Guide to Documents Relating to French and British North America in ...

Villars, vicars general of the diocese of Quebec in Paris; Watrin, a missionary with long experience
in the illinois country; Carroll, bishop of Baltimore; and Whelan, a fonner sea-chaplain before
becoming a missionary in the American republic. It is all too easy to add one name after another to
that list. What has to be noted, however, is not the quantity of Propaganda's correspondents, but their
most important qualifications -- they were all active participants in the history of North America for
the two centuries discussed here. They saw the New World change before their very eyes and were
often the instruments of that change. Through their letters, requests, queries, descriptions, reports and
petitions, Propaganda officials too became part of the process.
The reason why Propaganda's attitude towards North America changed, as did that of France and
England, is twofold. On the one hand, as important members of a European government who lived in
the centre of the Catholic world, the officials of Propaganda shared most experiences and indeed the
same reality as their counterparts in other European capitals. Points of view could be and often were
different, but the general frame of reference was the same. North America found its way into that
frame of reference in the second half of the eighteenth century, first with the Seven Years War, then
with the American Revolution, later still in the period of the French Revolution. 82 From this perspective,
Propaganda (together with the Holy See in general) changed its attitude towards North America
according to a pattern that was similar to that of all other European govenments who had a way in the
international balance of power. On the other hand, Propaganda's relationship with its North American
correspondents made its case very special, similar only to that of France and England. From 1622
onwards, letters poured in that portrayed the changing reality of the New World as experienced by
those who lived there. Little by little, Propaganda officials came to share their correspondents' ideas,
viewpoints, perceptions and images. In Rome, as well as in London and Paris, decisions regarding
North America were made according to a frame of reference that was deeply influenced by those
Europeans who had chosen to live in the New World.
6. CONCLUSIONS
We have examined the general framework of the relationship between Rome and North America
and shown how Propaganda's attitude towards the New World changed according to a pattern similar
to that of France and England. At this point, one is likely to be confronted by the obvious question:
Did the Holy See's policies toward North America have any real impact on the development of its
history? In the past, Catholic historians made no distinction between the Holy See and Catholicism in
general. The two were equated under a missiological interpretation that portrayed the progress of
religion in a particular country (Canada or the United States).83The case of Spanish and Portuguese
America (which has already been discussed) shows that recognition of the role played by Catholicism
in shaping the historical development of the New World does not necessarily mean that the Holy See
had any part in it. Recently, other historians have simply taken for granted the importance of
Catholicsm in the New World, and found that the Holy See had in fact hindered the development of
the Catholic church in the United States in the period immediately following the War of American
Independence. 84
This writer believes that the question of the real impact of the Holy See upon North American
development cannot be answered in general tenns, but only with reference to specific areas, people and
times. In the Newfoundland example that introduces this chapter, one could argue that the intervention
of the Holy See was a mere fonnality, since O'Donel's appointment had already been decided upon
in St. John's and Waterford, and Propaganda simply took note of a decision already made and recorded
it in its files. One could also argue, however, that the roundabout journey of the petition of the citizens
of Newfoundland shows the general awareness of the Holy See's final say on the matter. Had
Propaganda refused to comply with the request to appoint O'Donel, the island would have been left
in the hands of those two or three "scandalous" priests, who, like others before them, had been unable
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