“So, there could have been legitimate fear of him imposing Vatican policies, publicly or undercover.’
True. I was little but distinctly remember my church going neighbor, good lady, refusing to vote JFK because of the Pope. It is a very mixed bag with elites and JFK was an elite even in perhaps nouveau-elite.
On the other hand, Chicago Democrat Catholics were for him 100 percent (minus 1). I was the sole Republican in our Catholic girls school working for Nixon. There wasn’t even the APPEARANCE of a split of allegiance.