April 20: A Spiritually Deadly Oath

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is April 20th, and our story is A Spiritually Deadly Oath. In March 1777, the New York Assembly gathered in Kingston to hammer out the final details of its state constitution. Included among those details were the requirements for citizenship in New York. In the midst of that discussion, statesman John Jay convinced the Assembly to insert a clause requiring anyone seeking citizenship to abjure and renounce all allegiance and subjection to all and every foreign king, prince, potentate, and state in all matters ecclesiastical and civil.

The clause seemed harmless to the legislators, but when the final Constitution was approved on April 20, 1777, it meant that Catholics not wishing to excommunicate themselves by rejecting the Pope's authority could not become New York citizens. The U.S. Constitution, adopted a decade later, eliminated that problem. But while it superseded New York's citizenship requirements, it had no bearing on the state's oath of office, which included similar language. I do solemnly, without any mental reservation or equivocation whatsoever, swear and declare that I renounce and abjure all allegiance and subjection to all and every foreign king, prince, potentate, and state, in all matters ecclesiastical as well as civil, and that I will bear faith and true allegiance to the state of New York as a free and Independent state.

When Catholics realized that the oath effectively banned them from political office, they were outraged. Not until 1806, however, when Francis Cooper, a New York City Catholic, ran for and won a state assembly seat, did the situation change. Upon his election, Cooper refused to take the oath. In turn, the assembly refused to seat him.

Immediately, his parish, St. Peter's in Lower Manhattan, began collecting signatures to demand a change in the law. When the state assembly reconvened a month later, it voted to remove in all matters ecclesiastical as well as civil from the oath, and Cooper took his seat. Ever since then, Catholics have, in good conscience, been able to hold elected office in the state of New York.

Cooper's courage, supported by his parish, reminds us that standing for conscience can reshape society. It also reminds us that the church and laity can collaborate to safeguard religious freedom, balancing obedience to God with engagement in civic life. Reflect on an area where your faith might influence a civic or professional decision. Then, pray and act with integrity, like Cooper.

Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, April 21st, for another story of faith and courage in America.