Catholic and Patriotic

http://catholicism.org ^ | July 2, 2014 | Brother-André Marie

[NKP_Vet]

Patriotism is a great virtue. To be a patriot is to love one’s fatherland. This means that it is to love the land of the people that sired you. Patriotism is a natural overflow of the virtue of piety — that is, the virtue of the home. As piety would have us rendering what is due in justice to parents and other family members, patriotism would have us render the same to our nation, its government, and our fellow citizens. Both of these are a matter of justice, for the virtues of piety and patriotism are parts of that cardinal virtue. Over and above justice is the theological virtue of charity, which also enters into a consideration of Catholic piety and patriotism. After God, we love our neighbors, that is, those who are “nigh” to us, meaning near us. Those most near to us are our parents and our siblings.

Our charity, as well as the just demands of piety and patriotism, spread out in broadening concentric circles from the family home to the neighborhood, to the town or city, to the state, to the region, to the nation (or empire), of which we are a resident, citizen, or subject. If we see our country as “our people” — something much more possible in homogeneous, non-pluralistic societies — it is much easier to see how piety quite naturally becomes patriotism. In such societies, people are not only united by a common culture; they are also closer to each other in the gene pool.

Thus patriotism is a rootedness in the land and its people.

[NKP_Vet]

Catholics have always been some of the greatest patriotic Americans. Catholics fought for the American cause in vast numbers during the Revolutionary War, amazing considering Catholics made up around 1% of the population during the American revolution.

[al_c]

And that is what the 4th degree of the Knights of Columbus is all about.

[Fair Paul]

So, when are we going to be scolded that we’re not good Catholics or Christians for not supporting what’s going on at the Texas-Mexico border? Isn’t the Diocese of San Bernardino, CA asking people to house these relocated illegals for 30 days?

[brooklyn dave]

This isn’t a critique on American Catholics—who I thinks have been exemplary patriot for a large part of our history as a nation. It was because the boys in Rome had their doubts about our republican form of government. We had to prove ourselves that Catholics could be good Catholics and good Americans at the same time. I don’t know if the boys in Rome really ever got over it. They seemed to have jumped from thinking “divine right of kings” was a good thing to a whole endorsement of democratic socialism —something akin to Holland or Sweden’s system —of course without the agnosticism/atheism that is prevalent there.

[Don Corleone]

First Love God...then your country if it deserves it.

[NKP_Vet]

“It was because the boys in Rome had their doubts about our republican form of government”

How about “It was because the protestants in America didn’t trust Catholics to be good Americans”. I like that much better.

[brooklyn dave]

In truth we had to do both

[NKP_Vet]

Proud 4th Degree here. “In service to One, in service to all”.

[Alberta's Child]

Historically, the Catholic Church looked upon the United States of America as a Protestant country. There was always something of a comfort level between the Church and the principles of the U.S. Constitution because the Church could accept the idea of limited government in a non-Catholic country.

History has turned that whole thing on its head. The United States of America is now a rabidly secular country, and the "Catholic Church" (as it exists here in the U.S. today) is perfectly comfortable with that because the Catholic Church in the U.S. is an enormous commercial enterprise and effectively functions as a state church.

I don't know how the author's abstract idea of "Catholic patriotism" would even be relevant to the current situation.

[Last Dakotan]

3rd and holding here, no interest in poofy hat and sword.

[NKP_Vet]

You have to volunteer for the color corp. Go ahead and get that 4th Degree. Most 4th Degrees are not in the Color Corp.

[al_c]

Ditto. Assembly 3004.

[al_c]

Poofy hat and sword are not required for the 4th degree.

[steelersfan]

One reason I think today’s orthodox Catholic finds it so easy to be patriotic in the US is the similarity of obediently adhering to Church teaching and the idea that this Country’s founding documents should be strictly adhered to in the law.

[brooklyn dave]

well I would say that the American bishops (esp those of Irish heritage) tried their best to makes the boys in Rome understand as best as possible that the two were compatible. They understood the system (even with all the anti-RC discrimination). The RC church was combating a thing called Modernism—which I don’t understand in all it’s entirety (in mid 19th century)—so I think a portion of RC hierarchy lumped it all into one.