LIBERAL  CATHOLIC 

Quote of the Day, June 22, 2010
"Daniel O'Connell was not a bigot in religion - he was a liberal Catholic. Do not misunderstand me - my idea of a liberal Catholic is one who is sincere and faithful in the profession of his faith, but who recognizes in every other human being the same right he claims for himself; but in modern times a liberal Catholic has come to be understood as a man who makes no distinction between one creed and another. O'Connell was neither of these; he believed in his religion, and from the period of his unfortunate duel to the close of his life he combined the dedication of a practical Catholic in his private moral life with the highest duties of a politician and a statesman, and that is what scarcely any other public man that I have read of has ever accomplished before."



Archbishop John Hughes: Lecture on Daniel O'Connell in 1856

Archbishop John Joseph Hughes [1797-1864] was the 4th bishop and the first archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York. He was born in Ireland. He had the nickname of "Dagger John" because when signed his name, he would add a drawing of a cross as a dagger. He was also known for his sharp, quick, cutting personality.

Daniel O'Connell [1775-1847] was a lawyer who campaigned for Irish Catholic freedom in Ireland. He chose speech and debate as his method of protest against injustice. He said, even though 85 % of Ireland were Catholics, they had little rights. His nickname was, "The Liberator" because of his cause for Catholic Emancipation in Ireland.

The duel -mentioned in the above quote - is referring to a moment in 1815 that was to bother Daniel O'Connell for the rest of his life. After a famous speech - called "The Corpo" because in it, O'Connell said the Dublin Corporation was bigoted against Catholics and only served the established Protestants. Because of his comments, a man named John D'Esterre - a famous duelist - challenged O'Connell to a duel. The Protestants were very happy because they figured this would be the end of Daniel O'Connell for good. The duel was held at Dublin Castle - where the British Government administered Ireland. O'Connell hit D'Esterre in the hip - the bullet settled in his stomach - and as a result he died. Daniel O'Connell was haunted by this memory of killing another human being for the rest of his life. It left D'Esterre's wife and family in poverty. O'Connell offered D'Esterre's wife money - but she refused. However, she accepted an allowance for her daughter - which O'Connell gave for the next 30 years till he died.

In the quote above the phrase "Liberal Catholic" is nuanced 2 ways. How many other ways do people understand, "Liberal Catholic"? For those who want to read further on this topic, check out the Vatican II document Declaration of Religious Freedom, Dignitatis Humanae, December 7, 1965. For those who don't accept Vatican II, check out The Catechism of the Catholic Church, #'s 2104-2109. For those who don't accept that, check out Matthew 25: 31-46 and Galatians 6: 2. For those who still don't accept any of these comments, I will not duel you any further.

Pictures on top: Daniel O'Connell - a painting. Beneath him: Archbishop John J. Hughes.