Lecture 14:
Our Time 1878-2005
Ann T. Orlando
26 April 2011
Introduction
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Historical Review
New Secular Nationalism in Nineteenth
Century
Catholicism in America, 19th, 20th C
Papacy in this period
Theological movements
Readings
18th C French and American Political
Philosophy
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Based upon John Locke
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Puritan sermons in 18th C America frequently referred to
“the great Mr. Locke”
Voltaire considered Locke one of the most important men
of the previous generation
One of Jefferson’s three heroes (the other two being Bacon
and Newton)
John Adams thought John Locke one of most important
men who ever lived
Emphasize individual liberty and rights over duty to
society
American Revolution:
New Political Structures
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American Revolution (1776-1781), based on
philosophy of John Locke (1632-1704)
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Champion of individual rights
Religious toleration
Not clear (still isn’t) what is relation between religion
and politics in America
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Most States had an official religion; see for instance John
Adams’ Constitution of Massachusetts
First Amendment to Constitution says only that Congress
will not establish a religion;
Thomas Jefferson extends this to separation of Church and
State (1802)
French Revolution (1789-1799):
Extreme Enlightenment
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Impetus comes from group of 18th C French philosophers:
philosophes (Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, Turgot,
Condorcet)
Philosophes embraced John Locke and science; encouraged by
American Revolution
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Franklin, Paine, Jefferson and Adams in France;
Adams writes against Turgot and Condorcet and notion of progress
without sense of duty
Jefferson supports the philosophes and the Terror
Use it as a weapon against ‘throne and altar’
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Voltaire’s ‘Smile of Reason’ turns into glare of tyranny
Individual rights and toleration get replaced by suspicion of ‘enemy
of people’ and a new ‘religion’;
Active persecution of Church
Capitalism: New Economic and Social
System
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Adam Smith author (1723-1790) of Founding
Document, Wealth of Nations
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Friend of French philosophes Voltaire, Turgot
Close fried of fellow Scot David Hume
Encouraged economic individualism and
natural liberty in economies
Encouraged division of labor in new industrial
production plants
Lessaiz faire economics: no government
intervention
‘Invisible hand’ of supply and demand
Capitalism: derogatory term first used in 19th C
by those opposing this economic and social
system
Communism: New Social and Economic
System
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Karl Marx (1818-1883) coauthor with Frederic Engels the
founding document Communist Manifest
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Opposed to economic slavery of working classes as more and
more capital concentrated in hands of a few wealthy
industrialists
Price of objects should be based on labor theory of value; that
is the number of labor hours to produce,
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Not materials
Not supply and demand
Not management of production and distribution processes
In an ideal social and economic system, there should be a
balance between production and consumption, no profits for
corporations
Social (government) structure should control the economy
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Born in Germany, moved to England as young man
Radical views forced him to flee to England
From each according to his ability to each according to his need
Marx also wrote a great deal on morality; atheist opposed to
role of religion in society
19th and 20th C New Nationalisms
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19th and early 20th C period of violent revolutions in Europe (France,
Italy, Germany, Russia)
 Also a period of violent revolutions and wars of independence
throughout Western Hemisphere, Asia and Africa
Growth of labor movements opposed to oppression of laissez faire
capitalism
Under the pretense of ‘will of the people’ new secular totalitarian
regimes form in many countries
Bismark in Germany tries to enforce uniform ‘German’ cultural and
social attitudes in Kulturkampf deeply opposed to CAtholicism
Marxism develops a theory of history and society that portrays
religion as a phase that enlightened peoples will out grow
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Government takes over role of social, economic and moral
administrator
No child of 20th C can think that Enlightenment has led to a golden
age: Shoah, gulags, racial wars, World Wars, etc., etc., etc.
Epicurean Philosophy in Intellectual
American Politics and Society
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Jefferson’s acceptance of Epicureanism has become
increasingly prevalent in American culture
Ethics based on personal pleasure
 although in contemporary society pleasure is often defined as
momentary fleeting pleasure, rather than long term peace of mind
 Utilitarianism (Bentham and Mill) explicitly reference
Epicureanism
Importance of individual rights over common good (abortion)
 Self-sufficiency of individual is primary virtue, not harmony of
society
Importance of science and technology; progress of human mind
 God is not recognized as important in people’s lives
Catholicism in America
Before the Irish
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Spanish settlers, 18th, early 19th C
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French settlers 18th C
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Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California
Inter-married with Indians to create small Catholic
communities
Louisiana, along Mississippi River, parts of New England
Directly from France or immigrated from French Canada
after French-Indian War
English settlers 18th C
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Maryland
Founded by Lord Baltimore (Catholic convert) as a place
where English Catholics could settle
Catholics During the Revolutionary War
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Charles Carroll of Maryland, prominent Catholic
signed Declaration of Independence
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Continental Army was especially welcoming to
Catholics from Canada and Ireland
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John Carroll, SJ, first Bishop in United States
Over 25% of Washington’s army (soldiers and officers)
were Irish
Decisive role of French Navy against British at
Yorktown
New country needed colonists who did not have
loyalist sympathies
th
19
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Why so prominent in Catholic Church in America
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Immigrated to 19th C power centers in Northeast U.S. (i.e.,
Boston and New York)
So many of them
Several major waves of Irish immigrants
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C: The Irish in America
Between 1830 – 1860, 3 M Irish immigrated to US
 Total US population in 1860 ~ 30M (including all
territories and 4 M slaves)
Irish potato famine 1845-1850
Suppressed economic and political opportunities for
Catholics in Ireland during British rule
Irish quickly became leaders in American Church
Protestant American Reaction
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As numbers of Catholic immigrants increase,
reaction and prejudice increases
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Ghettos of poor in large cities
Civil unrest
Resentment over jobs lost
Ursuline convent burned in Charlestown 1834
Know-nothing party
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Secret Order of Star Spangled Banner
Millard Fillmore ran as their candidate for
president in 1856 and lost
After American Civil War
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Immigration continues
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Germans 1880
Italians 1907
Polish 1921
Immigrants (predominantly Catholic and Jewish)
become cheap labor source in American factories
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Church develops close ties to labor unions
Ethnic Churches developed to minister to immigrant
communities in their own language and their own customs
Development of American Catholic
Institutions
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Education
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Parochial schools, 40% of parishes had schools as early as
1880
Colleges and Universities;
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Jesuits play a major role
Georgetown 1789
Holy Cross founded 1843; BC founded 1863
Hospitals and orphanages
Catholic societies
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Ancient Order of Hibernians 1836
Knights of Columbus 1882
Catholic Schools Controversy
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Thomas Nast, 1875
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www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByD
ateCartoon.asp?Year=2003&Month=May&D
ate=8
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After war, Catholicism seen
as threat to unity of nation,
especially by Republicans
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Supported Bismark’s
Kulturkampf
Many laws passed with
support of Presidents Grant,
Garfield, Hayes, denying
any public support to
Catholic schools
Syllabus of Errors used to
show that Catholics were
opposed to individual
freedom, progress and the
American way
Growth of Importance of Church in
20th C American Society
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Catholic Institutions grow in stature and recognition
after WWII
Catholic politicians become increasingly prominent in
Democratic Party
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John Kennedy election in 1960
Catholics aligned with ‘liberals’ on many social causes
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Economic justice
Civil rights
War in Vietnam
Prominence of women in education, medicine, media, social
activism
Catholicism’s Response
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Syllabus of Errors, 1864
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Series of anathemas of Enlightenment views
Crude and ineffectual
Vatican I (1866-1870)
 Reaffirmed that we can have sure knowledge in
faith and morals (infallibility of Pope, Thomism
as official theology)
 Reaffirmed that religion is important to
society’s well being
 Reaffirmed the importance of natural law
Increased spiritual devotion: La Salette 1846;
Lourdes 1858, Fatima 1917
Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903)
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Countered Bismark’s antiCatholic movement,
Kulturkampf
Made Henry Newman a
Cardinal
Created Pontifical Biblical
Commission
Known as the encyclical
pontiff
Modernist “Americanist Heresy”
Controversy
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The issue: the ‘Americanization’ of religion, especially
Catholicism
Progressive American Catholics; embraced separation of Church
and State; American democracy
 Isaac Hecker, founder of Paulists, emphasis on social action less
on evangelization;
 French translation of his biography was modernist
Opposition, ‘traditionalists’:
American governmental system may be best for America, but
not necessarily universally;
 Catholics in America should not see themselves as part of a
national church
 Leo XIII Testem Benevolentiae Nostrae, 1899; encyclical
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addressed to American bishops
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Importance of religion in social and polical life of a country
Rerum Novarum
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Foundational document of modern Catholic
social teaching
Written in response to abuses of both
capitalism and communism
Uphold rights of laborers to a fair wage
Concern about poor
Emphasis on common good and dignity of
individual
Papacy 1870-2005
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Leo XIII 1878-1903
Pius X 1903-1922
Benedict XV 1914-1922
Pius XI 1922-1939
Pius XII 1939-1958
John XXIII 1958-1963
Paul IV 1963-1978
John Paul I 1978
John Paul II 1978-2005
Benedict XVI 2005-
Pope Pius XII (1939-1958)
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Vatican diplomat assigned to Germany before WWII
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WWII and the Shoah
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Thought he could negotiate with Nazis, but also thought that direct confrontation
would irreparably harm the Church
Encourage quiet protection of Jews by Church, but did not speak out forcefully
"The voice of Pius XII is a lonely voice in the silence and darkness enveloping
Europe this Christmas. He is about the only ruler left on the Continent of Europe
who dares to raise his voice at all". (Editorial, the New York Times, Dec 25, 1941).
"A full explanation of Pope Pius' conduct is needed..It now falls to John Paul and
his successors to take the next step toward full acceptance of the Vatican's
failure to stand squarely against the evil that swept across Europe" (Editorial, the
New York Times, Mar 18, 1998).
See We Remember, A Reflection on the Shoah, 1998
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/docum
ents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_16031998_shoah_en.html
Pontifical Biblical Commission: return to study of ancient languages and
support for historical critical method
Declared Assumption of Mary to be infallibly true
Theological Developments in 20th C
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Liturgical reforms started in early 20th C
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Hermeneutics;
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Historical Critical Method
Deconstruction
New Theology and Transcendental Thomism
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Romano Guardini
Continued by VII
Thomism that returns to critical evaluation of Thomas Aquinas and his
sources, especially Augustine;
Expands Thomism, does not merely study and codify Thomas; emphasis on
philosophical methods
Key figures: Henri de Lubac, Karl Rahner, Bernard Lonergan, Edward
Schillebeeckx
Liberation Theology
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Driven by WWII (Moltmann, Metz) and Third World economic and social
poverty (Gutierez, Boff, Sorvino)
Encourages political and social activism as part of Christian witness and
Church’s mission
Opposed to natural law; rather only literal application of Gospel message
Vatican II
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Called by John XXIII in 1962; closed by Paul VI in 1965
Liturgical changes; use of vernacular; RCIA
Renewed emphasis on importance of actions of Catholic laity in
world
No change in doctrine
Gaudium et Spes: Final document of Council
 Addresses how the Church should be in the World as part of ‘the
whole human family’
 Part I on the dignity of man and his role in the universe
 Part II on modern problems (Marriage, Culture, Economics, Arms
Race, Peace)
Note: there were documents written after official close of Council
that are considered VII documents
Some Critical Issues
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Aquinas was worried about ‘Dead Faith’ meaning everyone believed (or
said they did), but very few acted with charity. This, according to
Aquinas was faith that was not a virtue; IIa IIae Q4 a4
I think the problem now is ‘Dead Love’; many people say they are
peaceful loving caring people but try to do this without faith. This is love
that is not a virtue
Relation between Church and Individual Catholic
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Radical individualism, subjectivism, relativism
Need to understand what it means to form conscience
Pascal was right: many people live in present moment without considering
end of life
Relation between Church and Society
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Proper model for Church in world
Religious pluralism
Ethical use of science
Ethics in law; what is basis of justice?
Readings
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Read Vidmar 289-341
Skim McManners Ch 11
Read Leo XIII Rerum Novarum
Skim VII Gaudium et Spes