Friday, May 29, 2026
Feast of Pope Saint Paul VI
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
This July we will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. While Catholics were very few in number in North America back then, they did have a presence. In this fourth presentation we will examine the condition of the Church in the British colonies in America.
Talk #4: Catholics in the British Colonies
Some might wonder why Catholics would favor the mostly Protestant American colonists over Great Britain. In England, by the late 1760s, some of the English Penal Laws against Catholics were being eased and even the Irish Catholics by 1778 found some relief.
New England, on the other hand, remained a place of rabid anti-Catholicism. The 1700 Mass Act demonstrates this: “it shall be lawful…to cause any person or persons suspected of being a Jesuit, seminary priest, or of the Romish clergy, to be apprehended…. And if such person do not give satisfactory account of himself, he shall be committed to prison in order to a trial.” Indeed, the French and Indian War was promoted as a crusade against papists by the colonists in British America.
In other areas, William Livingston in 1753 urged New Yorkers to exclude Catholics from social benefits. And even Benjamin Franklin in 1747 warned of the danger of Catholics in Pennsylvania.
The Quebec Act of 1774, which infuriated colonials as it closed off the area west of the Appalachian mountains to their expansion, also provided a degree of religious freedom to Catholics in Canada, especially in Quebec, something many American colonists found very distasteful. This was voiced by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia on September 17, 1774: “Nor can we suppress our astonishment, that a British Parliament should ever consent to establish in that country [Canada] a religion that has deluged your island in blood, dispersed impiety, bigotry, persecution, murder and rebellion through every part of the world.” Amazingly, this same group sought to woo the Canadians to fight against the British!!
Why, then, would Catholics want to support the patriot cause in this confrontation with Britain? Like their fellow colonists, they were also subject to the taxes and duties imposed by Parliament. In addition, there was always some hope in establishing something new, that being part of the process could bring about significant changes in the future. In addition, there were some small changes already taking place in some of the colonies. Attacks on Catholicism in print were becoming far fewer; in Pennsylvania, in spite of still being barred from office, Catholics, mainly German, were generally happy; and, by 1776, several of the colonies, including Maryland and Pennsylvania, were allowing some degree of religious freedom, or at least were disestablishing the Church of England.
Finally, in an attempt to create harmony in the ranks as well as in the colonies, General George Washington took it upon himself to make sure that the military he was now directing would cease any anti-Catholic activities. Catholics in the American colonies were few in number.
Most likely they followed the lead of their Protestant neighbors, who themselves were divided in support of or opposition to Britain. It was soon to become a very long and exhausting battle for independence and Catholics were to have a small but important role in this great enterprise.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
+ Earl Boyea
Bishop of Lansing
P.S. Below is a video version of the above talk. Please feel free to share with family and friends. Thank you.