world
#minimizing Catholic doctrine * Minimizing Catholic doctrine
#minimizing the importance of spiritual direction * Minimizing the importance of spiritual direction


The brief did not assert that Hecker and the Americans had held any unsound doctrine on the above points. Instead, it merely stated that if such opinions did exist, the local hierarchy was to eradicate them. The brief did not assert that Hecker and the Americans had held any unsound doctrine on the above points. Instead, it merely stated that if such opinions did exist, the local hierarchy was to eradicate them.


===The American response=== ===American response===
] ]


In response to Testem benevolentiae, Cardinal Gibbons and many other American prelates replied to Rome with a near-unanimous voice, denying that American Catholics held any of the condemned views. They asserted that Hecker had never countenanced the slightest departure from Catholic principles in their fullest and most strict application.<ref>John Tracy Ellis, ''The life of James Cardinal Gibbons'' (1963) pp 147-8</ref> In response to {{lang|la|Testem benevolentiae}}, Gibbons and many other American prelates replied to Rome with a near-unanimous voice, denying that American Catholics held any of the condemned views. They asserted that Hecker had never countenanced the slightest departure from Catholic principles in their fullest and most strict application.<ref>{{cite book |first=John Tracy |last=Ellis |title=The life of James Cardinal Gibbons |date=1963 |pages=147–148}}</ref>


The disturbance caused by the condemnation was slight; almost the entire laity and a considerable part of the clergy were unaware of this affair. However, the pope's brief did end up strengthening the position of the conservatives in France.<ref name=ISAAC/> American Catholics claim that Leo's pronouncements effectively ended the Americanist movement and curtailed the activities of American progressive Catholics.{{Citation needed|date=October 2012}} The disturbance caused by the condemnation was slight; almost the entire laity and a considerable part of the clergy were unaware of this affair. The Pope's brief did end up strengthening the position of the conservatives in France.<ref name=ISAAC/> Leo's pronouncements effectively ended the Americanist movement and curtailed the activities of American progressive Catholics. Historian Thomas McAvoy argues there were grave long-term negative effects on the intellectual life of American Catholics.<ref>McAvoy, 1959</ref>

], bishop of Rochester, was a forerunner of the Americanism dispute. He was quick to recognize the mingling of liberalism and Catholicism—which he called "false Americanism"—and distinguish it from living the ideals of republicanism and democracy—"true Americanism." McQuaid was very suspicious of secret societies, non-Catholic schooling, and even some of his fellow bishops.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Janus |first=Glen |date=1993 |title=Bishop Bernard McQuaid: On "True" and "False" Americanism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25153987 |journal=U.S. Catholic Historian |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=53–76 |issn=0735-8318 |jstor=25153987}}</ref> He was particularly concerned about ], ], and ], all of whom McQuaid considered "too conciliatory to Protestant-minded America."<ref>{{Cite book |last=McNamara |first=Robert Francis |url=http://archive.org/details/dioceseofrochest0000mcna |title=The Diocese of Rochester in America, 1868-1993 |date=1998 |location=Rochester, N.Y. |publisher=Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester, New York |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-9668610-0-6 |pages=218}}</ref>

John Ireland, archbishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota and a foremost modernizer, had to walk on eggshells to avoid condemnation for his views. Ireland, joined by John J. Keane, archbishop of Dubuque,<ref name=":0" /> sought to adapt the social and religious values of the Catholic Church to American political and cultural values, especially ], separation of church and state, cooperation with non-Catholics, and lay participation in ecclesiastical decisionmaking. Many of his ideas were implicitly condemned by Pope Leo XIII's {{lang|la|Testem benevolentiae}} (1899) as a heresy and Americanism. Nevertheless, Ireland continued to promote his views. When similar European views were condemned by Pope Pius X's {{lang|la|]}} (1907), Ireland actively campaigned against what the pope declared the heresy of ]. This apparently inconsistent behavior stemmed from Ireland's concept of a "golden mean" between "ultraconservatism", rendering the Catholic church irrelevant, and "ultraliberalism," discarding the church's message.<ref>Neil T. Storch, John Ireland And The Modernist Controversy. ''Church History'' (1985) 54#3 pp 353-365. </ref>

==Americanization==
Others, such as ]—an ] Catholic public intellectual—were not satisfied with the system of national parishes. Considered an ], he advocated for immigrants to believe their Catholic identities supersede national divides and personally opposed training priests in the ethnically divided American seminaries. Bishop ] believed that Brownson was part of a "'club' of liberal intellectuals...who wanted to Americanize the church". He publicly denounced Brownson for giving the 1860 commencement address at ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schroth |first=Raymond A. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt13x00ds |title=Fordham: A History and Memoir, Revised Edition |date=2008 |publisher=Fordham University Press |pages=43–62 |chapter=Brownson, Hughes, and Shaw |doi=10.2307/j.ctt13x00ds.8 |jstor=j.ctt13x00ds.8}}</ref>

==See also==
*]
*]
*], similar term in Islam


==References== ==References==
Line 57: Line 71:


==Further reading== ==Further reading==
* Murray, John Courtney. ''Religious liberty: Catholic struggles with pluralism'' (1993) 278 pages * Murray, John Courtney. ''Religious liberty: Catholic struggles with pluralism'' (1993) 278 pages
* McAvoy, Thomas T. ''The Americanist Heresy in Roman Catholicism 1895-1900'' (1963) University of Notre Dame Press. * McAvoy, Thomas T. ''The Americanist Heresy in Roman Catholicism 1895-1900'' (1963) University of Notre Dame Press.
* McAvoy, Thomas T. "The Catholic Minority after the Americanist Controversy, 1899-1917: A Survey," ''Review of Politics,'' Jan 1959, Vol. 21 Issue 1, pp 53–82 * McAvoy, Thomas T. "The Catholic Minority after the Americanist Controversy, 1899-1917: A Survey", ''Review of Politics'', Jan 1959, Vol. 21 Issue 1, pp 53–82
* Smith, Elwyn A. "The Fundamental Church-State Tradition of the Catholic Church in the United States." ''Church History'' 1969 38(4): 486-505. * Smith, Elwyn A. "The Fundamental Church-State Tradition of the Catholic Church in the United States." ''Church History'' 1969 38(4): 486-505.
* Thomas, Samuel J. "The American Periodical Press and the Apostolic Letter 'Testem Benevolentiae," ''Catholic Historical Review,'' July 1976, Vol. 62 Issue 3, pp 408–423 * Thomas, Samuel J. "The American Periodical Press and the Apostolic Letter 'Testem Benevolentiae", ''Catholic Historical Review'', July 1976, Vol. 62 Issue 3, pp 408–423
*
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615022240/http://are.as.wvu.edu/massey.htm |date=2011-06-15 }}
*
* Delassus, Henri. "" (L'américanisme et la conjuration antichrétienne) Desclée, De Brouwer, Lille, 1899.
* Hertz, Solange. "The Star-Spangled Heresy: Americanism", Tumblar House, 2012.


==External links== ==External links==
* *
* *

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* {{Heresies condemned by the Catholic Church}}
{{Authority control}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Americanism (Heresy)}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Americanism (Heresy)}}
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Latest revision as of 02:57, 28 November 2024

Cultural resistance to Church authority among some New World Catholics This article is about Catholic definition and its subsequent condemnation. For political liberalism and individualism in America, see Americanism (ideology).
Separation of church and state in the history of the Catholic Church
Overview
Sovereignty and loyalty
Documents
Historical controversies
20th century topics
Current topics

Americanism was, in the years around 1900, a political and religious outlook attributed to some American Catholics and denounced as heresy by the Holy See.

In the 1890s, European "continental conservative" clerics detected signs of modernism or classical liberalism, which Pope Pius IX had condemned in the Syllabus of Errors in 1864, among the beliefs and teachings of many members of the American Catholic hierarchy, who denied the charges. Pope Leo XIII wrote against these ideas in a letter to Cardinal James Gibbons, published as Testem benevolentiae nostrae.

The long-term result was that the Irish Catholics who largely controlled the Catholic Church in the United States increasingly demonstrated loyalty to the pope, and suppressed traces of liberal thought in Catholic colleges. At bottom, the conflict was cultural, as conservative American Catholics from continental Europe, angered at the heavy attacks on the Catholic Church in Germany, France and other countries, sought to weaken individualist attitudes among American Catholics.

In Europe

During the French Third Republic, which began in 1870, the power and influence of French Catholicism steadily declined. The French government passed laws bearing more and more stringently on the Catholic church, and the majority of French citizens did not object. Indeed, they began to look toward legislators and not to the clergy for guidance.

Observing this, and encouraged by the action of Pope Leo XIII, who in 1892 called on French Catholics to accept the Republic, several young French priests set themselves to stop the decline in church power. They determined that because the church was predominantly sympathetic to the monarchists and hostile to the Republic, and because it held itself aloof from modern philosophies and practices, people had turned away from it. Some progressive priests believed that the church had not adapted to modern needs. They began a domestic apostolate which had for one of its rallying cries, "Allons au peuple" ("Let us go to the people"). They agitated for social and philanthropic projects, for closer contacts between priests and parishioners, and for general cultivation of personal initiative, both in clergy and in laity. They looked for inspiration to America, where they saw a vigorous church among a free people, with priests publicly respected, and with a note of aggressive zeal in every project of Catholic enterprise.

Isaac Hecker

Isaac Hecker

In the 1890s, this issue was brought forcefully to the attention of European Catholics by Comtesse de Ravilliax's translation of a biography of Isaac Hecker by the Paulist priest Walter Elliott in 1891; the book's introduction by Félix Klein drew ire from the Vatican. Hecker, commonly known as "The Yellow Dart," had been dead for years at this point and had never been viewed by the Pope with disfavor. The French translation of Hecker's biography and Klein's introduction to the book made him appear to have been much more of a radical than he in fact was.

Hecker had sought to reach out to Protestant Americans by stressing certain points of Catholic teaching, but Pope Leo XIII understood that effort as a watering down of Catholic doctrine. Hecker also had used terms such as "natural virtue," which to the pope suggested the Pelagian heresy. Because members of the Paulist Fathers took promises but not the vows of religious orders, many concluded that Hecker denied the need for external authority.

The French liberals particularly admired Hecker for his love of modern times and modern liberty and his devotion to liberal Catholicism. Indeed, they took him as a kind of patron saint. Inspired by Hecker's life and character, the activist French priests undertook the task of persuading their fellow-priests to accept the political system, and then to break out of their isolation, put themselves in touch with the intellectual life of the country, and take an active part in the work of social amelioration. In 1897, the movement received a new impetus when Denis J. O'Connell, former rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome, spoke on behalf of Hecker's ideas at the Catholic Congress in Fribourg.

Opposition

Some Catholics complained to the Pope, and in 1898, Charles Maignen wrote an ardent polemic against the new movement called Le Père Hecker, est-il un saint? ("Is Father Hecker a Saint?"). The critiques of European conservatives were reinforced by those of German American Catholic bishops in the Midwest, such as Frederick Katzer and John Joseph Frederick Otto Zardetti, who were deeply concerned by how completely Americanist Bishops of Irish descent like John Ireland, John J. Keane, and James Gibbons had come to dominate the American Catholic Church. Arthur Preuss (1871–1934) the foremost German American Catholic intellectual in the United States, was an outspoken enemy, filling his scholarly journal Fortnightly Review with criticisms of Americanist theology.

Many powerful Vatican authorities also opposed the "Americanist" tendency. Pope Leo XIII was reluctant to chastise the American Catholics, whom he had often praised for their loyalty and faith. In 1899 he wrote Cardinal Gibbons, "It is clear...that those opinions that, taken as a whole, some designate as 'Americanism' cannot have our approval."

Suppression

Pope Leo XIII

In the 1895 encyclical Longinqua oceani ("Wide Expanse of the Ocean"), Pope Leo XIII indicated a generally positive view of the American Church, commenting mostly on the success of Catholicism in the US but also noting the view that the church "would bring forth more abundant fruits if, in addition to liberty, she enjoyed the favor of the laws and the patronage of the public authority." Leo warned the American church hierarchy not to support this unique system of separation of church and state.

In 1898, Leo lamented for America where church and state are "dissevered and divorced", and wrote of his preference for a closer relationship between the Catholic Church and the State, along European lines.

Finally, in his letter Testem benevolentiae nostrae (January 22, 1899; "Witness to Our Benevolence") addressed to James Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, Leo condemned other forms of Americanism.

Pope Leo XIII also expressed concerns about the cultural liberalism of some American Catholics: he pointed out that the faithful could not decide doctrine for themselves. He emphasized that Catholics should obey the magisterial teaching authority of the church. In general, he deemed it dangerous to expose children to schools that would prove to be detrimental to their Christian upbringing. The Pope derided the idea that all opinions should be aired publicly, as he felt certain speech could harm general morality. He also condemned the biography of Hecker and Americanism.

This document condemned the following doctrines or tendencies:

  • Undue insistence on interior initiative in the spiritual life, as leading to disobedience
  • Attacks on religious vows, and disparagement of the value of religious orders in the modern world
  • Minimizing Catholic doctrine
  • Minimizing the importance of spiritual direction

The brief did not assert that Hecker and the Americans had held any unsound doctrine on the above points. Instead, it merely stated that if such opinions did exist, the local hierarchy was to eradicate them.

American response

James Gibbons, cardinal archbishop of Baltimore

In response to Testem benevolentiae, Gibbons and many other American prelates replied to Rome with a near-unanimous voice, denying that American Catholics held any of the condemned views. They asserted that Hecker had never countenanced the slightest departure from Catholic principles in their fullest and most strict application.

The disturbance caused by the condemnation was slight; almost the entire laity and a considerable part of the clergy were unaware of this affair. The Pope's brief did end up strengthening the position of the conservatives in France. Leo's pronouncements effectively ended the Americanist movement and curtailed the activities of American progressive Catholics. Historian Thomas McAvoy argues there were grave long-term negative effects on the intellectual life of American Catholics.

Bernard McQuaid, bishop of Rochester, was a forerunner of the Americanism dispute. He was quick to recognize the mingling of liberalism and Catholicism—which he called "false Americanism"—and distinguish it from living the ideals of republicanism and democracy—"true Americanism." McQuaid was very suspicious of secret societies, non-Catholic schooling, and even some of his fellow bishops. He was particularly concerned about John Ireland, John Keane, and James Cardinal Gibbons, all of whom McQuaid considered "too conciliatory to Protestant-minded America."

John Ireland, archbishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota and a foremost modernizer, had to walk on eggshells to avoid condemnation for his views. Ireland, joined by John J. Keane, archbishop of Dubuque, sought to adapt the social and religious values of the Catholic Church to American political and cultural values, especially religious liberty, separation of church and state, cooperation with non-Catholics, and lay participation in ecclesiastical decisionmaking. Many of his ideas were implicitly condemned by Pope Leo XIII's Testem benevolentiae (1899) as a heresy and Americanism. Nevertheless, Ireland continued to promote his views. When similar European views were condemned by Pope Pius X's Pascendi Dominici gregis (1907), Ireland actively campaigned against what the pope declared the heresy of modernism. This apparently inconsistent behavior stemmed from Ireland's concept of a "golden mean" between "ultraconservatism", rendering the Catholic church irrelevant, and "ultraliberalism," discarding the church's message.

Americanization

Others, such as Orestes Brownson—an abolitionist Catholic public intellectual—were not satisfied with the system of national parishes. Considered an Americanizer, he advocated for immigrants to believe their Catholic identities supersede national divides and personally opposed training priests in the ethnically divided American seminaries. Bishop John Hughes believed that Brownson was part of a "'club' of liberal intellectuals...who wanted to Americanize the church". He publicly denounced Brownson for giving the 1860 commencement address at Fordham University.

See also

References

  1. Flinn, Frank K.; Melton, J. Gordon (2007). Encyclopedia of Catholicism. p. 19.
  2. Hennessy, James (1981). American Catholics: A history of the Roman Catholic community in the United States. Oxford University Press. pp. 194–203.
  3. ^ Fox, James Joseph (1911). "Hecker, Isaac Thomas" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 194–195.
  4. Coppa, Frank J. (1998). The modern papacy since 1789. p. 138.
  5. O'Brien, David J. (1992). Isaac Hecker: an American Catholic. p. 384.
  6. Hennessy, American Catholics: A history of the Roman Catholic community in the United States (1981) pp 194
  7. Rory T. Conley, Arthur Preuss: Journalist and Voice of German and Conservative Catholics in America, 1871-1934 (1998)
  8. Rory T. Conley, "Arthur Preuss, German-Catholic Exile in America." US Catholic Historian (1994): 41-62. in JSTOR
  9. Russell Shaw, "'Americanism': Phantom Heresy or Fact?", National Catholic Register 10 May, 2013
  10. "Longinqua oceani". Rome, Italy.
  11. Woods, Thomas E. (2007). The church confronts modernity. p. 179.
  12. Flinn and Melton, Encyclopedia of Catholicism (2007) p. 19
  13. "Testem benevolentiae Nostrae" ["Witness to Our Good Will"]. Papal Encyclicals Online. Acta Sanctae Sedis, vol. XXXI (1898-1899). pp. 470-479.
  14. Leo XIII, Sapientiae Christianae(1890) art. 42
  15. Fogarty, Gerald P. (1985). The Vatican and the American hierarchy from 1870 to 1965. p. 177.
  16. Ellis, John Tracy (1963). The life of James Cardinal Gibbons. pp. 147–148.
  17. McAvoy, 1959
  18. ^ Janus, Glen (1993). "Bishop Bernard McQuaid: On "True" and "False" Americanism". U.S. Catholic Historian. 11 (3): 53–76. ISSN 0735-8318. JSTOR 25153987.
  19. McNamara, Robert Francis (1998). The Diocese of Rochester in America, 1868-1993. Internet Archive. Rochester, N.Y.: Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester, New York. p. 218. ISBN 978-0-9668610-0-6.
  20. Neil T. Storch, John Ireland And The Modernist Controversy. Church History (1985) 54#3 pp 353-365. in JSTOR
  21. Schroth, Raymond A. (2008). "Brownson, Hughes, and Shaw". Fordham: A History and Memoir, Revised Edition. Fordham University Press. pp. 43–62. doi:10.2307/j.ctt13x00ds.8. JSTOR j.ctt13x00ds.8.

Further reading

External links

Beliefs condemned as heretical by the Catholic Church (list)
Antiquity This 1711 illustration for the Index Librorum Prohibitorum depicts the Holy Ghost supplying the book burning fire.
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