I'm really happy that I was raised Catholic because it's given me years of material.
I went to Catholic school and they basically just said don't have sex, but would never explain anything.
I was brought up a Catholic and I was quite fervent, because I was sent to a convent school.
At the political level, most Jews and most Catholics have accepted the liberal idea of religious freedom.
The reality of life in Northern Ireland is that if you were Protestant, you learned British history, and if you were Catholic, you learned Irish history in school.
My dad was such a bigot. He was a horrible, self-centred person. He was really racist and he'd talk about the Jews and blacks and Catholics even.
You see, some non-Catholic friends of mine have questioned the depth of my faith because of the fact that I have a good education.
America is the first great experiment in Protestant social formation. Protestantism in Europe always assumed and depended on the cultural habits that had been created by Catholic Christianity.
With my Roman Catholic upbringing, I have a set of principles that serve me well in good times and bad.
In the United States there's a Puritan ethic and a mythology of success. He who is successful is good. In Latin countries, in Catholic countries, a successful person is a sinner.
Growing up in a New Jersey suburb, my Catholic faith was an important part of my young life, shaping the way I approached the world.
The things of Catholic life are never boring because we have such a rich tradition and so many stories to tell.
I wish we had more visible Christian and Catholic leaders who talked about love.
Every kid that goes to Catholic school believes he's going to be a priest one day.
Everyone - whether it's the Jews, the Greeks, the Catholics - everybody is entitled to religious beliefs and entitled to their traditions.
I'm not a Johnny-come-lately Jew. I've been around. I watch out for the Jews; I watch out for the Catholics.
I suppose I'm a lapsed Catholic. You would consider me an atheist or agnostic.
But I have to add - and this answers your other question - this catholicity in time and in space is only meaningful for me if there is, at the same time, a concentration on the Gospel.
The problem with being British... I don't know if it's me being British or being raised a strict Catholic, but you never really enjoy success.
Thus the slogan should be reversed: Catholics taught the world what music is supposed to sound like, and, more importantly, what it is supposed to mean.
Catholics are every bit as diverse as any other sort of voters out there, with conservative Democrats and moderates.
