Luke 10:19, Jesus declares, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; nothing shall by any means hurt you." This verse is often interpreted in two ways: literally, as a promise of protection against physical venom (cited in Acts 28:3-6 where Paul survives a viper bite), and figuratively, representing spiritual authority over demonic forces and evil.
The Catholic Church has been a political force in Europe for more than a millennium and more than a fifth of all Americans were either raised or are practicing Catholics. Bilateral ties with the Papal States were established in 1848 but lapsed in 1867, in large part because of increasing anti-Catholic sentiment in the United States, which was fueled by the conviction and hanging of Mary Surratt, a Catholic who was part of theconspiracy to assassinatePresident Abraham Lincoln.
Re-establishing relations with the Vatican turned out to be a long and often bumpy road, as many Americans, including some Catholics, opposed bilateral ties on the grounds they would somehow undermine Constitutional separation of church and state. The United States and the Holy See finally announced the establishment of diplomatic relations on January 10, 1984 during the Reagan Administration.
https://adst.org/2015/09/establishing-relations-with-the-holy-see/
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