Posted on 08/02/2003 5:01:12 AM PDT by ninonitti
Bluntly telling the Vatican to stay out of American politics, U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry yesterday said Pope John Paul II ``crossed the line'' by instructing pols to block legalization of gay marriage.
A fuming Kerry, taking on his own Catholic Church in the midst of a campaign for president, said Rome should have more respect for America's long-held separation of church and state.
``It is important not to have the church instructing politicians. That is an inappropriate crossing of the line in this country,'' Kerry said. ``President Kennedy drew that line very clearly in 1960 and I believe we need to stand up for that line today.''
The Democrat said political concerns are secondary to his moral outrage over Thursday's Vatican statement on gay marriage.
``Our founding fathers separated church and state in America. It is an important separation,'' he said. ``It is part of what makes America different and special, and we need to honor that as we go forward and I'm going to fight to do that.''
Catholics were stunned at the broadside from Kerry, saying he's sure to draw the ire of some 65 million voting Catholics.
``What one often calls separation of church and state guarantees the religion the right to express its convictions,'' said Monsignor Francis Maniscalco of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. ``To object to religious people's deep moral convictions . . . would also create a problem because it would also (fail to) recognize something the First Amendment guarantees.''
Former Vatican Ambassador Raymond Flynn said Kerry was just wrong. ``I don't see it as crossing any line at all,'' Flynn said. ``Too many Catholic politicians want to have it both ways, they want the Catholic vote but then they go ahead and ignore Catholic teaching.''
The Vatican injected itself into the simmering gay marriage debate Thursday, firing off a letter issuing instructions to Catholic politicians to oppose any legalization efforts.
``The Catholic lawmaker has a moral duty to express his opposition (to gay marriage laws) clearly and publicly and to vote against it,'' the directive read. ``To vote in favor of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral.''
The statement followed by a day strong comments from President Bush denouncing gay marriage proposals.
Kerry, who supports civil unions but opposes the legalization of same-sex marriage, took pains to say, ``I believe in the church'' and ``care about it enormously'' but said church leaders went too far.
Alone among Democrats in criticizing the church, Kerry said he didn't weigh the political impact of his statement.
``This isn't a matter of political calculation, it's simply a matter of strong personal beliefs,'' Kerry said.
The Democratic senator also railed against Republicans who this week said Democratic efforts to block the judicial nomination of Alabama Attorney General William H. Pryor were anti-Catholic. One group, the Ave Maria List, ran print ads equating Democrats' opposition to Pryor as saying ``Catholics need not apply'' to the federal judiciary.
``That couldn't be further from the truth. This judge is not a good judge,'' Kerry said. ``He should not be appointed to the court, and many of us who are Catholic voted against him without regard to Catholicism.''
Kerry also continued his criticism of Bush's ``faith-based'' programs, saying he would end government funding to any religious group.
The White House and Kerry's opponents declined comment.
But the Republican National Committee blamed the sudden attack on the growing popularity of Kerry opponent, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.
``It seems like a very odd political strategy to attack the Catholic Church but Howard Dean is forcing Sen. Kerry to take a number of odd positions on a number of odd issues,'' said RNC spokeswoman Christine Iverson.
Yep. Notice how GWB timed his statement against gay marriage? It's almost as if he knew that the association would be made, and that his words would be backed up within 24 hours by JP II's moral authority.
Thanks for your response. For some reason I seem to recall a quote from the saint about the state and salvation. I could be mistaken. Needless to say, Sen. Kerry doesn't seem to have read Aquinas or is very confused about the Common Good. Oh well. The poor Massechussetsians (wow, first time I've ever needed to try to write that(can't be right))will have to endure Mr. Kerrey longer as a senator, because he won't be moving into the white house.
Interesting observation. It's true that Mr. Bush seemed very friendly with the Vatican and American prelates, early in his administration, even attending the opening of the JP II Cultural Center in DC. He had gone to visit the pope in Italy twice.
I'm probably more to the right of Mr. Bush, but he still has my respect and I have not written him off as irrelevent.....just yet.
HYPOCRITE! Isn't this the same man who basked in the claims of "foreign leaders" who want him to win? Where was his cry of indignation at their "crossing the line" into American politics?
BOSTON, March 11, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - As the Massachusetts legislator considers proposals regarding the definition of marriage, Boston's Archbishop Sean O'Malley has issued a strong statement giving the reasons for the Catholic teaching that marriage is the exclusive reserve of one man and one woman. The Massachusetts proposal employs the "compromise" of creating legal "civil unions" and retaining the traditional definition of the word "marriage". The Pope has expressly condemned the so-called civil unions "compromise".
Speaking for the Catholic Church in Massachusetts, O'Malley wrote, "We support the Marriage Affirmation and Protection Amendment as it has been presented, without the introduction of civil unions language." The Archbishop warned that the proposal represents a threat to the freedom of religious communities. We are concerned with proposals to give same-sex couples identical benefits and protections to those given to husbands and wives that pose a grave threat to religious liberty and the freedom of conscience."
To read Archbishop O'Malley's statement in full:
http://www.rcab.org/News/statement0400311.html
That does it! When is the pope going to "bluntly" excommunicate this effing idiot?
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