Catholics are infested with the same cross section of elites, academics, blue-collar, free thinkers, etc., as the rest of society. We have our fair share who go to Mass on Sunday and live the rest of the week as if they don't know Christ. In this case, it was really economic fear and the thing that even the hierarchy doesn't get is that it was the policies of democratic administrations and congresses that got us into the mess.
Lending institutions, being pressured to give toxic, subprime loans to credit unworthy borrowers is a factor in the creating the financial mess in which we find ourselves. The greedy loan institutions were able to get away with this because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took them off the hook, so all could enrich themselves. Demand for housing went up, as did the cost of housing as demand outstripped supply with this new initiative in play. Mr. & Mrs. Jones on Main Street were caught up in this false economy and paid $379,000 for a home now worth $229,000. That money is lost.
The Democrats gained politically by the economic woes that they created with their stealth implementation of socialism. The Democrats sabotaged our economy and now will take it over because the Republicans get the blame. Clueless Catholic voters did their share to help vote in the culture of death.