God only knows

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Jun 01, 2007

When AP surveyed the leading US presidential candidates about their religious practices, the most interesting response came from Rudy Giuliani's campaign:

"The mayor's personal relationship with God is private and between him and God."

Let's see: personal... private... between him and God. Yes, I think we get the picture; he doesn't want to talk about it.

Which is odd, because presidential candidates aren't known for keeping silent on any topic. Ask Rudy Giuliani what he thinks about global warming or the value of the yen or Nascar racing or oxycontin or the prospects for sustainable nuclear fusion, and you'll get a detailed answer. But on the topic of religion he's silent.

Well, St. Therese of Lisieux didn't want to tell the world about her own interior life; her spiritual director had to prod her to write. Maybe Rudy is... Well, maybe not.

Still it's odd, because AP didn't pry for details. The survey only asked each candidate to identify his religious affiliation and say how often he went to church. It wasn't as if the reporters were asking to hear each candidate's confession.

Then again, if you're a Catholic who never goes to church, I suppose answering the attendance question would be a bit like going to confession, wouldn't it?