Catholics Responses to the Spanish Civil War
April marks 80 years since the end of the Spanish Civil War, in which the Nationalists defeated the Republicans. Both groups were diverse coalitions, with the Nationalists comprised of groups from monarchists to fascists while the Republicans contained liberal democrats to anarchists. The Catholic Church found itself thrust into the
Dougherty’s Movie Boycott
On May 23, 1934, Cardinal Dougherty called on all Catholics living in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to boycott motion picture theaters.[1] By doing so, Dougherty declared it sinful for any of the area’s 800,000 Catholics to enter a movie theater. In his letter to the priests of the Archdiocese, Dougherty
An “Un-American Invention”?: Catholics and the Issue of Prohibition
The 18th Amendment which outlawed the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol was ratified on January 16, 1919. The amendment was passed with the belief that by banning alcohol many of the negative aspects associated with drunkenness would be removed from society. For this reason, many Protestant religions embraced the
Victory Mass
With the outbreak of World War II, the Catholic Church in America declared their support to the American war effort. Nowhere was this more evident than in Philadelphia, when Cardinal Dougherty held a Mass to “obtain from the mercy of God our country’s victory.”[1] The Mass was scheduled for