Religion & the Founding: Curran's 'Papist Devils'' | National Catholic Reporter

Religion & the Founding: Curran's 'Papist Devils'' | National Catholic Reporter by MSW.  MGB: It is troubling that Catholics settled in West Indies during the period of slavery, Carroll's discrepancy in the number of slaves important and existing probably owes to a slave market and slave mortality.  That is being in for a pound rather than a penny.  That the Calverts set up manors in Maryland is equally troubling. It is no wonder that the anti-hierarchists included religion in their drive for freedom. The attacks on Catholicism were not so much against peasants as hierarchs - as well as any attempts to deny freedom of religion to non-Catholics in their employ.  As for Guy Fawkes, he was a revolutionary who wanted the freedom to persecute Protestants. That makes him no saint.It is interessting that Charles Carroll could enter public life only as part of the Revolution.  More evidence that the troubles Catholics had and have are cultural (due to their hierarchism) than theological.Indeed, had Fawkes succeededm, he would have been as murderous as Blood Mary.  This should prove a lesson to current Catholic bishops - however it falls on deaf ears.  Not every Catholic is or wants to be a hierarchist and it is past time to undo the hierarchy's feudalistic role over Church property.  While their teachings on birth control are still wrong, they would at least be less suspect.  That goes doubly so for ordaiing women to the priesthood and episcopacy.  That would improve the ability to preach the Gospel of Life, but the would probably have to do so without contraception.