The Evangelical Catholic Church

I came across a recent article from the National Review entitled "The Church in America Has What Global Catholicism Needs." A Catholic in the U.S. could be forgiven for being surprised by a declaration like that. Many prominent online Catholics make a living deriding the Church, and the U.S. bishops are often objects of their derision. Recent events, such as the profane funeral at 'America's Parish Church' (St. Patrick's Cathedral) or prominent U.S. churchman Father James Martin seemingly blatantly sowing confusion about the blessings of same-sex couples on the New York Times front cover, would seem to indicate that the Church in the U.S. is floundering. We receive seemingly constant reminders that vocations are down, and belief in the real presence in the Eucharist is at an all-time low. However, as is often the case with the work of God, appearances may be deceiving.
I agree with the article's main thrust, and I believe that the Church in America has something unique to offer the world. At the risk of being provocative, I would call it "evangelicalism." I do not have in mind any doctrinal positions when I use this word; instead, I mean a particular set of attitudes and behaviors that have grown up, particularly within the United States. By "evangelical," I mean a genuine, sincere personal love for Jesus Christ and a burning desire among all baptized to share Him with the world. The conditions in the U.S. were such that the new evangelization advocated for by Pope St. John Paul II has taken root and is beginning to bloom here in my home country. The U.S. is uniquely rich soil.
America has never been a Catholic country, but she has always been a Christian one. The landscape of American Christianity is one of the most unique quirks of history in the world. Many of her colonies began as places of religious refuge for nonconformists within the Church of England. One could pithily characterize the baptized in colonial America as protestant protestants. They were Baptists, Congregationalists, Puritans, Quakers, Methodists, and of course Catholics.
In the aftermath of the revolution, the Bishops of the Church of England who pledged allegiance to the Crown remained in England. The need for Anglican priests compelled figures like Samuel Seabury of Hamilton fame to negotiate with the Scottish Episcopal Church (itself a unique story) to secure ordination as a Bishop within their tradition. They did so with the understanding that Seabury would bring a distinctly Anglo-Catholic influence into the prayer books of what is now the Episcopal Church. This historical negotiation showcased a continuation of the nonconformist spirit even within the most hierarchical traditions of American Protestantism. Seabury exemplified the passion and initiative inherited from the early American ecclesial communities.
This nonconformist history has shaped American Christianity so that it continues to be marked by passionate true believers comfortable taking initiative and owning their faith. Unlike many in the state churches of the Old World, these early American ecclesial communities held deep convictions. They made arduous journeys across the Atlantic to an unknown world because they ardently believed what they believed. These endeavors required a deep love of Christ and enthusiasm to worship Him as they saw fit. The American experiment owes as much to its nonconformist founding fathers as it does to English and French enlightenments. Some of America's most treasured values, like freedom and work ethic, were brought over on pilgrim ships like the Mayflower.
I believe these values have naturally found their way into the unique charisms of the Catholic Church in America. There are many reasons why this is the case. Firstly, because Catholics have had to fight to find a place in this country as much as any other religious minority; as recently as the 1960's prominent evangelical leaders held crusades urging voters not to let "papists" into the white house for fears the Pope would establish new papal states on our shores. It is much harder to be a lax Catholic when your fellow citizens view you with suspicion. Persecution breeds resolve, enthusiasm, and ingenuity.
Secondly, American protestants are more challenging than European protestants, which has, in turn, produced more solid American Catholics. The United States is still among the most religious countries in the developed world, partly because of the history described above. While "cultural Protestantism" is a problem in many places in the U.S., it is nowhere near the epidemic it is in places like the U.K. American protestants still take their faith seriously. Generations of Catholic Americans have grown up in a world where their beliefs are not the assumed worldview of their peers. They have been asked in school why Catholics worship Mary and why they think they can "earn their way into heaven." Many of their grandparents probably could not read and came here just trying to survive. Still, they now have the opportunity and the responsibility to make the faith their own and access to information they didn't have before. Many have responded to these challenges, securing a new depth to their faith and passing it on to their children.
Finally, in addition to being a diamond-producing external pressure, former committed American protestants have found their way inside the Church. They, too, live in a country where their worldview is no longer assumed. They go looking for answers online and have access to more church history than ever before. They are finding answers to the big questions where they have always been found: in Holy Mother Church. And as these separated brethren return, they bring the Charisms bestowed on them by the Holy Spirit in baptism. Their gifts were forged and sharpened in protestant settings where they practiced skills often neglected by many Catholics. They are charismatic and vocal! They are great preachers and hymn writers! They love Sacred Scripture! Lay Catholics, formerly Protestants, run some of today's most effective apostolates, apologetics, and evangelization ministries. To say lay apostolates are effective and growing in number is not to say that our Shepherds are not doing a great job. That is not my point; look no further than the USCCB's upcoming National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. My point is that though division in the body of Christ is a scandal, Our Lord has blessed His Church through friction with and the addition of separated protestant brothers. St. Paul Street Evangelization is the epitome of this phenomenon I am calling evangelical Catholicism. Ordinary lay Catholics, whose only vows are their baptismal vows, are giving up their Saturdays to preach on the street and pray with strangers. This kind of thing is one step removed from knocking on people's doors (not something I am advocating for, but just painting the picture.) People must admit this kind of thing has what was once a distinctly protestant flair, but no longer. There is a unique hue to Catholicism in America; at our best, we have a deep love for Jesus Christ and an unmatched evangelistic fervor. We are seeing new manifestations of the offices of priest and prophet conferred on all Christians in our baptisms. Praise God, our Church has the Tridentine Mass and street preaching; we should only be so blessed. Let's take stock and recognize how lucky we are, and then pray for the grace to continue the work we are already doing and, Lord willing, bring it to the ends of the Earth.