To Ganganelli With Love: John Carroll and Charles Plowden’s Realist Theology of Intra-Catholic Toleration Amid the Suppression of the Jesuits and American Independence

This paper examines the transatlantic correspondence between ex-Jesuits John Carroll, first American Catholic bishop, and Charles Plowden, Stonyhurst rector and English Provincial, from Thomas Jodziewicz’s recent critical edition. After the Suppression of the Society of Jesus and American Independence, they articulate a realist theology of intra-Catholic toleration: Rome, via the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, must tolerate “institutional Jesuit Catholicism” (ex-Jesuit properties, missions, schools, and clergy) in the nascent United States to avert spiritual ruin. They framed the Suppression, under Pope Clement XIV (Ganganelli) and perpetuated by perceived CPF corruption, as intra-Catholic intolerance threatening apostasy and decline. Carroll emerges as a nationalist clergy mobilizer, embracing republican pluralism to envision Catholicism as contributing to the new nation’s religious fabric. This minority-Catholic perspective illuminates religious freedom, institutional integrity, and future-oriented visions at the Revolutionary founding, aligning with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the presidential theme “FUTURE/S.”