Washington the Freemason By: Christ the King Law Center (CKLC)
Editor's Note: The following is a modified abstract of a paper presented at a seminar held by Christ the King Law Center (CKLC) on October 5, 2013 titled Is the Constitution Catholic?
So what is the point of this whole presentation? Are we calling for the immediate establishment of a Catholic state in the United States? We earnestly desire the establishment of such a state and everyone should do everything in their power to obtain it! Unfortunately this does not appear possible under the current conditions of American society. Nevertheless we are not stating that the current government established under this Constitution is illegitimate and therefore does not require our submission to it since our Faith teaches us to “let every soul be subject to higher powers: for there is no power but from God, and those that are, are ordained of God.” [1] And furthermore we do not state that a Catholic cannot support and defend the Constitution of the United States since that Constitution provides for a mechanism in order for it to be amended [2] if we disagree with how it is written [3]. In fact since the original ten amendments were ratified the Constitution has been amended seventeen times.
Instead what we seek is to show Catholics that the Constitution is not an infallible document. In its present form the Constitution does not adequately protect the freedom of the Church and contradicts traditional Catholic doctrine on the proper relationship between Church and State. Even some of the most “conservative” Justices of the Supreme Court have agreed to an interpretation of the Constitution that forbids the establishment of a Catholic state even if the overwhelming majority of American citizens are Catholic. Furthermore these same Justices agree to an interpretation of the Constitution that makes the laws of the state superior to the laws of God and the Church and therefore contradicts the teachings of Scripture which states that when there is a conflict between God’s laws and man’s “We must obey God rather than men”. [4]
Only once we have recognized these problems in our current Constitution can we begin to find a solution to the crisis in our society. But that solution cannot be found in the judgments of men such as James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington but in the decrees of Our Lord Jesus Christ who is King not just of our hearts but also of our nation as a whole. As Pope Pius XI wrote in his Encyclical Quas Primas (On the Feast of Christ the King):
“When once men recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony.” [5]
[1] Romans 13:1.
[2] See U.S. Const. art. V.
[3] See U.S. Const. amend. I.
[4] Acts 5:29.
[5] Pius XI, Encyclical Quas Primas (1925) 19.
Editor's Note: The following is a modified abstract of a paper presented at a seminar held by Christ the King Law Center (CKLC) on October 5, 2013 titled Is the Constitution Catholic?
So what is the point of this whole presentation? Are we calling for the immediate establishment of a Catholic state in the United States? We earnestly desire the establishment of such a state and everyone should do everything in their power to obtain it! Unfortunately this does not appear possible under the current conditions of American society. Nevertheless we are not stating that the current government established under this Constitution is illegitimate and therefore does not require our submission to it since our Faith teaches us to “let every soul be subject to higher powers: for there is no power but from God, and those that are, are ordained of God.” [1] And furthermore we do not state that a Catholic cannot support and defend the Constitution of the United States since that Constitution provides for a mechanism in order for it to be amended [2] if we disagree with how it is written [3]. In fact since the original ten amendments were ratified the Constitution has been amended seventeen times.
Instead what we seek is to show Catholics that the Constitution is not an infallible document. In its present form the Constitution does not adequately protect the freedom of the Church and contradicts traditional Catholic doctrine on the proper relationship between Church and State. Even some of the most “conservative” Justices of the Supreme Court have agreed to an interpretation of the Constitution that forbids the establishment of a Catholic state even if the overwhelming majority of American citizens are Catholic. Furthermore these same Justices agree to an interpretation of the Constitution that makes the laws of the state superior to the laws of God and the Church and therefore contradicts the teachings of Scripture which states that when there is a conflict between God’s laws and man’s “We must obey God rather than men”. [4]
Only once we have recognized these problems in our current Constitution can we begin to find a solution to the crisis in our society. But that solution cannot be found in the judgments of men such as James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington but in the decrees of Our Lord Jesus Christ who is King not just of our hearts but also of our nation as a whole. As Pope Pius XI wrote in his Encyclical Quas Primas (On the Feast of Christ the King):
“When once men recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony.” [5]
[1] Romans 13:1.
[2] See U.S. Const. art. V.
[3] See U.S. Const. amend. I.
[4] Acts 5:29.
[5] Pius XI, Encyclical Quas Primas (1925) 19.
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