America at 250: U.S. bishop calls on Catholics to lead renewal
Bishop Mark Brennan urges U.S. Catholics to reflect on America’s 250th anniversary and renew commitment to faith, human dignity and common good. He praises Catholic contributions to social reform while warning against moral decline and calling for a culture of life. The pastoral letter highlights progress such as abolition of slavery and women’s rights, yet notes ongoing issues like racial disparities, domestic violence, abortion and immigration hostility. Brennan condemns abortion, assisted suicide and the death penalty, and urges greater care for immigrants, the elderly and the vulnerable.
3 months ago
Bishop Mark Brennan of Wheeling‑Charleston urges American Catholics to use the nation’s 250th anniversary as a moment to reflect on both the country’s blessings and its moral challenges, calling for a renewed commitment to a “culture of life” and a “civilization of love.” He stresses the importance of defending human dignity, supporting immigrants, and confronting secularism while highlighting historic Catholic contributions to social reform. 1 2
In a pastoral letter released ahead of the semiquincentennial, Brennan links the nation’s founding ideals with Catholic teaching, urging believers to be “truly Catholic and truly patriotic.” He notes that Catholicism grew from about 1 % of the U.S. population in 1776 to roughly 20 % today, largely through immigration. 1
Brennan acknowledges major advances such as the abolition of slavery, the end of legal segregation, and expanded opportunities for women. He also points to ongoing issues: racial disparities, domestic violence, human trafficking, abortion, and hostility toward immigrants. 2
A central theme is the dignity of life from conception to natural death. Brennan condemns abortion, assisted suicide, and the death penalty, while urging greater care for the elderly, immigrants, and the vulnerable. He praises the pro‑life movement and cites Nellie Gray, founder of the March for Life, as a model of Catholic activism. 1
Brennan highlights historic figures such as Cardinal James Gibbons, whose labor‑rights advocacy influenced Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, and Archbishop Patrick O’Boyle, who desegregated Catholic schools in Washington, D.C., in 1948—preceding the Supreme Court’s Brown decision. These examples illustrate how Catholic teaching has advanced human dignity and the common good. 2
The bishop defines a “culture of life” as respect for every person, including opposition to abortion, support for marriage and family, care for the sick and elderly, and welcoming immigrants. He draws on St. John Paul II’s concept of a “civilization of love,” citing hospice programs, soup kitchens, youth mentorship, and service groups like the Knights of Columbus as concrete expressions. 1 2
Brennan warns that secularism, relativism, and excessive individualism erode the moral foundations needed for self‑government. He echoes Pope Benedict XVI in arguing that excluding religion from public life weakens societal cohesion. 1
As the United States approaches its 250th birthday, Brennan expresses hope for reform and renewal. He urges Catholics to engage actively in public life, educate future generations, and defend human dignity, emphasizing that “the very soul of our country” is at stake. 2
Catholics should renew commitment to life, justice, and common good
Catholic social teaching explains “renewed commitment to life, justice, and the common good” as one integrated task: protecting human dignity (life), giving what is due to persons and communities (justice), and ordering society so that people can truly flourish (common good).
Renewal is not primarily a change of slogans or policies; it is a return to the principles and source from which society can be healed. Rerum Novarum teaches that if human society is to be healed, it must be “by a return to Christian life and Christian institutions,” and that when a society is sick, the “wholesome advice” is to call it back to its original principles.
That return is also “grounded in the truth.” Pastoral work, the Church teaches, must be truthful because “only the truth can be pastoral.”
In Catholic teaching, “commitment to life” begins with the conviction that the human person has transcendent dignity and is the ultimate end of society. The Catechism states that “social justice can be obtained only in respecting the transcendent dignity of man,” and that society is ordered to the person.
This dignity is not merely sentimental; it has moral implications. The Catechism explains that the defense of persons and societies does not become an exception to God’s prohibition of intentionally killing the innocent, while also clarifying the moral logic of legitimate self-defense—that the preservation of one’s life is intended even if an aggressor is killed as an unintended secondary effect.
The Catechism further states that it is legitimate to insist on respect for one’s right to life, and that a person defending his life is not guilty of murder even if forced to repel an aggressor with lethal force—provided self-defense is moderate and aimed at stopping the threat, not seeking violence for its own sake.
Finally, legitimate defense can be “not only a right but a grave duty” for those responsible for others’ safety, because “preserving the common good requires rendering the unjust aggressor unable to inflict harm.”
What this means for “renewal”: Catholics are called to defend life at its root—human dignity—while also living moral discipline in how force (if ever necessary) is understood: ordered to protecting life, not to hatred or revenge.
Justice, in the Catholic sense, is closely tied to the common good. The Catechism states that society ensures social justice when it provides the conditions that allow people to obtain what is “their due,” and it connects social justice to “the common good and the exercise of authority.”
Justice is also grounded in the truth that rights flow from human dignity and are “prior to society.” If a society refuses to recognize these rights in its laws, it undermines its own moral legitimacy—and if authority cannot rely on rights, it ends up relying on force or violence.
Rerum Novarum provides a concrete moral example in labor relations: employers and workers each have duties, and the “great and principal duty” of those who employ is “to give every one what is just.”
That same teaching insists that workers and employers must not treat people as instruments: employers must not look upon workers as bondsmen, but must respect each person’s dignity.
What this means for “renewal”: Catholics renewing commitment to justice are called to advocate not only for outcomes they favor, but for the moral conditions that respect human rights—especially in economic life, where justice concretely means fair treatment, fair terms, and respect for persons.
The common good is not the same as “what the majority wants.” Catholic teaching ties the common good to right order under God’s law and the moral duties that preserve peace, morality, and social stability.
Rerum Novarum teaches that when the general interest or a particular class is threatened in ways that cannot otherwise be met, “the public authority must step in.” It lists examples: maintaining peace and good order, observing family discipline, ensuring morality, and making sure justice is protected.
But authority’s action must be proportionate. Rerum Novarum adds a principle of limits: “the law must not undertake more, nor proceed further, than is required for the remedy of the evil or the removal of the mischief,” determining the “limits” by the nature of the occasion.
The same document also highlights that Church and society share responsibilities: healing society requires the concurrence of “all human agencies,” and it includes practical reflection on what part the state should play, much like providence coordinating multiple causes toward a common end.
What this means for “renewal”: Catholics are called to support legitimate authority in ways that protect the common good—while resisting the idea that law can (or should) solve every problem without moral limits or without respecting fundamental rights.
“Renew commitment to life, justice, and the common good” matches the Church’s logic: society must be ordered to the human person’s dignity (life), justice means recognizing and honoring rights and giving what is due (justice), and legitimate public authority must promote the common good within morally necessary limits (common good), all sustained by a return to Christian life and truthful pastoral action.