St Vincent Seminary - Symposium Yearbook (Latrobe, PA)

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Eli! slnul Jllll Ill MII ' . EQ' 1 1 sm in llflll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 . ' 1 . . . . X 1 I Emu v- 4 fi' w w-2 . . v M... gamma! i HT:-xxx if III ii , NNI X ml C g-,, and Maine were barred because their people differed in religious matters from the members of the Confederacy. Thus we see continued that same intolerant spirit that overshadowed the Puritans from the very beginning of their colonization, a spirit that could but spread only dissension and ill-will among all concerned. The religious sentiment of the Puritan colonists imparted a peculiar character to their institutions. Religion was with them an affair of state and it was a paramount duty of the civil magis- trate to preserve its purity. We have seen the effects of this principle in the controversy involving Anne Hutchinson. Quakers and Anabaptists now began to experience the bitter- ness of this prejudicial disposition. Clark, a Baptist, was fined for preaching, and Holmes was Hogged for his religious opinions. Mary Fisher and Anne Austin, members of the Society of Friends, were banished because their manner of worship did not harmonize with the tenets of the governing powers. A special law was subsequently passed prohibiting admission of Quakers into the Colony. This, nevertheless, did not deter them from entering. Another decree was then enacted banishing them under penalty of death. As a result, several were cruelly hanged. And so we see that the very men who had fled from England in search of an asylum of religious freedom, themselves now tol- erated absolutely no other belief save their own When oppressed themselves, they exclaimed against indiscriminate toleratlong but when they became masters of the land they applied the same persecutions against the adherents of other faiths, which they themselves suffered at home. They contradicted their own principle by maintaining that human beings might and ought to punish what God alone could correct and alter. Truly, the very atmosphere in this Puritanical New England was saturated with un-Christian sentiments, prejudice and bigotry: forces that could breed nothing but dissension and contempt for authority What a distinct contrast there was between this Colony and the one we are about to consider: Catholic Maryland The Catholics in England, like the Purltans, were not immune from persecution. Although their faith was impaired somewhat by the revolt of Henry VIII against the Holy See and the estab- lishment of the Calvmistic Church in the Kingdom by the re- gents of Edward VI it nevertheless, could not be totally under- mined Moreover dreadful persecutions were directed against them in the hope of bringing this about. Under Elizabeth, the Mass was abolished the oath of supremacy reenacted, images A- Q ii ll24ll :Ill I Ill: Ellli illlllli ll llllllllllllb Ill: :lllllllllllllll

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Illlllllll , llllil gllli :IIIIIIE ill E auunugi ' S 1 ll 1 77 ' l . . I , I. I 0 the seed of Puritanical intolerance was already being sown, and ? . , . . ' ll ' i1 0 I , ' ll 77 - lunlm Y! , 1 ' ll , I I . . . Y Y 1 . . . . 1 Y! Y . 0 9 , 0 3 lllll . fi Ellis. , I I' l ' , Illlllli - 5 llllllllllllls I . Ez A but as their number increased, the representative system was adopted In May 1631 at the first court of election in Massachu- setts that the body of the Commons might be preserved of good and honest men it was decreed that no persons be admit- ted to the freedom of the body politic except members of certain churches. Historians and statesmen have frequently censured this provision and questioned the right of the government to make it Naturally it was productive of much dissension. Indeed as we shall see it blossomed forth into a huge thorny bush to stmg those at variance with the doctrines of its sowers Roger Williams a minister of Salem, having promulgated certain heretlcal tenets tending equally to sap the founda- tions of the establishment in Church and State, and failing to conform to the opinions of the ruling powers, was banished from the Colony. His heresy was that the civil magistrate should restrain crime, but never control opiniong should punish guilt but never violate the freedom of the soul. ' His exile obliged him to enter the woods in winterg and cast out from the society of civilized men for affirming the noblest right of humanity, he found a shelter among the savages who welcomed him Religious dissension continued in Plymouth. A controversy arose involving Mrs. Anne Hutchinson and two clergymen Wheelwright and Cotton, in opposition to a majority of the ministers. Mrs. Hutchinson commented bitterly against the opposing preachers whom she declared to be under a covenant of works. The quality of her adherents made the affair one of political importance which could not have occurred had not the Church and State been so intimately connected. The general court censured Wheelwright and this further embroiled the fac- tions so that the party question of the day was made the test of elections and interfered with the discussion of every pro- cedure. Finally in 1637 Anne Hutchinson and Wheelwright were banished and many of the adherents migrated elsewhere. Thus the intolerance of Massachusetts became instrumental in scattering new settlers over the country and in founding new communities of men who were ready to sacrifice all delights of social tolerance to the preservation of the rights of conscience In 1643 a Confederation of the United Colonies of New England was formed embracing Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut' and New Haven. Rhode Island was excluded for declining to submit to the jurisdiction of Plymouth. Providence Bancroft. - 5.2 12311 mn. I un. 'li ll- allllllllllllli alll: Ellllllg illls 'lllllllllllllh

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.mnulnmu 2 : : E ,lllls , - mumlmr: ' XX ' I 7 7 7 7 7 ! X destroyed and churches filled with new clergymen performing strange rites The faithful naturally could not participate in this The Mass was and IS the only divine worship to be offered by duly ordained priests Being thus deprived of the use of their churches Catholics were compelled to hear Mass secretly. - Elizabeth intended to crush them and to force them into the Church established by her Parliament. Although her penal laws were most bloody they nevertheless, failed to sway the major portion of the Catholic population. Defense of the Pope's juris- diction brought a heavy fine. A second offense meant death. Elizabeth not content enacted new laws making it treason to declare her a heretic to use any document from the Pope, or to give or receive absolution. Any Catholic Heeing England to evade the law and failing to return within six months suffered confiscation of his property. These laws were soon enforced, whereupon the gallows took their deadly toll. Conditions being such, eminent Catholics began exercising their inliuence at the Royal Court of Elizabeth, and later of James I, toward procuring a refuge for their oppressed brethren. Although valiant efforts were exerted by others, it remained for the Calverts to bring about the success of such a project. Sir George Calvert was Secretary of State under James I. Although not as yet a Catholic, nevertheless, he studied religious affairs seriously. The Separatists, Puritans, and Presbyterians were proselytizing a large body of dissenters from among the ignorant classes. In the Puritan school he perceived only a men- ace to both civil and ecclesiastical governmentg while in the Anglican denomination he recognized a feeble effort to retrieve a wrong step. He decided, therefore, to enter the Ancient Church. Consequently, in 1624, having resigned as Secretary of State, Cfor the law tolerated no Catholic to fill any public oflicej, he embraced the Catholic faith. King James however created him Baron of Baltimore Ireland for his long and excellent service Evidently anticipating his entrance into the Church Calvert obtained a charter for the province of Avalon in Newfoundland making him Lord Proprietor He intended to make Avalon his residence and above all to establish here a refuge for oppressed Catholics Accompanied by his little flock of colonists Lord Baltimore set out from England and arrived at Ferryland July 23 1627 Unfortunately however this settlement proved un successful failure being caused by the severity of the weather and the depredation of the neighboring French Lord Baltimore consequently decided to seek a more favor ZS k..f ill L alll - K-4. 1 M 'PB llllllllllllllll .llls l 0 , , n ! ! ' , i , ' v . . 7 v ' . ' 1 r ,' I . Huillllllllll ff- . I 3 . ' . E : ' A A x 1, . P - . . .E ' , , ' ' ' ,lg ' ' g,M,, - :mumn H2511 -