Opposite day

It's bizarro-world time on the church-and-politics front.

A Catholic bishop from Madison is joining the chorus of his peers calling out Sen. Biden and Speaker Pelosi for their recent statements about abortion (and their pro-abortion-rights stances generally). In 2004, John Kerry was similarly criticized. He plead separation of church and state--he may believe such and such as a Catholic, but that doesn't mean he can legislate that in the public square, etc. Now, Pelosi and Biden are being accused not of misappropriating, putting too much stock in, or hiding behind separation--all fair criticisms of Kerry's perspective--but of VIOLATING it by offering their perspective on Church teaching. WTF?

Meanwhile, conservative Southern Baptist leaders are bending over backward to explain why, despite their steadfast opposition to women's leadership not only in the church but anywhere outside the home, voting for a female vice presidential candidate makes lovely sense. Of course it does! Robert Parham isn't having it. Neither am I.