Study Catholic History!

Don John of Austria

I love Christopher Check! He has a wonderful CD about the battle of

Lepanto. It begins with a discussion of Catholic history and the reason we Catholics in America are so ignorant of it. It's because we've been raised with British, Protestant history. So all the important events that shaped western civilization as impacted by the Church are ignored. 

When I was home schooling I remember checking out a history series from a Protestant publisher Abeka that taught about the Protestant religious "awakening" in America but said not one word about the Spanish Catholic explorers in California and Florida. You could read about the "first" colony in Massachusetts, but nothing about the Spanish colonies founded 100 years earlier.

Those Who Are Ignorant of History Are Often Anti-Religious Bigots!

Hillaire Belloc - early 20th c. historian

I was on a website recently reading the comments. Sadly the amount of X-rated name calling, not to mention ignorance, was staggering. If you want to read some of what passes for discussion today, check it out here.

Now I try (and often fail) to argue in the classical sense. You know -- define your terms, present your argument (i.e. your thesis backed up by facts), and ask cogent questions of your opponent in the debate. I try not to rant. What you'll notice if you bother to scroll through the comments is that ranting is exactly what is going on. "I'm an atheist.. and you are an f...... blockhead!" pretty much summarizes some of the "comments on the article.

Now if I were the moderator at Spero Forum I would not allow that obscenity to be posted. But I'm not. The reason, however, that I found the discussion so interesting was the obvious ignorance of so many of those commenting. One self-described atheist blames religion for all the evils of history. You can guess what he refers to as "proof"--

Imagine the History of the U.S. Told from a Catholic Point of View

It would include many primary sources including the first hand accounts of eight North American martyrs (six Jesuit priests and two laymen) who lost their lives serving the native Americans of the northeast. George Bancroft, a leading 19th century historian who wrote a 10-volume history of the United States, described the influence of the French missionaries:

The history of the Jesuit mission is connected with the origin of every celebrated town in the annals of French America. Not a cape was turned, not a river entered, but a Jesuit led the way. 

And, thanks to the internet, the biggest library in the world, the first hand accounts  of the martyrs' exploits are readily available to anyone interested in reading them.  They begin in 1610 and conclude in 1791. And what a story! For virtue, courage, and the love of neighbor you cannot find better examples. It was these men who first valued the Indians enough to record their language. It's interesting to consider that those parts of the world where Catholic missionaries settled, intermarriage with the native populations was common in contrast to English settlements where native populations were considered inferior and were treated as servants of the English at best.

Read about the North American martyrs and marvel at their courage and perseverance. They are what being a Catholic should be. They weren't community organizers seeking power, but servants of those they saw as neighbors. St. Isaac Jogues and company, pray for us.