John Carroll Pastoral Letter Of 1792 Summary

In an excerpt from his “Pastoral Letter of 1792”, Bishop John Carroll, two years after being ordained as the first bishop in America, narrates the importance of educating children in the ways and teachings of God and the church. The purpose of his letter is to convince people, specifically parents in the diocese of Baltimore and in all of Catholic America, of the urgency for children to receive a Catholic education, and later expands this idea to advertise Georgetown University, a Catholic institution, which had opened three years prior, in 1789. He adopts an altruistic and encouraging yet earnest tone in addressing the audience in order to persuade their outlook on Catholic education. Bishop John Carroll begins his pastoral letter by addressing

He uses rhetorical questions that provoke the audience to come to a conclusion that is supported by Carroll’s ideas. In asking “Now who can contribute so much to lighten this burden, which weighs so heavy on the shoulders of the pastors of souls and who can have so great an interest and special duty in forming youthful minds to habits of virtue and religion, as their parents themselves?” (par. 3), Bishop John Carroll addresses parents directly, emphasizing the importance of their role in bringing up their children in the “discipline and correction of the Lord.” (par. 3) Carroll highlights the gravity of this duty and appeals to the audience’s desire to give their children the opportunity for a successful future by calling the effects of raising children under “obedience to the will of God” (par. 3) as having “lasting effects, not only on the present, but on future generations.” (par. 2) He also engages the reader by relating to people’s hopes that their children will offer them “support and consolation in sickness and old age.” (par. 3) This accentuates the benefits not only for the “common country”, but for “[their] own happiness.” (par. 3) This encourages parents to raise their children under the teachings and principles of God by pointing out the responsibility that those parents bear, and acknowledging the positive effects of this obligation by presenting the benefits of a Catholic education for their children and