What a Difference Sixty Years Makes

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Do you realize that sixty years ago the United States of America elected the first Roman Catholic president? And it was quite a spectacle! As you know, I love to go through newspaper archives. In 1960, when John Kennedy threw his hat into the ring to run for president, the fact that he was a Catholic became as important, if not more important, to some as anything he stood for politically. In fact, if you go back to the papers in early 1960 you'll see a number of news articles questioning where the allegiance of a Roman Catholic president would lie: with Rome, or with the U.S.? And were Democrats ready to vote for a Catholic? Or Baptists, Methodists, or southerners??? Last week, the U.S. elected its second Roman Catholic president. Did you know Joe Biden's a Catholic? It was probably not even mentioned, except in a couple of instances where it became an issue (such as in 2019 when a priest at a church in South Carolina refused to give communion to then-candidate Biden because of Biden's stand on abortion). Maybe it's because of the polarizing nature of President Trump that Biden's religion was never brought forth. But in any instance, it is nice to see what a difference 60 years makes. John Kennedy taking on the controversy about his Catholic faith in 1960: