Catholics and Patriotism
Catholics in the U.S. are patriotic, but there was a time when being Catholic put a person under suspicion of not being American enough.
The thirteen original colonies reflected the antagonisms of England that set Catholics against Protestants. With the exception of Quaker Pennsylvania and Lord Calvert’s Maryland (named for a Catholic queen), Catholicism was banned in most colonies leading up to 1776. Give credit to George Washington for allowing Catholics to show their patriotism.
Washington prohibited his troops from celebrating Guy Fawkes Day (November 5), a ritual that commemorated the failure of a shadowy 1605 anti-Protestant conspiracy by burning of effigies of Fawkes and – by extension – of all Catholics. General Washington needed every soldier he could get and was perhaps eager to please Catholic allies like the French Lafayette, and the Polish Tadeusz Kosciuszko. While Washington’s order to end Guy Fawkes’ Day did not put an end to anti-Catholic feelings, it was an important first step towards accepting Catholics as patriots.
The migration of Irish Catholics, especially during the Potato Famine of 1845, produced Nativist bigotry resulting in a political party known as the “Know-Nothings.” The hatred of Catholicism carried over into the battlefields of the Mexican-American War. In 1847, regiments were recruited from specific places and there was an entire US battalion made up of Irish Catholics. Disgusted by the behavior of Protestant troops who profaned Mexican Catholic Churches, disrespected priests and did worse with Catholic nuns, the Irish Battalion defected to the Mexican side. The Irish Battalion fighting with the Mexicans proved a formidable foe to advancing U.S. troops. Eventually captured, they were hanged as traitors in plain sight of “the halls of Moctezuma.”
Memory of the Irish Battalion stirred fear during the U.S. Civil War and Lincoln went out of his way to cultivate Catholic bishops like John Hughes of New York in order to forestall rebellion in the ranks. In retrospect, the ability of the North to refurbish the troops with freshly recruited Irish Catholics right off the boat contributed mightily to the eventual Union victory. The fears of divided Catholic loyalties were also a preoccupation with the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898. Already patriotic, the U.S. Catholic Bishops formed a Catholic organization to urge enlistment to the army and support from Catholics for the war. This pattern continued during the First World War when fear of defection shifted from Catholics as Catholics, to caution about German-Americans in the army. Likewise, African-American soldiers were held to disrespect and suspicion.
World War II allowed “the greatest generation” to fully integrate Catholics into the fabric of patriotic service. Motion pictures of those days recreate the “characters” of New York City Catholics and Jews combining with Protestant farm-boys from the “heartland,” presaging the pastiche of “Protestant-Catholic-Jew” as post-war civil religion. The Catholic priest celebrating Mass on a make-shift field altar before battle symbolically marks the high level of Catholic acceptance as patriots. Before the war ended, African-Americas were also integrated into the ranks, although Japanese soldiers were systematically sent to the European battlefields and not the ones in the Pacific fronts.
The Korean War was perhaps the last conflict in which patriotism for certain troops was questioned. The case in point is the 65th Regiment from Puerto Rico. It was one of the most highly decorated units when the conflict began, but was disbanded on charges that deserve retraction. However, even though most of the Puerto Ricans in the troops called “The Borinqueneers” were Catholic – the Cross of Malta from the Knights of St. John was their insignia – the discrimination was more because they were Latino than because of religion.
Remembering their sacrifices for the United States, Catholics will wave the flag just as patriotically as others this Fourth of July. Give some praise to George Washington for his foresight. In fact, it bears repeating that apparently Washington himself died a Catholic after receiving the last rites from Father Leonard Neal, S.J.
BY
Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo
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Posted by: DOUGLAS FIELD | August 10, 2008 7:44 PM
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WHEN GOD'S FACE TURNED RED!!!
INNOCENT AMERICANS ARE DENIED REAL HC RIGHTS WITH FEDERAL APPEALS !!!
The pison experts have reported that there are 100,000 innocent Americans currently being falsely imprisoned along with the 2,300,000 total US prison population nationwide.
*** WHEN THE INNOCENT ARE ABANDONED BY THE GUILTY ***
Since our US Congress has never afforded poor prison inmates federal appeal legal counsel for their federal retrials,they have effectively closed the doors on these tens of thousands of innocent citizens ever being capable of possibly exonerating themselves to regain their freedom through being granted new retrials.
This same exact unjust situation was happening in our Southern States when poor and mostly uneducated Black Americans were being falsely imprisoned for endless decades without the needed educational skills to properly submit their own written federal trial appeals.
This unjust judicial process of making our poor and innocent prison inmates formulate and write their own federal appeal legal cases for possible retrials on their state criminal cases,is still in effect today even though everyone in our US judicial system knows that without proper legal representation, these tens of thousands of innocent prison inmates will be denied their rightful opportunities of ever being granted new trials from our federal appeal judges!!
Sadly, the true US *legal* Federal Appeal situation that occurs when any of our uneducated American prison inmates are forced to attempt to submit their own written Federal Appeals (from our prisons nationwide) without the assistance of proper legal counsel, is that they all are in reality being denied their legitimate rights for Habeas Corpus and will win any future Supreme Court Case concerning this injustice!
For our judicial system and our US Congressional Leaders Of The Free World to continue to pretend that this is a real and fair opportunity for our American Middle Class and Working Poor Citizens, only delays the very needed future change of Federal Financing of all these Federal appeals becoming a normal formula of Our American judicial system.
It was not so very long ago that Public Defenders became a Reality in this country.Prior that legal reality taking place, their were also some who thought giving anyone charged with a crime a free lawyer was a waste of taxpayers $$.
This facade of our Federal Appeal proce$$ is not worthy of the Greatest Country In The World!
***GREAT SOCIETIES THAT DO NOT PROTECT EVEN THEIR INNOCENT,BECOME THE GUILTY !
A MUST READ ABOUT AMERICAN INJUSTICE:
1) YAHOO AND 2) GOOGLE
MANNY GONZALES THE KID THAT EVERYONE FORGOT
IN THE CA PRISON SYSTEM.*** A JUDICIAL RIDE OF ONES LIFE !
lawyersforpooramericans@yahoo.com
Posted by: Douglas Field | July 28, 2008 9:33 PM
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Dear Ryan Haber,
The left opposes the catholic church and other fundamentalist forces in religion that want to undo the separation of church and state. So, for example, when fundamentalists can't convince their followers to not have abortions, they wish to work politically to have the procedure outlawed.
When you speak of violence as tactic, you must attribute it to the fundamentalist forces that attack doctors that provide abortion and that put abortion clinics to torch.
Posted by: rb-freedom-for-all | July 17, 2008 12:19 PM
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Tony, Did you reread this before you posted it?
Posted by: Anonymous | July 9, 2008 11:51 AM
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Athena,
I am unaware of any direct connection between the Know-Nothings and Rush Limbaugh.
Historically, the "Left" has been anti-Catholic since the first uses of that term in a political context: the French Revolution. The anti-Monarchical and anti-Establishment groups (Jacobins and Montagnards) sat on the left side of the National Assembly. Anti-Establishment here means "establishment of a particular church or religion as that of the state." Right from the get-go, the term has had a connotation at least anticlerical if not completely anti-Catholic. And because the Catholic Church is irrevocably and very visibly bound to its clerical hierarchy, anticlericalism tends to focus on anti-Catholicism, or at least include it.
Whenever the Church opposes some measure favored by modern leftists, the old hue and cry of "out with the Church" is raised again. Now that the "ethic" of the sexual revolution is increasingly opposed by the Church, we are receiving the same ridicule that accompanied the early days of the French Revolution, also opposed by the Church. As that ridicule turned to violence, perhaps so will the present ridicule. It has yet to be seen.
Posted by: Ryan Haber | July 8, 2008 1:24 PM
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the "Left" = American communist party / ADL / ACLU etc
Posted by: Anonymous | July 7, 2008 6:47 PM
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When was it that "leftists" were anti-Catholic? I must have missed that in Prof. Stevens-Arroyo's article. Historically, Catholics were leftists, or at least on the side of the liberal and progressive movements, because of their commitment to social justice and helping the poor. The "Know-Nothings" were a precursor of the modern-day conservatives like Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Savage, and Beck.
Posted by: Athena | July 7, 2008 5:16 PM
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I find it interesting that the Left loves to harp on discrimination against minorities (Jews, Blacks, Hispanic etc.); however, it does not like to condemn bigotry that it actively participates in -- i.e. anti-catholicism.
I guess we are all equal but some are more equal than others.
Pure leftist politics -- omitting their infractions (or reporting of such) while demanding the confessions of guilt from their enemies.
Posted by: vales | July 7, 2008 4:25 PM
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I agree with this article, it is unfortunate that minority groups serving in the Arm-Forces have been discriminate. We can forget history or distort history, during the Civil War there were African-Americans and Hispanics who fought hand in hand for the greater good of this nation. The Japanese-American was another group of soldier that during WWII suffered discrimination. Puerto Rico has been a US territory since 1898, and soldier from Puerto Rico have fought in conflicts since WWI. Puerto Rican soldier have shown patriotism as any American soldier, however there have been discrimination against them. The 65th infantry regiment of Puerto Rico was a unit with high decoration unit; however the unit was demoralized by change in command and discrimination. For further information about the 65th Infantry please visit: http://www.valerosos.com/JacksonHeightsKorea.html We as a diverse nation need to re-write our military and secular history to include other ethnics groups who have contribute to the development of our Nation.
Posted by: Abner Feal | July 5, 2008 2:42 PM
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FIRST THE BLACK AMERICANS, AND NOW ALSO OUR LATINO AMERICANS !!!
THE MOST DEVIOUS AND DECEPTIVE MEANS TO KEEP CERTAIN GROUPS OF AMERICANS IN US PRISONS, IS TO NOT OFFER THEM LEGITIMATE HC RIGHTS TO OUR US FEDERAL COURTS !
**THIS LEAGL HORROR OF THE MANNY GONZALES CASE, ONLY POINTS OUT JUST ONE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF WHY ALL MIDDLE CLASS AND WORKING POOR AMERICANS DESERVE EQUAL AND JUST OPPORTUNITIES WITH PROPER LEGAL COUNSEL TO OUR FEDERAL COURT OF APPEALS. (THERE ARE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF OTHER LEGAL CASES NATIONWIDE THAT ALSO DESERVE TO BE PROPERLY REPRESENTED TO OUR US FEDERAL COURTS OF APPEAL ! )
** FOR OUR US CONGRESS TO CONTINUE TO DENY LEGITIMATE HC RIGHTS TO OUR FEDERAL COURTS FOR POORER AMERICANS AND OUR US SUPREME COURT AWARD ENEMY COMBATANTS FEDERAL APPEAL LAWYERS AND THEIR RIGHTS TO HC IN OUR US FEDERAL COURTS,MAKES A PICTURE PERFECT MOVIE SCRIPT ( OF AMERICAN INJUSTICE ) FOR MICHAEL MOORE OR SPIKE LEE TO PURSUE !!!
**What we have here in this Manny Gonzales criminal case is a jury,judge and DA taking care of their communities safety from gangs in a typical vigilante hang them high process.The presiding judge tells both attorneys(defense and prosecutor)prior the trial that this specific case is not gang related and advises the DA to instruct their witnesses not to mention or insinuate gang association information to the jury.
** At this point in this trial the presiding judge is aware of and and protective of the defendants rights to a fair trial,knowing darn well that if a LA jury is lead to believe (rightly or wrongly)that a defendant is affiliated with a gang that a fair trial is almost impossible. What happens next when this DA decides to use gang association (over the presiding judges orders and objections)on this jury is really quite devious.LA judges are allowing these type of unjust trials to continue knowing these defendants can appeal for a new trial from prison after they lose their jury trials.
** Local DA's know this local judicial system will not dismiss a jury due to DA's using gang association with defendants and they have a free hand to play their jury to the max.This play acting between the presiding judge pretending to protect the defendants right to a fair trial and the devious DA who wants to protect our society by taking justice into their own hands,is a little what Manny Gonzales and his public defender had to deal with.
** Any judge that allows a rogue DA to disobey their specific orders on misleading their jury into believing the defendant is either a gang member or the specific crime is gang related should have the common sense and decency to dismiss the jury and call for a new trial.
** This kid Manny Gonzales tried as an adult needed this judge not just to set the guidelines in the beginning of the trial with this rogue DA, but also to continue to protect the defendant with his right to a fair trial throughout the entire trial. When this presiding judge allowed this trial to continue, the jury believed both the DA and the judge that Manny Gonzales was a gang member and this specific shooting incident was not related to his affiliation with gang activity. Every night during this two week trial this jury went home and had the opportunity to watch gang violence reported on the nightly news.How could anyone think that Manny Gonzales and his public defender in tow could defeat a presiding judge,rogue DA and a inflamed jury with nightly exposure to gang TV violence?
*** If anyone deserves a call for GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME A NEW TRIAL Manny Gonzales Does !!
YAHOO & GOOGLE MANNY GONZALES THE KID THAT EVERYONE FORGOT IN THE CA PRISON SYSTEM ! ( IT IS A JUDICIAL RIDE OF ONES LIFE ! )
lawyersforpooramericans@yahoo.com