Letters to the Editor
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one small clarification
I think it would be wise to keep in mind that we're talking about the American Catholics and not Catholics in general. While I can't speak for any other strain, I do find that the Canadian brand of Catholicism is alot less incendiary than the American one. At the various churches I've been to throughout my life homilies have been largely tame stuff - treat your neighbour well, put your faith in the Lord, etc etc. The few times I've been to American Catholic churches (and yes, my sample size is obscenely small...about a dozen times in MA and NY and FL) it seems the priests are using the homilies to rail against social wedge issues like teh gays and abortion. It was actually quite jarring the first time I heard it (what with the fact that I normally zone in and out of homilies ;)
My feeling is that there's some "keeping up with the jonses" going on in the US Catholic Church - in order to stay relevant they have to keep pace with the stridency of the more vocal protestant churches.
I dunno...I could be way off, but that's how it's felt to me - Catholicism in America is way more politicized than in Canada, and it has led to a caricaturization of what it means to be a Catholic - no gays, no abortions, and that's pretty much it.