Thread by @CatholicDems

Still can't get over how much the Filipovic/Bruenig exchange almost perfectly encapsulates the challenges that progressive Catholics face every day. Only thing missing is a conservative - Douthat, let's say - chiming in to say we aren't real Catholics because abortion.

Let's just say that those three arguments are the ones that are lobbed at us - and people like us - all the time.

But here's the thing - those conversations are usually happening in a vacuum, without actual discussion with those who identify as progressive or liberal Catholics. We are in a fairly unique position as to hear from liberal Catholics a lot because of Twitter and Facebook.

And you know what our followers talk about? Number one, they often discuss their frustrations with the Church. Over the last week or so, esp. on Facebook, the most animated discussions have been about Cardinal Dolan.

Number two, they talk about #PopeFrancis and how inspired they are by his leadership. They know he is being challenged by conservative elements of the Church. They don't care. They care that he talks about the things they care about - helping the poor, compassion, God's love.

Number three, unsurprisingly, they talk about how much the current occupant of the WH is hurting the country they love. They care about their immigrant neighbors, people living in poverty, marginalized populations, the LGBTQ community, etc. They know how much he is hurting them

You know what they don't talk about? Socialism, communism, capitalism. They care about inequality, they care about poverty, but they don't get into "angels on the head of a pin" arguments about which system is the One True Economic System.

And finally, yes, they do talk about abortion. Our followers and supporters run the gamut in terms of how they identify. But many of them recognize that MOST people have overlapping identities - both "pro-life" and "pro-choice.

Most progressive and liberal Catholics understand that the binary choice that has been foisted upon most Americans - either you are pro-life OR pro-choice, and woe to you who sees nuance - is a false choice.

They generally want Roe v. Wade to remain the law of the land. They also want to see candidates and others talk about abortion as a moral issue, as President Obama did in the 2008 campaign.

So that's our view - it's easy to characterize the rather large but often overlooked group of liberal and progressive Catholics as one way or the other if you don't spend as much time with them as we do. But we'd suggest immersing yourself in those conversations before you do.

Oh, and one additional thing - a number of the people who follow us on social media are members of communities of color or other vulnerable minority populations. They are Hispanic, Black, and/or AAPI. That is a BIG part of what constitutes the Catholic Left today.

And if you are only talking about liberal Catholics as white liberals, then you are missing a big part of the story.