Ask a Follow Up Question

(slighly updated version)

So John Kerry's on a bus with a reporter from the Dubuque Telegraph Herald, (after attending Mass and receiving communion), and says this:

"I don't like abortion. I believe life does begin at conception . . . But I can't take my Catholic belief, article of faith, and legislate it on a Protestant or a Jew or an atheist ... We have separation of church and state in the United States of America."


Oh, for a followup question.

Just like a reporter needs to push George W. Bush of how his economic and foreign policies contradict the teachings of Jesus, his favorite political philosopher, (or why he thinks Jesus would approve of torture)--reporters need to push Senator Kerry on this.

There's the simple one the Globe asked today: the Boston Globe asked today, --why he has never claim to holded this specific belief before.


Or the more interesting one--why does he think acting on his beliefs violates the separation of church and state?
What's implied is a separation of religion and politics--that this candidate's personal beliefs (or values) have no bearing on politics. That it's a matter of private principle, not public action.

It'd be different, for example, if Kerry had been asked a specifically theological question--like, what does he think of the Trinity or women priests or on who gets to go to heaven--which has no bearing on governance.

But this response makes me wonder--if Senator Kerry doesn't follow his beliefs or values, what criteria does he use to make decisions? How does he decide what beliefs to follow and which not to follow? Does he have some core ethical values to shape his decisions.

Just one of these would do, please.