An excerpt:

At a time when anti-Catholicism was still palpable in the American mainstream, Kennedy was trying to allay Protestants’ fears of a Catholic president’s faith interfering with his duties in the office. He routinely referred to religious voices in the public arena in a negative light, speaking of “pressures,” “dictates” and a church seeking to “impose its will.”

“I believe in a president whose religious views are his own private affair,” he said.

Chaput thinks this goes too far.

The rest of the column explores Archbishop Chaput’s critique of John Kennedy’s speech on Catholicism given nearly 50 years ago.

There’s also information about the origins of the phrase “the separation of Church and State” as well as what Thomas Jefferson thought of our Catholic priests.

Read the rest at HeadlineBistro.com