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Apr 25, 2004 Q. Mr. Kerry, what’s your position on the war on fetuses now that you’re a Presidential candidate? A. Well, I voted against abortion, but that was before I voted for it. Q. Hmmmm. I see. In other words, you were somewhat ambivalent shall we say? A. Absolutely not. My position is clear and consistent. I’m absolutely opposed to abortion . . . privately. Q. Privately? A. Yes, I’m not one of these “keep your Rosaries off of my ovaries” people. I don’t believe that anyone has the right to tell a woman whether she can have an abortion. Q. Would you feel differently if you had a uterus? A. I think it would change a lot of things frankly. Putting the question of sinfulness aside, I’d probably be more passionate about protecting a woman’s reproductive rights. Q. So you’re against something that you feel is sinful, but you don’t want to tell others not to commit that sin. Sort of a “don’t ask/don’t tell” kind of thing. A. Everything’s different when you’re the government. That’s a whole different thing, when it’s the government that telling citizens it’s wrong to do something with their own bodies against their will. Q. But aren’t you a Catholic? And isn’t Catholic doctrine vehemently and fundamentally opposed to abortion? A. Yes, but I don’t believe one can impose his or her religious convictions on someone else, who may not be a member of that religion. Q. Let me get this straight. So as a Catholic and a follower of Jesus, you don’t feel it’s right to spread His teachings or to exhort others to follow His commandment, “Thou Shalt Not Kill?” A. Support it, yes. Subscribe to it, yes. Believe in it, yes. But impose it on someone else against their will, NO! That, I’m against! Q. What would Jesus say about your reluctance to persuade others to follow His commandment? Do you think Jesus would go along with that? Would he have let his Apostles do their own thing? A. Well I can tell you this. Jesus recognized a difference between church and state. Remember what He said: “Render onto Caesar that which is Caesars? Remember that from the Bible? Q. Does that mean rendering up innocent babies before they are born? A. Let’s not get on the emotional side of this very controversial and sensitive issue. Q. So you believe it is Caesar, the state, that is the proper jurisdiction and has the moral imperative to decide whether a fetus lives or dies, not the church? A. I believe that religion is a set of beliefs that one holds personally and that one must and should not dictate to others that they must live by your precepts and moral beliefs. In other words, government should not dictate any particular religion’s doctrine. Q. So when you arrived at your position on abortion, you’ve decided it’s a personal thing. And that one shouldn’t impose their personal views on others? Is that right? A. That is more or less my position at this particular time. Q. Do you also feel that way about stealing, lying, cheating, adultery, coveting someone else’s property? A. Yes, I’m personally opposed to all of those things, which I believe are sins against God’s law. Q. So if you came across someone stealing, lying, cheating, etc., you wouldn’t say anything, even if you were the President? A. Naturally, I’d be very critical if laws were being broken and if such behavior were serious enough, I’d report it to the authorities, or even take it to the United Nations and seek to build an international coalition against it. Q. So you’d be in favor of enforcing man’s law, or government’s law, but not necessarily God’s laws? A. Whether something is wrong or illegal in a democracy is a matter for the public to decide by consensus or majority vote and for the courts to interpret, and not for your priest or my pastor to decide for anyone, except yourself as a believer. Q. So it doesn’t matter how you feel about something personally? A. Yes, of course it does. You sort of know in you gut when you’re doing wrong. Q. But you don’t stop someone else from doing what you feel in your gut is wrong. A. That’s right. You follow your own moral compass and you don’t try to navigate others to toward the course you’ve charted for yourself. Q. And Jesus would agree to that? A. We’ll all find out at some point, won’t we? Q. Will that be after the election, I suppose? A. Yes, long after, hopefully. Q. Should the Catholic Bishops speak out on this subject of abortion? A. Yes, but they have enough problems right now, so they should wait until after the election. Q. Thank you, Mr. Kerry. And where are you going next? A. I think I’ll stop by my parish church and go to confession. I’ve got some personal matters to go over with the Lord in private, where such matters belong. Q. Morality is a private and personal thing to you, right Mr. Kerry? A. You bet it is. I believe morality is best taught by example. Q. Do you think priests should use their church pulpit to urge parishioners to vote for one candidate versus another depending on their positions on moral issues? A. I’m opposed to our clergy getting involved in politics, particularly before elections. Q. Are you saying the pulpit is not the place for preaching morals? A. As long as they keep morals out of politics and avoid denouncing candidates because they don’t measure up to their ideology. Q. One final question. Do you think Jesus would vote for you for President? A. I don’t think He’s registered. ------------ About the author: Thomas J. Madden is chairman of TransMedia Group public relations www.transmediagroup.com and the author of SPIN MAN and KING OF THE CONDO. Email: transmedia@att.net Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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