America At 250 — Catholics Gather In Prayer As The Fight For The Nation’s Soul Heats Up

Their witness testifies to the endurance of American Catholics over the past two and a half centuries, whose commitment to prayer — and refusal to be cowed by adversity or hostility — helped establish enduring concepts of human dignity, freedom, and excellence that powerfully shaped the world. Though secular forces seek to undermine Catholic beliefs and influence today, the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast annually reminds our adversaries that Catholicism has historically prevailed against great evil, and accomplished miracles, thanks to the prayers of those who refused to give up on their country or their faith.

Catholicism played a role in offering peace and hope to settlers from the earliest days of the American founding. There is some evidence that Squanto, a Native American translator without whom the earliest pilgrims wouldn’t have survived their first winter in New England, was Catholic.

Many of the Catholics joining Christian pilgrims for a better life in the new world were welcomed with pervasive anti-Catholic skepticism and legislation in the early American colonies. Undeterred, Catholics braved harsh conditions and uncertain futures — even death — to bring faith and civilization to America. The sacrifice of Catholic Jesuits such as Saint Isaac Jogues, who was brutally tortured and martyred by the Mohawks, as well as the missions, schools, and hospitals founded by the Jesuits, Spanish Franciscans, and other Catholics, played a pivotal role in shaping and sustaining the nation for generations to come. Their impact is evident in the number of major cities that were named after Catholic saints.

Catholics also helped to establish and protect core American freedoms. Cecil Calvert, the Catholic 2nd Baron of Baltimore, was a primary driver behind the 1649 “Act of Toleration,” which made Maryland the first colony to pass religious freedom laws and later influenced the drafting of the First Amendment.

Charles Carroll made history as the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, which drew upon concepts of the natural law originally derived from the logic of the Catholic Saint Thomas Aquinas. Carroll’s signature on that globe-shattering document was significant since most of the colonies didn’t allow Catholics to hold office at the time. Following the Revolutionary War, won partially thanks to the aid of Catholic King Louis XVI of France, two of Carroll’s relatives became the first Catholic members of Congress. In 1961, John F. Kennedy would make history as the first Catholic to become the president of the United States.

Over the 17th to 21st centuries, Catholics continued shaping America through religious, philanthropic, and educational endeavors. To this day, the Catholic impact on American health systems and philanthropy can’t be overstated. Heroic figures such as Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton and Saint Mother Frances Cabrini, like thousands of other religious sisters, braved anti-Catholic sentiment and horrible conditions to create dozens of schools, orphanages, and hospitals.

Three major medical institutions today, the Columbus Hospitals in New York and Chicago and the Columbus Sanitarium in Seattle, were founded by Cabrini, while the U.S. Catholic parochial school system was established by Seton. Thanks to these and other Catholic efforts, the Catholic Church is universally respected as the leading philanthropic organization in America and the world. Catholics have also been vital forces in the key moral battles of the 21st century pertaining to human life and dignity.

Catholic Bishops staunchly opposed segregation during the Civil Rights movement, while Catholic nuns and an estimated 35 Catholic priests marched in the historic Selma to Montgomery march for voting rights in 1965.

When the Supreme Court of the United States legalized abortion in 1973, Catholics galvanized on behalf of the unborn. Catholic lawyer Nellie Gray responded by founding what is now the largest annual human rights demonstration in the world: the March for Life. Today, this peaceful protest draws over 100,000 Americans, including tens of thousands of Catholics, from across the country. Catholics also helped establish the pro-life safety net, which now boasts over 3,000 organizations and countless volunteers (many Catholic!) nationwide that care for women and children in need — despite violent hostility from pro-abortion opponents.

As attacks on religious freedom increasingly threatened Americans’ right to practice their faith in the public sphere, Catholics boldly fought back. In 1993, Catholic lawyer Kevin “Seamus” Hasson founded the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which has won 13 Supreme Court cases in the past 15 years. In 1994, Catholic Alan Sears was a primary founder and president of Alliance Defending Freedom, which is now the leading religious freedom law firm in the world and has played a role in 83 Supreme Court victories.

From attempts to force poor nuns to fund contraception in their healthcare plans, to attacks on pregnancy resource centers for not providing abortions, or pressure on religious employers and business owners to participate in activities that violate their sincerely held religious beliefs, both Becket and ADF have won hard-fought victories and established Supreme Court precedent that protects American freedoms for generations to come.

And at a time when European nations imprison citizens for social media posts and prayer, Catholics at nonprofits and religious freedom firms such as Becket and ADF are leading the fight to protect men, women, children, and ultimately the truth — especially against attempts to allow biological males in women and girls’ sports and spaces, as well as the horrifying trend of transgender surgeries on children.

These fights — over the gender wars, abortion, religious freedom, free speech, immigration — and so many others continue dominating news cycles and evoking despair among many that our nation is irreconcilably damaged and headed towards ruin. Yet on Thursday, Catholics will unite in prayer for the nation’s future at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. As they reflect on the challenges ahead and the past 250 years of American history, they have every reason for optimism.

Catholics faced setbacks and discouragement at every period of our nation’s history, including many grave threats to truth and freedom in America today. Yet Catholic heroes like Jogues, Cabrini, Seton, Gray, Hasson, Sears, and so many others continue to lead us by example, teaching us to meet adversity with the hope and perseverance that only authentic prayer can sustain. I hope attendees of this year’s prayer breakfast take heart from this remarkable Catholic legacy. Through the power of prayer, we can similarly fight the good fight that God has entrusted to each of us for the benefit of our nation, and ultimately the world.

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