What does it mean to be Catholic?

It seems to me that a great deal of debate over what we call politics or social issues is better described as a dispute over what it means to be Catholic. Instead of writing a piece on what I think, I am very curious to hear what you might have to say.

To that I end, I am going to moderate over the comments, as best I can, in shifts. Any comments that do not fit this general layout will be deleted. The layout goes as follows:

Over the weekend, take some time to simply state what your reply is to the question, “What does it mean to be Catholic?”

You can give anecdotes, further questions, quote literature, and so on, but please do not engage with the other comments in head-on polemics.

On Monday or Tuesday, I will try to compile what was said and open a new post for further discussion. (That is, of course, if this even sounds like a good idea to you. If not, then I’ll ask somewhere else.)