Monday, April 9, 2012

At Least They'd Stopped Saying "Perfidious Jews"

When African-Americans received full sacramental status in the LDS church in 1978, Mitt Romney, who was 30, said he wept with joy. Nevertheless some commentators promise to confront him during the campaign about the Mormons' racist past.

But is there any religion or denomination whose history or awkward doctrines couldn't be held against a candidate-adherent? When it comes to religion and politics, better to adhere to the Nixon covenant -- which is why, since it was in effect during the 1960 election, no reporter probably asked John F. Kennedy about the version of the prayer for conversion of the Jews that was still being used in Roman Catholic Good Friday liturgies:
Let us pray also for the Jews: that almighty God may remove the veil from their hearts; so that they too may acknowledge Jesus Christ our Lord. Let us pray. Let us kneel. Arise. Almighty and eternal God, who dost also not exclude from thy mercy the Jews: hear our prayers, which we offer for the blindness of that people; that acknowledging the light of thy Truth, which is Christ, they may be delivered from their darkness. Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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