Americanism (heresy) - Suppression of Americanism

Suppression of Americanism

In the encyclical Longinqua oceani (1895; “Wide Expanse of the Ocean”), Pope Leo XIII indicated a generally positive view of the American Church, commenting mostly on the success of Catholicism in the US but also noting the view that the Church "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." Leo warned the American church hierarchy not support this unique system of separation of church and state.

In 1898, Leo lamented an America where church and state are "dissevered and divorced," and wrote of his preference for a closer relationship between the Catholic Church and the State, along European lines.

Finally, in his pastoral letter Testem benevolentiae (January 22, 1899; “Witness to Our Benevolence”) addressed to Cardinal James Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, Leo condemned other forms of Americanism. Catholicism had long allowed nations to tolerate other religions, but the Church believes that the Catholic Faith must be favored, to the exclusion of other religions, when possible.

Pope Leo XIII also expressed concerns about the liberalism of some American Catholics: he pointed out that the faithful could not decide doctrine for themselves (see Cafeteria Catholic). He emphasized that Catholics should obey the magisterial teaching authority of the Church, which, according to Catholic doctrine, can teach infallibly in matters of faith and morals. In general, he deemed exposing children to public schools as something to be avoided when possible. The Pope derided the idea that all opinions should be aired publicly, as he felt certain speech could harm general morality. He also condemned the biography of Hecker and Americanism.

This document condemned the following doctrines or tendencies:

1. undue insistence on interior initiative in the spiritual life, as leading to disobedience
2. attacks on religious vows, and disparagement of the value of religious orders in the modern world
3. minimizing Catholic doctrine
4. minimizing the importance of spiritual direction

The brief did not assert that Hecker and the Americans had held any unsound doctrine on the above points. Instead, it merely stated that if such opinions did exist, the local hierarchy was to eradicate them.