Kerry, Candidate and Catholic, Creates Uneasiness for Church

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Kerry, Candidate and Catholic, Creates Uneasiness for Church

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

Published: April 2, 2004

Senator John Kerry's support for abortion rights and stem cell research has prompted discussions among Roman Catholic bishops and Vatican officials over how to respond to a presidential candidate who professes Catholicism while taking stands contrary to church teaching.
The issue has been a topic in the Vatican this week as bishops from Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina hold long-scheduled meetings with the pope and Vatican officials on a variety of issues.

"They are basically struggling with this, as we are," said one visiting American, Bishop John H. Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee, the chairman of a task force expected to produce guidelines for American bishops on relations with Catholic politicians.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/02/politics/campaign/02KERR.html?th
When will the Catholic Church come to grips with the fact the the US is a secular state and not a Catholic theocracy. What they need do is police themselves and stop trying to impose their dogma on others.

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Ah, the pungent aroma of the horsesh*t which was piled in the public forum when Kennedy ran.

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Setanta
The question is will edicts like this coming out of the church leadership influence peoples vote.

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Also, did Kennedy profess to be in favor of abortion rights? I don't recall, but since it was before Roe v Wade, it was probably not an issue one way or the other.

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Roger
Was no issue at the time. Abortion was illegal. Issues of today were non-existant in those days. Who ever heard of stem cells, cloning and the like.

In fact if memory serves the only issue was would we get the the pope as a silent partner if a Catholic was elected president.

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This is the 2004 political battleground of the culture war, where the fight is not between denominations but between conservatives and liberals across denominational lines.

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Dys' point is well taken. Perhaps ultramontane Catholics, such as Mel Gibson and his father, would be horrified by Kerry's policy stances--but then, they wouldn't need a Vatican policy statement to oppose someone whom they see as ungodly. Frankly, Au, i was disgusted by your suggestion that Catholics would march in lock-step to the polls to do as the Pope ordains. It is just as specious as the hysterical contentions which were made in 1960 that with Kennedy in the White House, the United States would be run by diktat from Rome.

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Setanta

Quote:

Frankly, Au, i was disgusted by your suggestion that Catholics would march in lock-step to the polls to do as the Pope ordains.

You seemed to have misunderstood my question. That is not what I was questioning nor suggesting My question was how any non Catholic votes would a Catholic candidate lose because of the pronouncements from the vatican.

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Well, i would suggest that those who would worry about such a thing are likely to be politically conservative to begin (as well as rather patently clueless), and are likely already Bush supporters. Tempest in a teapot, Boss, in my never humble opinion.

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This might be a little more serious for Mr. Kerry. It comes from the President of the Catholic League, whatever that is.

Quote:

April 2, 2004

MEDIA INTEREST IN KERRY'S CATHOLICISM GROWS

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Personally, I think that the entire issue is ridiculous. As a secular state, if a candidate affirms that he will follow the Constitution, there should be no problem. I think that there IS a problem, when a president attempts to mold the country according to HIS personal world view, the Constitution be damned.

I have observed, that since the late 1960's, our country has moved away from rationality, and towards unquestioning faith. It the Catholic church takes a strong negative stand on Kerry's brand of Catholicism, I think that people will be upset, and he WILL lose votes.

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It's stupid all right. Religion should have no place in US politics. The problem is that if he's shown to be "corrupt" in the eyes of his church, then it makes him look bad as a candidate.

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Yes, Tarantalus, and to that extent, the perceptions of the electorate are fundamentally at odds with the concept of a secular state.

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Kerry, Candidate and Catholic, Creates Uneasiness for Church

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