39. BITESIZE CATECHISM: SAINT PHILIP HOWARD & CATHOLIC TEACHING ON THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

APPETIZER: "Human society can be neither well-ordered nor prosperous unless it has some people invested with legitimate authority to preserve its institutions and to devote themselves as far as is necessary to work and care for the good of all. Every human community needs an authority to govern it. The authority required by the moral order derives from God: "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment." (Romans 13:1-2) The duty of obedience requires all to give due honor to authority and to treat those who are charged to exercise it with respect, and, insofar as it is deserved, with gratitude and good-will. A human law has the character of law to the extent that it accords with right reason, and thus derives from the eternal law. Insofar as it falls short of right reason it is said to be an unjust law, and thus has not so much the nature of law as of a kind of violence. Authority is exercised legitimately only when it seeks the common good of the group concerned and if it employs morally licit means to attain it. If rulers were to enact unjust laws or take measures contrary to the moral order, such arrangements would not be binding in conscience. In such a case, authority breaks down completely and results in shameful abuse.” (see CCC #1897-1903)

MAIN COURSE: Thomas Howard, the Fourth Duke of Norfolk, and his wife, Lady Mary Fitzalan, gave birth to their only child, Philip Howard, on June 28, 1557. A bright future was predicted for young Philip, but his life began during a troubled time, and nothing could be taken for granted. Philip’s father, the Duke, decided he should strengthen the family position, so he arranged a marriage between Philip and  Anne Dacre when they were still children. They was married when Philip was 14. 

Soon after, Anne fell under the strong influence of her Catholic grandmother, Lady Mounteagle. Philip had been baptized Catholic but was raised in the  the Church of England (called the Episcopal Church in the USA).   This oppositon-church was begun by the Queen Elizabeth's father. Henry VIII, as an alterntive to the Catholic Church. This came about because Henry wanted to divorce and remarry for the sake of a male heir.  The Pope responded to the king's actions with a stinging reminder of the sanctity and lifelong union of matrimony. And so began the persecution of any Catholic in the UK who remained loyal to the Holy Father and who would not join this new church. 

Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth

It turned out that Queen Elizabeth was more fierce and retaliatory in persecuting the Catholic Church that her father had been. Under her reign it became punishable by death to simply attend Catholic Mass or give shelter to a priest. In 1571, Philip’s father, Duke Thomas, was involved in an uprising against the Queen and was sentenced to death. 

Official portrait of St. Phillip Howard, Earl of Arundel

At age 19, Philip then took the Oath of Supremacy to the Crown (which meant rejecting the Pope as leader of the Church) and was introduced to Court. His father had warned him not to get too involved in the Court and always to cherish his wife, but Philip, enamored with the glitz and pomp, was soon ignoring that wise advice. He fell right in with the young courtiers, spent money freely, and partied openly. He also neglected Anne and became a “ladies’ man”. The fact that he was married did not stop him from enjoying a playboy lifestyle. Anne heard of his unfaithfulness and went to live with Philip’s grandfather, the Earl of Arundel.

Philip's castle-home as the Earl of Arundel

In 1581, his grandfather died, and Philip succeeded him as the Earl of Arundel and the premier Earl of England. He was now a member of the House of Lords and began to get involved in public affairs. This required that he spend less time at Court, and slowly, he and Anne began to reconnect. Her gentle ways and kindness began to win him over. She also felt herself being pulled back to the Catholic Church. but was afraid that telling her husband might jeopardize their fragile relationship. She had no idea that Philip was feeling the same way about Catholicism. He had heard a debate a year earlier between Fr. (now Saint) Edmund Campion and some Church of England clergymen. He was very impressed by Campion’s arguments. However, the social and personal implications of taking up Catholicism in England were profound. Still, after hearing Father Campion and devoting himself to constant prayer, Philip reverted to the Catholic Church and reconciled with his wife.

However, Philip had become a favorite of Queen Elizabeth during his years at Court. The Queen became suspicious of his reconciliation with Anne after she heard that Anne had returned to Catholicism. She had Anne arrested, and her and Philip’s first child, a daughter, was born in prison. Elizabeth did not know that Philip had also become Catholic. His return to the Catholic Church meant a complete change of lifestyle for him. He had a priest staying in his home in London and had Mass said every day which was illegal and punishable by imprisonment or death. Prayer became a regular part of his life.

St. Philip Howard dressed for Royal Court Parties

Philip as Earl of Arundel continued to attend the House of Lords and the Court, but he avoided attending official Church of England services by making various excuses. He desperately wanted to serve the Catholic cause. Being suspicious of his absences from services in the government-sanctioned religion, Elizabeth had Philip under surveillance. Using a traitor-priest as a spy, the Queen sent a fake letter to Philip as if it came from a Catholic Cardinal. It recommended he go to Belgium for instruction in the Faith, even though it was illegal for Catholics to leave England. Philip took the bait and boarded a ship where he was immediately arrested. He was taken to the Tower of London on April 25, 1585.

The charges against him included being a Roman Catholic and sharing in “Jesuit plots.” He was fined and imprisoned at the Queen’s pleasure. He was offered his freedom if he would carry the Sword of State before the Queen to church which would be a form of rejecting the Catholic Faith. He refused. Queen Elizabeth sentenced Philip to death. However, she never signed his death warrant. So he was kept permanently in fear of execution and languished in prison for more than 10 years.  He was a great dog-lover and one favor granted him was that his pet dog was allowed to stay with him in prison.

Philip Howard died on a martyr on October 19, 1595, of dysentery brought on by ill treatment and neglect. His final prayer, while holding his rosary, was “Lord, Thou art my hope”. Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel, was canonized by Pope Paul VI on April 25, 1970. He is counted as one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales and his feast day is October 19.

St. Philip Howard in his Tower of London prison with his pet dog.

The history of the Catholic Church has been marked in every century of its’ existence by persecution from abusive governments who seek power, prestige and position over the common good. St. Philip Howard’s life shows us that some corrupt governments do not try to eliminate religion but seek to manipulate and pervert it. They know that the spirit of religion is built-into the human person and so they attempt to make a church that is at the service of the government. Such is the case in our own times when the Chinese Communist Party established a rival organization called the Patriotic Catholic Church that declared its independence from the pope. The majority of Chinese Catholics have rejected this fake church and suffer much for this rejection. Sadly, such fidelity and heroism by the majority was not the case in Elizabethan England of the 16th century.

In our own nation we see the Church being ridiculed and persecuted in a different way than that experienced by St. Philip and the martyrs of England and Wales. In the USA and many Western nations that were once at least ostensibly Christian, an aggressive secular (that is, anti-religious) spirit pervades the media and had invaded a significant portion of the government. Laws are passed that make it difficult to impossible for the Church to carry out its works of service. These laws are worded so as to even override a Christian conscience. As God’s Word and the Catechism teach, in such cases these are not just laws, that is, laws that reflect the common good and the dignity of the human person. It is the duty of the believing Christian to engage in the social and political realm to advocate for just laws that respect the human person, the family, the poor and the vulnerable as well as the free practice of religion in places of worship and in a believer’s daily life. In the USA we do this through voting for worthy candidates for local, state and national office as well as becoming personally involved on some level in social justice and political action.

DOGGIE-BAG: A little something to take with you for spiritual snacking…

Holy Quotes…

“The more affliction we endure for Christ in this world, the more glory we shall obtain with Christ in the next.” (Inscription by St. Philip Howard on his prison wall)

“American Catholics are committed to building a society which is truly tolerant and inclusive, to safeguarding the rights of individuals and communities, and to rejecting every form of unjust discrimination. With countless other people of good will, they are likewise concerned that efforts to build a just and wisely ordered society respect their deepest concerns and their right to religious liberty. That freedom remains one of America’s most precious possessions. And, as my brothers, the United States Bishops, have reminded us, all are called to be vigilant, precisely as good citizens, to preserve and defend that freedom from everything that would threaten or compromise it.” (Pope Francis visit to USA, 2015)

Prayer for Religious Freedom

O God our Creator, from your provident hand we have received our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You have called us as your people and given us the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God, and your Son, Jesus Christ.

Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit, you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world, bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel to every corner of society. We ask you to bless us in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty. Give us the strength of mind and heart to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened; give us courage in making our voices heard on behalf of the rights of your Church and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.

Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father, a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters gathered in your Church in this decisive hour in the history of our nation, so that, with every trial withstood and every danger overcome—for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and all who come after us—this great land will always be “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Responsible Citizenship

Lord, keep this nation under your care. Bless the leaders of our land that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to the other nations of the earth. Grant that we may choose trustworthy leaders, contribute to wise decisions for the general welfare, and serve You faithfully in our generation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

A Guideline to Voting with a Catholic Christian Conscience

When preparing to vote on any election on any level, a Catholic conscience enlightened by the Word of God and the teaching of Christ's Church asks...

1. Does the candidate and his/her platform uphold and defend the inalienable right to life of the unborn, the mentally or physically challenged, and the sick elderly?

2. Does the candidate and his/her platform stand up for traditional marriage as created by God and the primacy of the human family as the most important unit in society?

3. Does the candidate and his/her platform assure the protection of basic human rights of all people, no matter who they are or where they come from, in food, housing, education, employment, and healthcare?

4. Does the candidate and his/her platform have a responsible approach to the environment that respects the primacy of human need and sustains the gift of creation?