- Feb 5, 2002
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The GOP vice-presidential candidate sounds an awful lot like the Catholic Democrats of old—compromising his faith for the sake of political gain.
In 1960, then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy set a standard for Catholic politicians seeking federal office in a nation still viscerally anti-Catholic. In a speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts declared that he separates church from state in his soul. He was not ambiguous about which had priority.
In a speech delivered at the University of Notre Dame entitled “Religious Belief and Public Morality: A Catholic Governor’s Perspective,” Cuomo gave the impression of a conscience wrestling with the abortion issue that his Church opposed but his party supported. In fact, Cuomo developed the Kennedy Doctrine to cover support for immorality in what became known as the “Personally Opposed, But” argument. The “Personally Opposed” half insincerely genuflects to Catholicism by acknowledging its teaching against abortion and the holders’ claimed abhorrence of it. The “But” half trumps the former by claiming that the politician cannot impose his personal religious beliefs on Americans, so the politician can support abortion in office.
Continued below.
www.catholicworldreport.com
In 1960, then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy set a standard for Catholic politicians seeking federal office in a nation still viscerally anti-Catholic. In a speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts declared that he separates church from state in his soul. He was not ambiguous about which had priority.
In 1984, when abortion, after over a decade of political vacillation, had hardened as a good to Democrats and an evil to Republicans, Catholic Democrats were seeking some justification for choosing their party over their faith in an election year that featured Catholic and abortion-supporting Geraldine Ferraro as vice-presidential candidate under Walter Mondale. New York Governor Mario Cuomo stepped forward to present a solution.
In a speech delivered at the University of Notre Dame entitled “Religious Belief and Public Morality: A Catholic Governor’s Perspective,” Cuomo gave the impression of a conscience wrestling with the abortion issue that his Church opposed but his party supported. In fact, Cuomo developed the Kennedy Doctrine to cover support for immorality in what became known as the “Personally Opposed, But” argument. The “Personally Opposed” half insincerely genuflects to Catholicism by acknowledging its teaching against abortion and the holders’ claimed abhorrence of it. The “But” half trumps the former by claiming that the politician cannot impose his personal religious beliefs on Americans, so the politician can support abortion in office.
Continued below.
Politics before faith: JD Vance follows Kennedy and Cuomo
www.catholicworldreport.com
