Catholics who include holy Mass in their celebration of Independence Day on July 4 will hear the call to justice in the first reading, from the Book of Amos. The Declaration of Independence expressed the same desire.
“In the Revolutionary War era, two Catholics named Charles and John Carroll had pivotal roles in the building of our nation and the Catholic Church here,” said Joan Sobczak, of the Heart of the Nation Sunday TV Mass ministry. “Today, we can live our faith openly and even broadcast it on TV as we remember the bold ways in which those two cousins shaped both church and state.”
Among the 56 patriots who signed the Declaration of Independence, Charles Carroll was the sole Catholic. Voters had elected Carroll to the Provincial Convention in Maryland, ignoring a ban on Catholics in politics. Carroll, who had once used the pen name “First Citizen” in his letters to the press, became one of four representatives from Maryland to sign the Declaration.
Unlike other Founding Fathers who put their names on the Declaration, Charles Carroll included his place of residence. John Hancock signed with a bold flourish, but in his own way, the only Catholic signatory of the Declaration also accentuated an act regarded as patriotism by some, but treason by others. By clearly identifying himself, Carroll risked his wealth and his life in no uncertain terms.
With the Revolutionary War in progress, the Catholic Church’s vicar in London refused to exercise jurisdiction across the Atlantic. The Vatican sought advice, and Benjamin Franklin spoke highly of John Carroll. The war came to an end by the time Carroll was appointed to oversee the Catholic missions in the United States of America.
In 1788, Roman Catholic clergy received permission to elect the emerging nation’s first bishop, rather than having one appointed by the Vatican. Twenty years after John Carroll’s election as bishop, Baltimore became an archdiocese, elevating Carroll to archbishop.
“Today, the priests and bishops who preside during the Sunday TV Mass proclaim the Catholic faith freely,” Sobczak said. “The ways that two cousins lived their Catholic faith helped make that freedom possible.”
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both passed away on July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years after approval of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress. Charles Carroll outlived both of them and was the last surviving signatory of the Declaration.
The legacy of the two Catholic cousins continues in a nation whose founders appealed to the “Supreme Judge” when declaring the desire for justice, freedom and independence.