Catholics in America
by Russell Shaw, Ignatius Press, £12.99
Russell Shaw invites US Catholics to “rethink the old project of unconditional assimilation into American secular culture”. If a society insists on promoting values that leave most Catholics feeling alienated then an obvious question arises: “Can we still be fully Catholic while being fully American in American secular terms?”
Shaw is not proposing any kind of retreat from patriotism. Far from it: he simply wants the opportunity for Catholics to be “fully American” on their own terms, which may involve fostering a “viable US Catholic subculture”. The goal, presumably, is to find your place in the country you love, and rest secure in the knowledge that occasionally criticising a nation because you want to improve it can, in its own way, be a profoundly patriotic act.
American Catholics were not always in such a secure position. Anti-Catholic prejudice was pervasive and, in such circumstances, many Catholics, especially those in positions of ecclesial authority, embraced the concept of “Americanisation” with gusto. Shaw acknowledges that, for a spell, “that response was entirely reasonable” and he reminds us of some of its champions.
We encounter John Carroll who, during the early decades of the Republic, could be found “persuading Protestants that Catholics also had a place in America,” and Isaac Hecker, founder of the Paulist Fathers, who did “more to encourage Catholic assimilation” than anyone “before or since”.
For balance, though, we also meet the likes of Orestes Brownson, whose ultramontane agenda made him an “intellectual bomb thrower”, and Archbishop John Hughes who, for all his devotion to America, could “relish a really good fight”.
In all, 15 emblematic figures are discussed and crucial themes, including anti-Catholicism, immigration and evangelism, are tackled. The abiding message is that, these days, Catholics should allow their faith to determine their politics and their interaction with the broader culture. JFK is scolded for “giving assurances that he wouldn’t even try” and, Shaw laments, “we are still living with the consequences”.
