An archbishop faces ghost of JFK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the beginning, there was candidate John F. Kennedy, who told an assembly of Protestant ministers not to worry about his Catholicism because, "I believe\" \/>\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\/tmatt\/2010\/03\/an-archbishop-faces-ghost-of-jfk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An archbishop faces ghost of JFK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the beginning, there was candidate John F. 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{"id":1831,"date":"2010-03-22T05:53:52","date_gmt":"2010-03-22T09:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tmatt.net\/?p=1831"},"modified":"2010-03-22T05:53:52","modified_gmt":"2010-03-22T09:53:52","slug":"an-archbishop-faces-ghost-of-jfk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2010\/03\/an-archbishop-faces-ghost-of-jfk\/","title":{"rendered":"An archbishop faces ghost of JFK"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

In that influential 1960 address<\/a>, Kennedy boldly proclaimed: \u201cI do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever issue may come before me as president \u2014 on birth control, divorce, censorship, gambling or any other subject \u2014 I will make my decision in accordance \u2026 with what my conscience tells me to be the national interest, and without regard to outside religious pressures or dictates. And no power or threat of punishment could cause me to decide otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

And so it came to pass that \u2014 politically speaking \u2014 JFK begat the Kennedy dynasty, which begat Mario Cuomo, who begat Geraldine Ferraro, who begat Joseph Biden, who begat Rudy Giuliani, who begat John Kerry, who begat Arnold Schwarzenegger, who begat Nancy Pelosi and so forth and so on.<\/p>\n

Looking back, it\u2019s clear that Kennedy\u2019s high-risk visit to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association changed Catholic political life. That\u2019s why one of America\u2019s most outspoken Catholic leaders recently seized an opportunity to deliver a very different message to another Protestant audience in Houston.<\/p>\n

Kennedy\u2019s speech was \u201csincere, compelling, articulate \u2014 and wrong,\u201d claimed Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput, at a Houston Baptist University forum on faith and public life<\/a>. \u201cHis Houston remarks profoundly undermined the place not just of Catholics, but of all religious believers, in America\u2019s public life and political conversation. Today, half a century later, we\u2019re paying for the damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The key, argued the archbishop, is that Kennedy did more than endorse the separation of church and state. He did more than plead for religious tolerance in the public square, after generations of tensions between Catholics and Protestants.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, that Kennedy did was pledge to separate his faith from his personal conscience, thus building a high wall down the center of his own heart, mind and soul. How is it possible for Christians to do this, Chaput asked, when dealing with profoundly moral issues such as health care, immigration, abortion, poverty, education, religious liberty, family life, sexual identity and matters of war and peace?<\/p>\n

\u201cReal Christian faith is always personal,\u201d he said, \u201cbut it\u2019s never private.\u201d<\/p>\n

Political and religious leaders have been debating the meaning of Kennedy\u2019s words ever since he spoke them. This was especially true during the 2008 presidential race when critics dissected the beliefs of several candidates who openly discussed their religious beliefs \u2014 such as Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin and, of course, the future president, Barack Obama.<\/p>\n

During a Fordham University forum on \u201cThe Kennedy Moment,\u201d<\/a> political theorist William Galston of the Brookings Institution said that the key to the 1960 address was the candidate\u2019s bold insistence that his private spiritual views should not even be discussed because they \u201cdo not influence his views on public matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kennedy also endorsed a \u201cseparation between democracy and God,\u201d noted Galston, former senior domestic policy adviser for President Bill Clinton. In fact, he used the word \u201cGod\u201d only once, in a reference to the presidential oath of office.<\/p>\n

This speech \u201ccould have been given by a nonbeliever. Indeed \u2014 deep breath \u2014 I rather suspect it was,\u201d said Galston. \u201cAt the very least, there is no indication that JFK regarded the church as having any rightful authority over his public conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Chaput, it\u2019s impossible to concede that the teachings of the Catholic faith should have nothing to do with the public lives, vocations and actions of individuals who continue to call themselves faithful Catholics.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, 50 years after Kennedy\u2019s speech in Houston \u201cwe have more Catholics in national public office than ever before. But I wonder if we\u2019ve ever had fewer of them who can coherently explain how their faith informs their work or who even feel obligated to try,\u201d said the archbishop.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt least one of the reasons for it is this: Too many Catholics confuse their personal opinions with a real Christian conscience. Too many live their faith as if it were a private idiosyncrasy, the kind that they\u2019ll never allow to become a public nuisance. And too many just don\u2019t really believe. Maybe it\u2019s different in Protestant circles. But I hope you\u2019ll forgive me if I say, \u2018I doubt it.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"