You gotta be kidding me

So today, John Kerry gave his long-awaited "My faith" speech in Florida. He explained how his faith has always guided him, and continues to guide him.

In the course of the speech, he said the following:

My faith, and the faith I have seen in the lives of so many Americans, also teaches me that, "Whatever you do to the least of these, you do unto me." That means we have a moral obligation to one another, to the forgotten, and to those who live in the shadows. This is a moral obligation at the heart of all our great religious traditions. It is also the vision of America: "E Pluribus Unum." The ethical test of a good society is how it treats its most vulnerable members.

Amen! Well said, Senator Kerry! I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment.

He then elaborated,

Who among us is more vulnerable today than the 8 million Americans who are out of work? Who is more vulnerable than the 45 million Americans without health insurance? Who is more vulnerable than the parents who have to choose between food and medicine for their children?

This is who, Senator: the 43 million people we have allowed to be killed since abortion was legalized in 1973. That's 4000 people a day, today, Senator. Where are you for those vulnerable? Here's where:

I know there are some Bishops who have suggested that as a public official I must cast votes or take public positions - on issues like a woman's right to choose and stem cell research - that carry out the tenets of the Catholic Church. I love my Church; I respect the Bishops; but I respectfully disagree.

Respectfully, Senator, you just don't get it.

Senator, the Church's teaching on abortion & embryonic stem cell research isn't sectarian... it isn't based solely on revelation. It's based on the view that all human beings -- no matter their age or size -- are of equal dignity and worth, and that deliberately killing innocent human beings is always gravely unjust.

This is no more a matter of exclusively Catholic doctrine than the Church's teaching on slavery. In other words, Senator, would you oppose making the Catholic doctrine that no one can be owned by another into law because the Catholic Church teaches it?

As with slavery, the Church's teaching on abortion is one accessible even to those who do not accept the authority of Scripture, Tradition, or the Magisterium It is open to anyone who applies their intellect to questions of human nature, dignity, and justice.

Sadly, the Democratic nominee for President does not see this. He is one of the following: either poorly catechized, or thoroughly disingenuous when it comes to his faith. Either way, as an adult he retains some degree of culpability.