Michael,
I seem to recall an earlier column of your's in which you describe a connection of  Benjamin Franklin to the brother of Charles Carroll when the two were on a trip to Montreal in attempts to sway Canadians toward the rebellion.  Franklin became ill, and was forced to return home.  He was accompanied by Carroll's brother, a priest and ex-Jesuit (as they were suppressed at the time).  Vatican  commissaries later approached Franklin in Paris, as they wished to establish diplomatic connections with the new nation.  Franklin firmly rejected the idea of any collaboration between a religion and the new republic.  But he did comment that on a purely personal aside, he thought that John Carroll would be an excellent choice.
I loved the anecdote . obviously, and wondered if I have associated it incorrectly?