Is Kerry simply "rendering unto Caesar?"

In an editorial today, the Denver Post weighs in on Kerry's "Catholic problem," lamenting the fact that certain elements of the Church's hierarchy seem to be upsetting the nice public/private distinction laid out by John Kennedy in regards to his faith and public office. In the Post's view, these elements "risk reawakening the fear among non-Catholics about whether the official acts of Catholics in office might be dictated by the Vatican." So if a priest or bishop calls on a Catholic public official to take seriously Church teachings on matters of public import, they have no one to blame but themselves when the inevitable (and presumably justified, in the Post's view) anti-Catholic backlash comes.

And as if religious stereotyping was not enough, the Post decides to engage in a bit of confused scriptural interpretation, suggesting that the whole problem can be solved by remembering "a much earlier statement on the separate roles of church and state: 'Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.'"

It's all perfectly clear now: render unto God whatever you do in your private time; everything else is Caesar's.

Rob