John F. Kennedy Quotes


I am the Democratic Party's candidate for president who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters - and the church does not speak for me.


Citations

Kennedy, John F. "Address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association." The Speeches of Senator John F. Kennedy, Presidential Campaign of 1960, United States Government Printing Office, 1961, p. 208.

Related Quotes

Carroll was writing to Troy during the time of the question of Catholic emancipation in England. Here he is clearly alluding to the British form of government. Carroll never missed the opportunity to champion religious freedom as manifested in the U.S. Constitution. For an earlier example of his praise for religious freedom, see {596933}.


Faith should be defended, by legal edicts, from the efforts of all who seek to contradict it, and that whatever ideas have arisen through the influence of error, be removed by legal proceedings; therefore, we decree that no man of whatever race or lineage, either native or foreigner, proselyte or old in faith, visitor or resident, shall openly or silently, impugn the unity of the Catholic faith; or take part in any injurious disputes affecting the truth of said faith; or countenance the same by remaining silent." No one shall attack the decrees of the Gospel, or criticize the institutions of the Church, or call in question the sacred institutions established by the ancient Fathers; no one shall treat with contempt discussions concerning points of doctrine which arise in modern assemblies, no one shall entertain any thoughts against the holy edicts or the true religion, or shall utter any words in depreciation of the same; or perfidiously cause a controversy to arise with an obstinate unbeliever; or engage in a quarrel on account of the contempt of honor exhibited by a listener. Any person who violates any of the provisions aforesaid shall be arrested; and should he be an ecclesiastic, or belong to any religious order, he shall lose his rank and dignity, shall be regarded forever as a criminal; and shall be punished by the loss of all his property. If he should belong to the laity, he shall be deprived of honor and position, and stripped of all his possessions. Every violator of this law shall be condemned to perpetual exile, unless he should be converted from his errors by the interposition of Divine mercy, when he may be suffered to remain and live in accordance with the commands of God.


While the Visigoths had some very advanced legal principles, this law, quoted in its entirety is typical of the nations that were part of the Catholic world. The church and its doctrines were immune from any possible criticism, explicit or implicit. This is the most formalized and sophisticated compendium of laws of the so-called “barbaric peoples” of Europe. The compilation was in many ways a documentation of the traditional laws of the Visigoths that had evolved over hundreds of years.


The Jews and the vileness of their horrible belief, which is more foul than any other detestable error, must be destroyed and cast out. …. No Jew shall celebrate the Passover …. No Jew shall flee to avoid being received into the Church, or conceal himself for such a purpose, after having taken to flight. No Jew shall entertain the hope of resuming his errors, or of performing the ceremonies of his infamous belief. No Jew shall entertain in his heart any perfidy against the Christian religion, and in favor of his own sect, or exhibit such perfidy by word or deed. No Jew shall attempt to infringe, or oppose, any regulations or laws of the Christians which have been published. No one shall venture to conceal a Jew who is aware of the existence of these offences which have been prohibited, or who has committed them. No one shall delay to denounce a fugitive Jew when he is found, or to reveal his hiding place …. no Jew shall make a distinction between food which is clean and unclean, as established by the customs and traditions of his ancient rites. No one shall perversely refuse to eat food of any kind, whose condition is proved to be good. …. it shall not be lawful for any Jew to testify against a Christian in any legal proceeding, or business transaction, even though said Christian should be of the lowest rank or a slave; nor shall a Jew prosecute a Christian, in any action at law; or sue him upon any written contract …. The following law is derived from others of great severity, which have been enacted to punish the perfidy of the Jews; and it is hereby decreed that whoever attempts to commit any of the crimes prohibited by former laws, or contained in any amendments to the same, or presumes to act in defiance of said laws, shall be either stoned to death, or burned …. All Christians are Forbidden to Defend or Protect a Jew, by Either Force or Favor


These were the most terrible and restrictive laws against Jews who would be hunted down and forced to accept Christianity. The Visigothic laws were a combination of Visigothic tradition and the codification by Catholic Clerics. Many scholars have traced the terrible policies and practices against Jews by the Spanish throne and the Inquisition 500 years later to these earlier Spanish Visigoths and their formal legal structure. This is the most formalized and sophisticated compendium of laws of the so-called “barbaric peoples” of Europe. The compilation was in many ways a documentation of the traditional laws of the Visigoths that had evolved over hundreds of years.


While he did not believe that clerics should engage in politics, he did believe that Islamic values and law should be embodied in the nation’s constitution and laws.


Bulgaria was under the control of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Levski always made it clear that Muslims were welcome in the Bulgaria that would be created after the Revolution. Most Muslims did not believe him, and many could not understand the concept of a nation without the Sultan who was the political AND religious head of Islam the world over. Essentially for many Muslims there can be no such thing as separation of church and state. To two cannot be distinct.


1st Duke of Wellington. The prohibitions against Catholic participation dated from the time when the Pope and the Vatican tried to support Catholic insurrections in England to return it as a Catholic country which it had been until King Henry VIII had a dispute with the Pope. However, the Catholic attempt to take over England and crush the Protestant Church of England had occurred so long before that there was no practical danger to the then established Church of England. Wellington, an Irish Protestant himself, realized that the law presented no significant protection and caused not only great resentment of English and Irish Catholics, but denied the nation the benefit of their great talents in politics. England took a great step forward and passed the bill.


This is a very important quotation. It is the first American expression of the “wall of separation” concept between church and state.


John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
  • Born: May 29, 1917
  • Died: November 22, 1963
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: President

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, often referred to by his initials JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his work as president concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba. A Democrat, Kennedy represented Massachusetts in both houses of the U.S. Congress prior to becoming president.