I’m uncomfortable with injecting the “anti-Catholic” accusation into the 2016 conversation. I’m willing to be persuaded by evidence, but I don’t think the Republican Party is guilty of anti-Catholic rhetoric and signalling – certainly nothing on the level of what was said and intended by Republicans decrying “rum, Romanism, and rebellion” in 1884.
Even the 1960 election, which pitted Republican Vice President Richard Nixon against an Irish Catholic senator from Massachusetts, anti-Catholic rhetoric and sentiment were not only palpable, but also socially acceptable.
Sure, Trump traded barbs with the pope, plenty of Republican politicians and conservative media figures have said intemperate, unkind things about the Holy Father. Trump’s comments were mild compared to what I have read on sites like The Federalist and First Things and have heard from well-regarded Catholic commentators.
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