In the sixties and seventies Catholic and Communist did seem to go hand in hand. I can’t speak to earlier years but this was my experience. We had a youth group at church and the Parish Priest saw that we needed something to be involved with so he asked and Young Catholic Worker to come around and talk to us.
The guy made a sad mistake asking me the first question. He asked me “What is wrong with your job and the way your boss treats you?” I actually liked my boss and as he was a Parishioner I refused to demean my job or my boss. The guy would not let up on me until it appeared to most he was badgering me. This was my first encounter with leftie bully tactics. Anyway during the break half of us got up and left.
I seemed that back in those days most of the young Catholic groups were hotbeds of Socialism. Later they morphed in Social Justice groups
The late 60s and into the 70s a lot of things were done in the name of “the spirit of Vatican II.” The Baltimore Catechism was thrown out because it was no longer “relevant.” I remember thinking, why are they making us do collages featuring magazine pictures that represent ‘joy’ when I would really like to learn about the virtues? The leftist sure had a good time messing things up.