January 4: The Independent Catholic Church of America

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is January 4th, and our story is The Independent Catholic Church of America. If not for an Irish Franciscan's loyalty to Rome, the Independent Catholic Church of America could have been established in 1819. The trouble began years earlier, when, with the appointment of America's first bishop, John Carroll, Irish-American Catholics began demanding the right to hire and fire their own priests. As trustees of the churches they financed and built, they believed the right to choose the priests belonged to them.

Following the death of Carol's successor, Archbishop Leonard Neal, and the appointment of the Frenchman Ambrose Maréchal as Archbishop of Baltimore, tensions rose even higher. First, the Catholics of Newport, Virginia, sent a letter to Rome demanding the right to appoint their own clergyman. Then, on January 4, 1819, Catholics in Charleston, South Carolina, had Father Thomas Carberry of New York forward a letter for them to Father Hayes in Dublin. The letter requested that the Franciscan priest travel in the most secret manner to the Netherlands, where a schismatic Jansenist bishop resided.

It then instructed him to have yourself consecrated bishop of South Carolina. The letter concluded with the promise that, on your arrival in America, your expenses shall be made good to you, but you must agree to consecrate other bishops in this country, otherwise your salary may be doubtful. Alarmed, Hayes immediately had the letter translated into Italian, then sent it on to the Holy Father in Rome. Recognizing that schism loomed, the Vatican responded by creating new dioceses in Virginia and South Carolina, ...and sending two Irishmen to lead them, Patrick Kelly to Richmond and John England to Charleston.

Schism was averted, but the battle against what would come to be known as trusteeism was far from over. Unity in the church is a fragile gift. This story reminds us that humility and obedience preserve communion far more than self-will or pride. The temptation to shape the church in our image is timeless, yet grace works best through fidelity to the truth handed down through her bishops and pastors.

Pray for your parish priests and bishops today, that they remain faithful shepherds of Christ's flock. Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, January 5th, for another story of faith and courage in America.