Americans, conditioned by our history, are very concerned about “our rights.” So before looking at what a Catholic America might look like, let us establish that all human rights are given to us by the Creator. As our Declaration of Independence rightly explains: “they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”

Human rights, then, are not arbitrary but conform to what God has given and allowed. The right to life is one such right. Freedom of speech is a right, but it is limited so as to exclude blasphemy of God. God does not give us a “right” to acts which are contrary to His nature. He gives us a free will and we can sin with it, but He does not give us the protected “right” to sin. Nobody on Judgment Day will protest, “But I had the RIGHT to curse you and commit mortal sins!”

So then, God does not give us the “right” to curse Him, the “right” to kill innocents, nor the “right” to commit sodomy. The rights given by the Creator always conform to the law of the Creator.

With all this mind, what if America were a fully Catholic country, here is what it might look like…

* The newly elected president would recite his oath of office, not only with his hand on the Holy Bible, but kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance held by the Cardinal Archbishop of Washington, DC. within the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. In other words, the President would make his oath directly to Christ.
* January 21, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, would be a perennial day of national penance.
* Holy Matrimony would be honored and recognized as the most fundamental unit of American culture.
* Large families would be encouraged and assisted through the US tax code.
* The White House would no longer have a basketball court or bowling alley, but a glorious and beautiful chapel where the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass would be celebrated daily by a presidential Catholic chaplain.
* Abortion, contraception, sodomy, euthanasia, and divorce would be illegal as these sins are contrary to the natural law. Of course, abused wives would be protected and assisted under law.
* Public blasphemy and the abuse of the most holy name of Jesus would be forbidden in film, television, and music. Think about it: why is not okay to say the F-word on TV but actors are allowed to mock and blaspheme Jesus? Which is worse, abusing God’s name in vain or the F-word?
* The United States would have the greatest foster care system in the world.
* The Catholic Church, not the State, would organize and perform the Seven Corporal Acts of Mercy (feeding the poor, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, etc.)
* US courtrooms would have both the Ten Commandments and a Crucifix of Christ on the wall to proclaim the Justice of God and the Divine Mercy of God.
* All Holy Days of Obligation would become federal holidays and Days of Obligation would not be transferred to Sundays since they would become holidays for all citizens. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday would also become nationally recognized holidays.
According to Saint Thomas Aquinas, the natural law prescribes that parents, not the State, are primarily responsible for the education of children. Saint Paul says: “And you, fathers…educate your children in the discipline and correction of the Lord.” It is the job of fathers, not the State, to educate. This truth of Saint Paul would be recognized by law and encouraged through homeschooling, educational co-ops, parochial schools, and locally governed public schools on the pattern of subsidiarity.
* Mary under her title “Immaculate Conception” is currently the patroness of the United States. She would become featured on our national seal and on our currency.
* Streets, landmarks, parks, national monument, and our currency would be marked by the names and images of great American saints (St Elizabeth Anne Seton, St Katherine Drexel, St John Neumann, St Francesca S. Cabrini, St Rose Philippine Duchesne, St Damien of Molokai).
* American foreign policy would conform to Catholic teaching regarding just war and prohibiting global policing and so-called “preventive wars.”
A cross would be placed on top of the Washington Monument.
* The solemnity of the Immaculate Conception would be a day in which the American bishops and all the faithful annually consecrated the nation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
* Under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception, the United States would become known for its Marian devotion in a way that would rival medieval France and England.
* The principle of subsidiarity would apply to our economic and political arrangement – which would include things like the encouragement of local natural food, local water, local governance, etc.
* The sin of usury in form of credit cards, school loans, and other disadvantaging lending policies would be criminalized as contrary to natural law.
* Our immigration policy would be firm, merciful and just by including a clear and regularized process for citizenship.
* Pornography and even unwholesome advertisements and billboards would be outlawed.
* America would be known as a place where the dignity of women, especially motherhood, is celebrated.
* The bishops nationally or locally could ask civil leaders to appoint certain days as days of national thanksgiving or as days of penance or mourning.
* The clergy (but especially our archbishops and bishops) would not live like royalty in mansions as in previous years but would live penitent and poor lives like great bishops of old such as St Martin of Tours, St Francis de Sales, St Augustine, and St Bonaventure.
* The meetings of the Senate and Congress would begin with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and with prayers and benedictions from the clergy.
* Red Masses invoking the aid of the Holy Spirit would be celebrated regularly to beg prudence for judges, attorneys, law school professors, students, and government officials.
* Those of different religions would be tolerated and by no means forced to convert to Catholicism. Conversion, as the Popes have taught, is an act of the will and people should not be forced through political coercion.

This is what I’m praying for and this is what I’m working for. Not by force, but by patience, penance, and kindness. As Saint Paul wrote:

Do you not know that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4)

It’s not enough to be on defense. It’s not enough to “fix” the HHS debacle. It’s not even enough to overturn Roe v. Wade. We have to be like the early Christians. We have to think like Saint Paul who wanted to convert not only individual souls but the entire Roman Empire. As the Apostle once wrote: “To re-establish all things in Christ!” (Eph1:10), which much later became the motto of Pope Saint Pius X: Instaurare omnia in Christo!