Jack Downey is John Henry Newman Professor in Roman Catholic Studies at the University of Rochester and author of The Bread of the Strong: Lacouturisme and the Folly of the Cross, 1910-1985. He has been a direct action trainer with the Ruckus Society for over a decade.
This essay reflects on intra-Catholic antagonisms and state-sponsored surveillance throughout the McCarthy era as a tool for considering the hazards of allowing the state to define categories and respectable means of political dissent.