Slavery again

Thanks to Eduardo for his posting. I am not sure where to begin responding to his diverse points, but I shall try my best. Professor McGreevy’s work to which Eduardo refers is “Catholicism and American Freedom.” I think it fair to say that many Catholics, including bishops, were dealing with strong anti-Catholic sentiments in the US in the ante-bellum period. Thomas Nast’s cartoon characterizations of Catholics after the Civil War was over demonstrate that this antipathy did not end with the Civil War. Professor McGreevy mentions that the Northern abolitionists were also public in their distaste for Catholics. Under such conditions, it would be hard to imagine an alliance between Catholics and the abolitionists. During the American Civil War, Catholic loyalties were divided. But I must respectfully disagree with the unnamed British observer who offered the view that Pius IX “could not conceal from me that all his sympathies were with the Southern confederacy.” The diplomatic correspondence between the Holy See and the U.S. minister to Rome and the U.S. Department of State demonstrates that Rome and the Pope supported the Union. As the American Minister reported to the U.S. Secretary of State in 1863, “His Holiness, as well as the Cardinal Secretary of State, are decided friends of The Union and ardently desire that its integrity may be preserved. The latter was strong in the expression of his Hopes that the North would speedily subdue the Rebellion.” Dispatch no. 8, to Washington, April 4, 1863. Earlier, in June of 1862, Pius IX wrote to Mr. Randall the then Minister of the United States to Rome assuring him of the Holy See’s intention of friendly relations with the United States. It was the British who were divided in their support of the Union and the Confederacy as the March 23 parliamentary debates demonstrate. Lord Campbell urged recognition of the Confederacy, but Earl Russell counseled against action that would antagonize the Union. I have attempted to verify the accuracy of 1866 instruction from the Holy Office. At this stage I am not willing to accept the veracity of the sources available on websites that refer to it. With regard to Professor Diana Hayes comments, I must disagree with what appears to be her contentions. If she is asserting that the Church continues to enslave, I again must also disagree. I suggest that a person today freely chooses to follow the Church or not. To be free for its teachings is not enslavement but the greatest exercise of freedom. To seek freedom from something is rather easy, but to be free for something requires considerable effort on the part of the person who claims and practices this kind of freedom.    RJA sj