January 6: The Wide Expanse of the Ocean

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is January 6th, and our story is The Wide Expanse of the Ocean. How do you reconcile the religion of the old world with the political doctrine of the new world? That question dogged Catholics in both America and Rome throughout the 19th century.

Although Americans loved their faith and respected their bishops, the laity in the United States also observed their Protestant neighbors exercising great sway in the governance of their churches. For Protestant Americans, democracy was a way of life in matters of faith as well as politics. Catholics observed the fruits of that, and many thought them good. To an even greater degree, both the Catholic laity and Catholic hierarchy in America instinctually championed prototypical American values, the separation of church and state, freedom of speech, independence, and self-reliance.

Many also wanted to see Catholics integrated into the mainstream of American life and worked to find common ground with their Protestant neighbors. In Europe, those American attitudes were met with a mixture of admiration and suspicion. In some places, particularly late 19th century France, they were imitated. In others, notably the Vatican, they seemed cause for concern.

The Curia appreciated the energy of the American church, but it also remembered the threat of schism brought on by trusteeism earlier in the century. Some feared that the attitude of American exceptionalism, championed by Catholics and non-Catholics alike on questions of politics, might bleed over into questions of faith and morals. To check that possibility, Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical letter Longinqua Oceani, The Wide Expanse of the Ocean, on January 6, 1895.

Although the letter primarily praised the work and faith of U.S. Catholics, it nevertheless reminded them that the Church did not view the separation of Church and State as ideal, and that the Church in America would bring forth more abundant fruits if, in addition to liberty, she enjoyed the favor of the laws and the patronage of the public authority.

Faith must always transcend politics. Pope Leo XIII's wisdom reminds us that the Church flourishes not through worldly approval, but through fidelity to divine truth. Catholics in every era are called to engage the public square with confidence, yet never confuse freedom with self-rule apart from God. Reflect today on how your faith shapes your civic life. And how you witness to Christ in the public square.

Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, January 7th, for another story of faith and courage in America.