They stand among the most eloquent words that John F. Kennedy never said. Instead, they exist in writing only \u2014 forming the speech Kennedy was scheduled to deliver at the Trade Mart in Dallas to influential business and research leaders early in the afternoon of Nov. 22, 1963.<\/p>\n
Kennedy was assassinated en route to the gathering, and the words hovered in obscurity amid the panic and devastation that followed\u2026<\/p>\n
\u2026For those who continue to ruminate on Kennedy\u2019s truncated legacy, the words have become something of an unintentional last will and testament \u2014 a soaring call for progress in space exploration, civil rights, national security, foreign aid and even in critical thinking.<\/p>\n
And it quoted freely from the Bible, invoking broad religious sentiments that may seem surprising coming from Kennedy. The nation\u2019s only Roman Catholic president is better known for proclaiming a strict separation of church and state during the 1960 presidential campaign, seeking to allay fears that he would take orders from the Vatican.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe, in this country, in this generation, are \u2014 by destiny rather than by choice \u2014 the watchmen on the walls of world freedom,\u201d the text said, alluding to Isaiah, chapter 62.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve \u2026 the ancient vision of \u2018peace on earth, good will toward men,\u2019 \u201d the text continued, quoting from the angels\u2019 announcement of Jesus\u2019 birth in Luke 2.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength,\u201d Kennedy would have continued, concluding with a nod to Psalm 127. \u201cFor as was written long ago: \u2018except the Lord keep the city, the watchmen waketh but in vain.\u2019 \u201c<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And there\u2019s this, on Kennedy\u2019s Catholicism:<\/p>\n
Despite political calculations \u2014 and despite Kennedy\u2019s now-well-known adultery and urbane reputation \u2014 he maintained a devout Catholic practice, writes author Thurston Clarke in the new book, \u201cJFK\u2019s Last Hundred Days.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFew presidents have been as religiously observant as Kennedy, yet reluctant to discuss their faith,\u201d Mr. Clarke wrote. Kennedy attended Mass regularly, prayed at bedtime, lit votive candles and did other devotional acts. John and Jackie Kennedy drew on their faith following the death of a newborn son, Patrick, barely three months before JFK\u2019s assassination.<\/p>\n
In fact, the tragedy-haunted couple had planned to name a daughter Arabella before her own still birth in 1956 \u2014 named for the ship that carried the Puritans to Massachusetts. It was a remarkable choice, as Kennedy\u2019s fellow Massachusetts Irish-Catholics had long resented the discrimination their forebears suffered from the Puritans\u2019 descendents. But the name also fit Kennedy\u2019s political vision.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Read it all.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: They stand among the most eloquent words that John F. Kennedy never said. Instead, they exist in writing only \u2014 forming the speech Kennedy was scheduled to deliver at the Trade Mart in Dallas to influential business and research leaders early in the afternoon of Nov. 22, 1963. Kennedy was assassinated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ripped-from-the-headlines"],"yoast_head":"\n
JFK's Catholicism: "Few presidents have been as religiously observant as Kennedy, yet reluctant to discuss their faith"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: They stand among the most eloquent words that John F. Kennedy never said. Instead, they exist in writing only -- forming\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/11\/jfks-catholicism-few-presidents-have-been-as-religiously-observant-as-kennedy-yet-reluctant-to-discuss-their-faith\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"JFK's Catholicism: "Few presidents have been as religiously observant as Kennedy, yet reluctant to discuss their faith"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: They stand among the most eloquent words that John F. Kennedy never said. Instead, they exist in writing only -- forming\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/11\/jfks-catholicism-few-presidents-have-been-as-religiously-observant-as-kennedy-yet-reluctant-to-discuss-their-faith\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-11-22T11:44:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-09-30T19:59:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/files\/2013\/11\/JFK-And-Jackie-Arrive-In-Dallas-On-November-22-1963-575x525.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Deacon Greg Kandra\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Deacon Greg Kandra\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/11\/jfks-catholicism-few-presidents-have-been-as-religiously-observant-as-kennedy-yet-reluctant-to-discuss-their-faith\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/11\/jfks-catholicism-few-presidents-have-been-as-religiously-observant-as-kennedy-yet-reluctant-to-discuss-their-faith\/\",\"name\":\"JFK's Catholicism: \\\"Few presidents have been as religiously observant as Kennedy, yet reluctant to discuss their faith\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-22T11:44:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-09-30T19:59:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970\"},\"description\":\"From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: They stand among the most eloquent words that John F. Kennedy never said. Instead, they exist in writing only -- forming\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/11\/jfks-catholicism-few-presidents-have-been-as-religiously-observant-as-kennedy-yet-reluctant-to-discuss-their-faith\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/11\/jfks-catholicism-few-presidents-have-been-as-religiously-observant-as-kennedy-yet-reluctant-to-discuss-their-faith\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/11\/jfks-catholicism-few-presidents-have-been-as-religiously-observant-as-kennedy-yet-reluctant-to-discuss-their-faith\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"JFK’s Catholicism: “Few presidents have been as religiously observant as Kennedy, yet reluctant to discuss their faith”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/\",\"name\":\"The Deacon's Bench\",\"description\":\"Where a Roman Catholic deacon ponders the world\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970\",\"name\":\"Deacon Greg Kandra\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Deacon Greg Kandra\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/author\/deacon-greg-kandra\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"JFK's Catholicism: \"Few presidents have been as religiously observant as Kennedy, yet reluctant to discuss their faith\"","description":"From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: They stand among the most eloquent words that John F. Kennedy never said. Instead, they exist in writing only -- forming","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/11\/jfks-catholicism-few-presidents-have-been-as-religiously-observant-as-kennedy-yet-reluctant-to-discuss-their-faith\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"JFK's Catholicism: \"Few presidents have been as religiously observant as Kennedy, yet reluctant to discuss their faith\"","og_description":"From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: They stand among the most eloquent words that John F. Kennedy never said. Instead, they exist in writing only -- forming","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/11\/jfks-catholicism-few-presidents-have-been-as-religiously-observant-as-kennedy-yet-reluctant-to-discuss-their-faith\/","og_site_name":"The Deacon's Bench","article_published_time":"2013-11-22T11:44:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-09-30T19:59:40+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/files\/2013\/11\/JFK-And-Jackie-Arrive-In-Dallas-On-November-22-1963-575x525.jpg"}],"author":"Deacon Greg Kandra","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Deacon Greg Kandra","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/11\/jfks-catholicism-few-presidents-have-been-as-religiously-observant-as-kennedy-yet-reluctant-to-discuss-their-faith\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/11\/jfks-catholicism-few-presidents-have-been-as-religiously-observant-as-kennedy-yet-reluctant-to-discuss-their-faith\/","name":"JFK's Catholicism: \"Few presidents have been as religiously observant as Kennedy, yet reluctant to discuss their faith\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-11-22T11:44:12+00:00","dateModified":"2016-09-30T19:59:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970"},"description":"From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: They stand among the most eloquent words that John F. Kennedy never said. Instead, they exist in writing only -- forming","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/11\/jfks-catholicism-few-presidents-have-been-as-religiously-observant-as-kennedy-yet-reluctant-to-discuss-their-faith\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/11\/jfks-catholicism-few-presidents-have-been-as-religiously-observant-as-kennedy-yet-reluctant-to-discuss-their-faith\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/11\/jfks-catholicism-few-presidents-have-been-as-religiously-observant-as-kennedy-yet-reluctant-to-discuss-their-faith\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"JFK’s Catholicism: “Few presidents have been as religiously observant as Kennedy, yet reluctant to discuss their faith”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/","name":"The Deacon's Bench","description":"Where a Roman Catholic deacon ponders the world","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970","name":"Deacon Greg Kandra","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Deacon Greg Kandra"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/author\/deacon-greg-kandra\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/132"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27770\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/56\/2013\/11\/JFK-And-Jackie-Arrive-In-Dallas-On-November-22-1963.jpg\" "\\"JFK")
<\/a><\/p>\n