Catholicism and American Freedom: a History.
Drinan, Robert F.
CATHOLICISM AND AMERICAN FREEDOM: A HISTORY. By John T. McGreevy.
New York: W. W. Norton, 2003. Pp. 431. $26.95.
The tensions between Catholic teachings and America's freedoms
are described in this excellent book in an exemplary way. John McGreevy,
professor of history at the University of Notre Dame, has been honored
for his previous book Parish Boundaries (1996) by the American Catholic
Historical Association.
The work under review touches on several major clashes that
Catholics have had with America's freedoms--the Bible in public
schools, slavery, the civil rights of Blacks, birth control, abortion,
and sexual abuse by priests.
In ten chapters (298 pages of text, 108 pages of notes) M.
assembles a remarkable array of information. He raises the basic issues
of whether religious groups like the Catholic Church can seek to
influence the law with their own viewpoint even though ultimately it
derives from their religious commitment. He cites John Rawls and his
nuanced approach to this dilemma, but it is not clear that M. has
resolved this problem; it may be intractable.
The Church appears to have rejected Rawls's approach when
twice it persuaded the voters of Massachusetts to retain a law
forbidding the sale of contraceptives. Later the Church yielded under
Cardinal Cushing and the wisdom of John Courtney Murray, S.J.: the
Church allowed the voters of Massachusetts to repeal an indefensible
law.
M. is especially informative when he treats of the papal commission
on birth control and reveals the hitherto unknown information about the
activities of the late John C. Ford, S.J., who advised Pope Paul VI. M.
is also incisive in his treatment of the struggles within the Catholic
community about abortion and the law after Roe v. Wade.
There are many other fascinating items in this book. The pastorals
of the U.S. bishops on war and the economy receive attention as do
problems related to bioethics and the end of life.
Some readers of this truly absorbing volume will wish that M. had
given more attention to issues such as the ordeal of Father Charles
Curran at the Catholic University of America, or the cries of Catholic
women for a higher place in the Church, and the increasing presence of
Hispanics in the Church. Some also will wonder whether M. has focused
too much on the fear and contempt for the Catholic Church held by some
Protestants in the last century.
The underlying theme of the book is the viscerally charged attempts
of some Catholic leaders to reject new freedoms proposed by the
government, especially when they curtail the Church's position.
Such reactions of Catholic leaders should have been limited by Vatican
II's proclamations on religious freedom, but the existence of such
strong reactions by some Catholic leaders is still annoyingly present.
M.'s book will be most useful to America's 65 million
Catholics as they struggle to resolve the contradictions they perceive
between what the official U.S. Catholic Church wants and the differing
opinions of the most respected institutions and public officials in
America.
M.'s book makes clear the sharp differences that exist between
the majority view in the U.S.A. on some legal-moral issues and the
viewpoint of the Church. There are some factions in the Church who want
to insert the official Catholic viewpoint in the public policy of the
nation even if it harms the view which 75 percent of the nation that is
non-Catholic has of the Church. M. seeks to explain this dilemma, but
the questions may be irresolvable.
American Catholics have had reason to doubt and even distrust some
of the official positions of the Holy See and the American bishops on
public issues. Tensions of this sort are not likely to fade away soon.
But M.'s book is probably the best explanation to date of how
American Catholics have reacted to the demands of government and
religion in a society that cherishes both religious freedom and the
separation of government and religion.
ROBERT F. DRINAN, S.J.
Georgetown University Law Center, Washington
