JFK's 'Speech on Faith'----The conscience: False dichotomy
By Fr. Gerald Goodrum, S.T.L.
Germane to a discussion on conscience is John F. Kennedy, who, as a
politician, ironically promoted an arguably anti-Catholic mentality in
several of his views on the moral conscience and the role of religion in
the public square. Kennedy has, of course, subsequently become a
prototype for others who have followed his style of Catholicism with
regards to public life. His principles on this subject were mainly
espoused in a presidential campaign speech to a group of Protestant
pastors at the Greater Houston Ministerial Association in 1960 while he
was still a senator. Although much could be written, both pro and con,
about this "Speech on Faith" or "Ministerial Association Speech," here
the discussion is limited to merely addressing two false dichotomies.
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