What is America? Is it a land, molded by geology and industry, and pregnant with legend? Is it a people, shaped by a common history and a shared destiny? Is it a social contract, defined by its founding documents and their principles?
It’s a complicated question, especially for Catholics, who have been suspected and often persecuted on religious, political and ethnic grounds since long before John Hancock placed his name on the Declaration of Independence. Even when we shared the land, we Catholics were considered alien to the people, their political project, and its principles.
