WASHINGTON — Sen. John F. Kerry saw his Catholic faith pushed to the center of the nation's political stage Friday as he expressed unabashed support for abortion rights, even as a top Vatican official issued a statement saying priests must deny Communion to Catholic politicians who take that stance.
The statement from Cardinal Francis Arinze, who is frequently mentioned as a possible successor to Pope John Paul II, set off a tempest among church activists across the U.S., where Kerry stands on the verge of becoming the first Catholic presidential nominee in 44 years.
It underscored the fissure between Catholic politicians and the Roman Catholic Church over the issue of how closely office-holders should hew to church doctrine.
And if Friday's reaction to Arinze's comment was any indication, many Catholic politicians were not budging from their insistence that politics and religion should not...
Dr. Mark Allison | 1/20/2013
