America At 250 — Catholics Gather In Prayer As The Fight For The Nation’s Soul Heats Up

Their witness testifies to the endurance of American Catholics over the past two and a half centuries, whose commitment to prayer — and refusal to be cowed by adversity or hostility — helped establish enduring concepts of human dignity, freedom, and excellence that powerfully shaped the world. Though secular forces seek to undermine Catholic beliefs and influence today, the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast annually reminds our adversaries that Catholicism has historically prevailed against great evil, and accomplished miracles, thanks to the prayers of those who refused to give up on their country or their faith.

Catholics also helped to establish and protect core American freedoms. Cecil Calvert, the Catholic 2nd Baron of Baltimore, was a primary driver behind the 1649 “Act of Toleration,” which made Maryland the first colony to pass religious freedom laws and later influenced the drafting of the First Amendment.

Catholic Bishops staunchly opposed segregation during the Civil Rights movement, while Catholic nuns and an estimated 35 Catholic priests marched in the historic Selma to Montgomery march for voting rights in 1965.

As attacks on religious freedom increasingly threatened Americans’ right to practice their faith in the public sphere, Catholics boldly fought back. In 1993, Catholic lawyer Kevin “Seamus” Hasson founded the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which has won 13 Supreme Court cases in the past 15 years. In 1994, Catholic Alan Sears was a primary founder and president of Alliance Defending Freedom, which is now the leading religious freedom law firm in the world and has played a role in 83 Supreme Court victories.

From attempts to force poor nuns to fund contraception in their healthcare plans, to attacks on pregnancy resource centers for not providing abortions, or pressure on religious employers and business owners to participate in activities that violate their sincerely held religious beliefs, both Becket and ADF have won hard-fought victories and established Supreme Court precedent that protects American freedoms for generations to come.

And at a time when European nations imprison citizens for social media posts and prayer, Catholics at nonprofits and religious freedom firms such as Becket and ADF are leading the fight to protect men, women, children, and ultimately the truth — especially against attempts to allow biological males in women and girls’ sports and spaces, as well as the horrifying trend of transgender surgeries on children.

These fights — over the gender wars, abortion, religious freedom, free speech, immigration — and so many others continue dominating news cycles and evoking despair among many that our nation is irreconcilably damaged and headed towards ruin. Yet on Thursday, Catholics will unite in prayer for the nation’s future at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. As they reflect on the challenges ahead and the past 250 years of American history, they have every reason for optimism.

Catholics faced setbacks and discouragement at every period of our nation’s history, including many grave threats to truth and freedom in America today. Yet Catholic heroes like Jogues, Cabrini, Seton, Gray, Hasson, Sears, and so many others continue to lead us by example, teaching us to meet adversity with the hope and perseverance that only authentic prayer can sustain. I hope attendees of this year’s prayer breakfast take heart from this remarkable Catholic legacy. Through the power of prayer, we can similarly fight the good fight that God has entrusted to each of us for the benefit of our nation, and ultimately the world.

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