IT'S ELECTION SEASON! "Schizophrenic Catholicism - John F. Kennedy and Joe Biden"
We Catholics cannot follow the road paved by John F. Kennedy (JFK), the 35th president of the US. JFK promised that he would keep his Catholic faith out of the oval office and public service. To allay fears that his Catholicism would impact his decision-making, he said in a famous speech in Houston, Texas on September 12, 1960, "I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party's candidate for President who also happens to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my Church on public matters—and the Church does not speak for me." Kennedy also said, “I believe in an America where the separation of Church and state is absolute…Whatever issue may come before me as president…I will make my decision…in accordance with what my conscience tells me to be in the national interest, and without regard to outside religious pressures or dictates.”
Kennedy removed the problem of his Catholicism by renouncing it. He declared his independence from the Bishops and the Vatican, and promised that in any clash, he would not follow the Church. I think all Catholic Americans have been paying for Kennedy’s mistake for decades. His schizophrenic Catholicism has paved the way for hundreds of politicians who claim to be Catholic, yet support legalized abortion, same sex civil unions, euthanasia and deny the Magisterium, teaching authority of the Catholic Church.
In fact, just days after Senator John Kerry announced his intention to run for president in 2004, St. John Paul II ordered the publication of the following statement regarding the responsibilities of Catholics who hold public office: “Those [Catholics] who are directly involved in lawmaking bodies have a grave and clear obligation to oppose any law that attacks human life. In the same way, it is necessary to recall the duty to respect and protect the rights of the human embryo.”
What was Senator Kerry’s response? He thumbed his nose at the Holy Father (St. John Paul II), and he said that he would not allow the Pope or the teaching authority of the Catholic Church to influence his decisions in public office! John Kerry went out of his way to say: “As a Catholic, I have enormous respect for the words and teachings of the Vatican, but as a public servant, I’ve never forgotten the lasting legacy of President Kennedy who made clear that…no elected official should be limited…by any oath, ritual or obligation.” Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, AOC and so many others have followed the Kennedy rabbit hole and we citizens are paying a deep price.
What arrogance! These Catholic politicians look for opportunities to slap the Church in the face and do so with impunity simply because they have positions of power. What utter disrespect for the authority of the Church and the Holy Father! Every loyal Catholic should feel sick at reading John Kerry’s words, Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi et al! There are many other Church leaders who have spoken out against pro-abortion (so-called) Catholic politicians[v] who are filled with spiritual pride. This is the most dangerous sin for any person, for "pride goeth before destruction" (cf. Prov 16:18).
“We took our fill of the paths of lawlessness and destruction, and we journeyed through trackless deserts, but the way of the Lord we have not known. What has our arrogance profited us? And what good has our boasted wealth brought us? All those things have vanished like a shadow, and like a rumor that passes by” (Wis 5:7-9).
“Arrogance is hateful before the Lord and before men, and injustice is outrageous to both...The Lord has plucked up the roots of the nations and has planted the humble in their place. The Lord has overthrown the lands of the nations and has destroyed them to the foundations of the earth. He has removed some of them and destroyed them and has extinguished the memory of them from the earth. Pride was not created for men, nor fierce anger for those born of women” (Sir 10:7, 15-18).
"It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels." -Saint Augustine.