Ven. Fulton Sheen: ‘The Declaration of Independence Is a Declaration of Dependence’, by Joseph Pronechen
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By Joseph Pronechen, EWTN News, July 4, 2023
Joseph Pronechen is staff writer with the National Catholic Register since 2005 and before that a regular correspondent for the paper. His articles have appeared in a number of national publications including Columbia magazine, Soul, Faith and Family, Catholic Digest, Catholic Exchange, and Marian Helper. ‘Because God made us free, we have rights,’ said Archbishop Sheen. ‘Because God made us creatures, we have duties.’
July 4 is a red- white- and blue-letter day to recall the Declaration of Independence. Who better to give insights about it than Archbishop Fulton Sheen? As perceptive and prophetic as ever of what was to come decades later, Venerable Sheen wrote the book A Declaration of Dependence in 1941, when the United States entered World War II.
“The Declaration of Independence, I repeat, is a Declaration of Dependence,” Sheen emphasized. He continues: We are independent of dictators because we are dependent on God. God is the necessary factor of our salvation. As a result, he is to be the center of our lives. His ways ought to permeate every aspect and area of our lives: education, employment, pleasure, mourning, socializing, etc. All is done in sight of the omnipotent Lord, and all we do should be done reflecting this knowledge. Our every interaction should be filled with the love of our Savior.
