“The unreasonableness of our persecution”: Moderate English Catholics and their struggle for toleration, 1630–1660

Uncertainty had long characterized the lives of early modern Catholics. Prior to the 1630s, members of the community struggled with persecution or, if fortunate, benign neglect. The 1630s, however, marked a noticeable shift in how this community was treated by the Stuart court. A group of English Catholics responded to the changing atmosphere, hoping for toleration and even reunion. These individuals, including Franciscus à Sancta Clara, Thomas White, Henry Holden, Serenus Cressy, and John Austin, attempted to re-create an English Catholic identity. English Catholics had long been stigmatized because of the radicalism of the Jesuits, particularly in the protestant imagination. Jesuits were considered to be ultramontanists, uncompromising doctrinaires, and fifth columnists who were constantly working to undermine the state. In constructing an identity that was rooted in the rhetoric of moderation, moderate Catholics contended that these protestant concerns were stylized and misperceived. They attempted to resolve the inconsistencies associated with their two seemingly incompatible identities, English and Catholic, suggesting that this conciliation now warranted toleration. They thus attempted to un-Jesuit the Catholic image by establishing a religious and political common ground with the protestant majority. To do so, they proclaimed allegiance at first to the monarchy and later to the commonwealth, appeared willing to modify Catholic teachings, and attempted to weaken their ties with the papacy, always prioritizing the common good; they essentially portrayed themselves firstly as good English subjects and secondly as Catholics. Often opportunistic and occasionally adopting dubious theological stances, they capitalized on shifting political moments to secure their lives and properties, to live free of religious persecution, and to acquire power and liberty over their consciences