Religion and politics don’t mix, except when I want them to.

Kerry turns his Catholicism on and off like a tap, depending on the political need of the moment. When abortion is discussed, his faith is a private matter; when minimum wage comes up, his faith is suddenly public again as he tries to shoehorn his liberal version of Catholicism into the agenda of the Democratic Party. The most stark example of this tactic was Kerry’s urging Americans to read the U.S. bishops’ pastoral letter on the economy, an amateur-hour attack on Reaganomics by liberal bishops in the 1980s. “The bishops’ pastoral letter is an important document which should be read by Catholics and non-Catholics alike,” he said on the Senate floor before placing the letter in the Congressional Record.

Kerry can impose a faked-up socialist version of his faith on the American people, then turn around and say that his Church’s teaching on homicide is of no relevance to the public weal. If his Catholicism shouldn’t influence his public duties, why does his campaign website biography mention it in the third line?