zippy: I agree, and don’t find it difficult to separate being Catholic from being American. Abortion is a great example. I oppose it on moral grounds, but recognize that it is the law of the land, and if it is to be changed it has to be done within the system.

I disagree with Joe Biden’s stance on abortion, but also recognize that Joe Biden the Catholic and Joe Biden the Senator are, in many ways, separate entities.

I recall watching news footage in one of my PoliSci classes when JFK was elected and laughing at the outright hysteria from some of the reporters about a Catholic “takeover” of the US once Kennedy came to power. As though the Pope was going to start giving orders to Jack Kennedy on things were gonna be from now on.

Catholics, on balance, have done a good job of balancing their beliefs with their role as citizens, as have mainstream Protestants. Where I part company with evangelicals is the notion that America is God’s “country” and anyone not in lockstep with that position is guilty of some sort of heresy. The Religious Right have corrupted and co-opted the Republican Party to the point that it really isn’t recognizable anymore as the party of Reagan or Goldwater. Time to take it back, and get back to our core beliefs.