The New York Times on Kerry's Catholic Problem

It seems that the New York Times covers religion from three different angles: 1) ignoring it completely; 2) portraying religious believers as though they have two heads (both of which are devoid of a brain, of course); or 3) portraying religious beliefs as relics propped up to function as tools of institutional self-advancement and/or oppression. Today the Times jumps in on the Kerry as Catholic coverage, and seems to have opted for angle #3. In a news article (not an op/ed, mind you), the paper of record gives us these nuggets:

"President Kennedy had to overcome accusations from non-Catholics that he would follow the bidding of the pope. Now, Mr. Kerry faces accusations from some within his own church that he is not following the pope's bidding closely enough."

"The senator is aligned with his church on many social justice issues, including immigration, poverty, health care and the death penalty. But he diverges on the litmus issues, like abortion and stem cell research, that animate church conservatives and many in the hierarchy."

As we can now understand from the Times' insight, there is no cohesive web of beliefs, but simply a smorgasbord of pet causes, some favored by the liberals, some favored by conservatives. The Times also provides a quote from Rev. Drinan suggesting that the dispute centers simply on whether Kerry himself measures up as a Catholic, rather than on his public support for policies that contradict the moral anthropology on which the Church's body of teachings is based:

"Kennedy settled the problem that a Catholic couldn't become president . . . That's not an issue now. The issue with Kerry will be, is he good enough as a Catholic."

The article underscores the extent to which we tend to overlay our common understanding of partisan politics onto debates that transcend simple notions of power, strategy and self-interest. And while I'm confident that the Times is not particularly interested in delving more deeply into the issues at stake here, once again we see the need for greater public familiarity with moral anthropology.

Finally, the article makes it obvious that Kerry has no hesitation proceeding down the path he's laid out for himself. As an (admittedly unenthusiastic) supporter of his candidacy, I admit that he's not showing a lot of nuance or angst over the tension between his faith and his politics when he has his spokesperson say: "Senator Kerry is a person of faith, he's a practicing Catholic, and his religion is an important part of his life and of Teresa Heinz Kerry's life. And they've always recognized that separation between the public and the private."

Rob