Fourth of July: We Still Hold Those Truths Because They Hold Us and Our Future

By Deacon Keith Fournier
7/5/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

On this Fourth of July I reaffirm that we still hold those truths as Americans - because they hold us and will secure our future! Will you join me?

The Declaration was the birth certificate of the United States of America. The principles have informed our history and inspired our neighbors in other parts of the world to stand up against all forms of tyranny. We should remember that our forebears were not declaring their independence from Divine Providence. Rather, they were trusting in the Governance of God.

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WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - On the 4th of July people will gather all over the United States of America to celebrate Independence Day. Fireworks will light up the sky in celebration of our liberty. Families and friends will remember those who gave their lives so that the promises set forth in that Declaration of Independence could inform our life together as a free people. The words of that Declaration proclaimed:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights - that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men." The Declaration was the birth certificate of the United States of America. The words are still memorized by at least some of our schoolchildren. They can bring a tear to the oldest American eye with little effort.

The principles of that Declaration have informed our history and inspired our neighbors in other parts of the world to stand up against all forms of tyranny. As we reflect upon the text we should remember that our forebears were not declaring their independence from Divine Providence. Rather, they were trusting in the Governance of God over their noble undertaking in forging a new Nation which Lincoln would proclaim years later was "conceived in liberty".

They sought independence from a monarchy which had become tyrannical precisely because it had forgotten the implications of the primacy of Divine Providence. The principles set forth in that Declaration were a rallying cry which called forth extraordinary sacrifice. They were rooted in something greater than political expediency. Those heroic men, women and children who sacrificed to birth this nation believed there were truths - objective truths- to be held. Those truths are self evident. They include the existence of unalienable rights given to all men and women by a Creator. Those truths and rights can be discerned by all men and women because they are revealed by the Natural Law written on all human hearts. It is a participation in God's law.

Of the 56 men who signed the Declaration, Charles Carroll of Carrolton, cousin of the Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore, was the only Catholic signer. At the time of his signing it was illegal for Catholics to hold public office or to vote in Maryland. Yet, he still pledged with all of the signatories: "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor." He knew the importance of the vision of freedom, rights and liberty which that Declaration proclaimed in those three profoundly simple but supremely powerful words: "We Hold These Truths."

What is clear is that competing visions of the human person, human dignity, human rights, marriage, family and human freedom are threatening our National future. Some counterfeits of liberty are now being imposed upon us; through the very institutions formed to protect the American experiment. The preeminent Right to Life affirmed in that Declaration is undermined by the positive/civil law of the Nation which the Declaration helped to birth. How can a Nation which has enshrined the killing of innocent children in the womb in its law claim that that it still recognizes the unalienable right to life?

The child in the womb is our first neighbor. Certainly all of the American founders would have agreed it is wrong to kill an innocent neighbor. How can we read Jefferson's words, "God who gave us life gave us liberty" and not see the evil of a jurisprudence which puts the police power of the Federal Government behind the intentional taking of her/his life? What makes it even more profane is that the ground for such a violation of fundamental human rights comes from a Supreme Court opinion which manufactured out of whole cloth an alleged "right" to commit such a heinous crime within a so called "liberty interest" of the U.S. Constitution. The entire infrastructure of human rights and freedoms is at risk. Life is the first right and first human good. Without Life there can be no other rights because only human persons can receive them.

At the root of the American founder's vision of a "good" society was the affirmation of a common morality upon which this virtuous and free society could be built. It alone could help to secure a truly free society which allowed all to pursue happiness. The classical vision of happiness included within it an obligation to live a moral life. It was understood that human persons flourish when they live virtuously. While the American founders embraced a properly understood freedom of religion, they did not ascribe to an enforced secularism, a freedom FROM religion, where the influence of religious principles and the leavening ...

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1 - 8 of 8 Comments

JoAnn
11 months ago
Richard Werner: The Church has never lost her moral teaching ground. The Church is Holy. It is SOME of the people in the church that have lost their moral ground. If you look up the teaching of 'SOCIAL JUSTICE" in the Cathechism of the Catholic Church, you will see that it is no way near the "social justice" teaching of the "Rogues" in the Church. Obama, Pelosi, and the rest of the ROT in Washington have High-jacked the true meaning of the "SOCIAL JUSTICE" teaching of our Church and TWISTED it around for the purpose of their OWN ambitions. I am sick and tired of people blaming our Church for all the trouble this world has ever had. It has never been the Magisteriam (teaching authority of the Church) that has given her children false teachings. Jesus promised that would never happen. Although the Church is Holy, the people in it are human and sinners. Even a few popes have been questionable. But as far as teachings regarding Church doctrines and morality, because of the protection of the Holy Spirit, the teachings have never been compromised. So please people, pray for these individuals that they will find their way back home to the true teachings of the Church before they are standing before Jesus one day trying to justify their actions. May God have mercy on their souls. God bless.
Theresa H
11 months ago
Deacon Keith, I also want to say: "Thank you" for this Article--including the quote of Pope Benedict XVI. When we take away the "first Right"--the Right to Life of a child (or an adult--with very few exceptions (CCC 2264ff) "Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" are also negated. And for the living, when we hold to Life only more-or-less, "Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" are also at high risk because of the gradual "darkening of the mind" that is referred to by St. Paul (Eph 4:17ff, etc.)--This is a very, very sad state of affairs that has taken hold in our Country--How true are the words of Pope Paul VI (Humanae Vitae), Bl JP II, and now Pope Benedict XVI! The "Fortnight of Prayer and Penance" must not cease--until we get back to the fundamental basic of LIFE in our beloved Country!
Theresa H
11 months ago
RIchard, you "hit the nail on the head" when you pointed to the mistake of the Bishops in expecting, calling on the "government" to care for the needy, etc., etc.,. It is we, the people, who are supposed to do this--not the government. Governments don't love--it is "people" who are called to "love one another!" Jesus didn't preach to "the government," he preached, he spoke to the people, to his apostles and disciples--to the Church--His Mystical Body, calling on us to care for one another! Yes, the Church has responded in her ministries..., and in every place she shares her bread with the poor, cares for the sick, etc.... (One of the things we, the Church, need to do more of--is help people who can learn, to help themselves more.... Rather than calling on the government. (The "government" doesn't have anything that it doesn't TAKE from the people--and then we are doubly paying-- because we are paying the "government" (people) to take from us for themselves first, and then give some of what we give the government (them) to others!--A bit stupid, I would say!!!)
Robert
11 months ago
Dear Richard Werner,

You nailed it! I ask all catholics to start a voter registration drive at your parish.

Please fellow catholics, do not be the catholic who votes and forces your fellow catholic doctor, nurse, or caregiver to perform procedures against their conscience.

Please fellow catholic, please do not be the catholic who votes to force me to provide birth control, abortifacients to my employess.

I ask fellow catholics to vote to protect my daughter's religious freedom.

I ask fellow catholics to vote for life.

I ask fellow catholics, what good is it to feed the poor while our nation evolves into Soddom and Gommorah?

It is time to for our religious leaders to STAND UP! It is time for the catholics to STAND UP!
gfgrosek
11 months ago

There is no salvation from the United States government. Christ established the church on earth to guide His followers. The ways of the church are vastly more important than the ways of this man made government. The ways of the US government are not the ways of God and should be treated as such. The teachings of the church are all that counts.
What happens in Washington, DC has little importance.
Robert Burford
11 months ago
It is unfortunate to most Americans the Fourth of July only means a day off of work, hot dogs and fireworks. Myself I will work today because that is my job. I am planning on a hot dog and fireworks from our city display and on the TV. I look to the words of our leaders who formed this country but look more to the words of men like John Adams who had a wonderful and loving relationship with his wife Abigale.Jefferson used many of his John Adams words and ideas in his writings.What would men like John Adams think of this relativism in our society today. If he was the moral man I think he was I think he would be appalled.
John Oglander
11 months ago
As an English Catholic person from the Isle of Wight, England, I wish to extend my congratulations and very best wishes to the American people for Independence Day on this 4th July 2012. I hope that Britain and America , together with the rest of the Anglophone world, continue to have close relations. As a Catholic I admire the orthodox faith of many Catholic Americans, and I especially enjoy listing to EWTN and particulary Michael Voris on RealCatholic TV.com. You are also blessed with many orthodox bishops, such as the Cardinal of New York and Archbishop Chaput.
Richard Werner
11 months ago

"GOVERNMENT THAT IS BIG ENOUGH TO GIVE YOU EVERYTHING YOU WANT IS MORE LIKELY TO SIMPLY TAKE EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT." --Ronald Reagan (remarks to the Students and Faculty at St. John's University in New York, New York on March 28, 1985)

How I am saddened by the way our own Catholic Church has failed to recognize its hand in building the monstrous trap that now encloses upon us. The fact is that without the HHS Mandate, our Church would be fully-supportive of the Affordable Care Act, yet this act fuels the vehicle for the mandate.

For almost 50 years, the Church, through its 'social justice' wing, has suggested that it is morally-acceptable to steal (a.k.a. "take" or "tax") from certain elements in order to give to other elements. It should be no wonder that the Church has lost the moral ground: Charity is a virtue, but where government begins, charity ends. And so, morality is relevant to personal perspective.

As a result, we have an entire generation of "Catholics" like Nancy Pelosi, Kathleen Sebelius, and countless others who have worked to confuse the electorate with false doctrine and a teaching of relativism of self-virtue. As we look to repair the damage of the past 50 years, I hope and pray that the USCCB will remember these words and truly work for limited government so that we can all live in liberty.

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