I agree that perhaps the intent of the JFK speech was probably misconstrued by Senator Santorum.
Someone upthread as kind enough to post a replay of the speech and I found no throw up moments in it. It appeared to be an assurance that no president should accept direction from the Pope or any other religious figure in his presidency that might supercede the constitutional requirements of the office. Nor should any candidate for president be judged by their faith.
I really think Senator Santorum was trying to say that faith had influence on decision making, which of course it does. But he didn’t say it very well (and should have left out the “made me throw up” stuff).
Whatever the case, his statements could be turned and twisted and excerpted to his detriment. There is no reason to give your enemy ammunition. jmho
He can throw up because of what has transpired since then has made Kennedy’s speech something to be thrown into the face of religious people. Separation of Church sand state are absolute? Then why the twists and turns by the Supreme Court as they have tried to honor Black’s interpretation of the First Amendment while dealing with the lack of separation between Church and American society? Black was a kluxer, a rapid hater of the Catholic Church, and he aimed right then and there to deny federal funding for the Catholic parochial schools, at a time when the Church was standing on the precedent of the GI Bill which allowed federal money to send a veteran to a Catholic college, but denied him the right to claim aid to send his six year old son to a private Catholic parochical school — the 1947 equivalent of vouchers.