Pope Francis greets Secretary of State John Kerry.
PoliticsUSA got the screen grab:
It's significant because not only did John Kerry negotiate the Iran nuclear deal, he's a practicing Catholic and has long been a target for conservative Catholics over his pro-choice position. Many sought to have him excommunicated:
The issue of politicians and abortion had also come to the attention of the current Pope in 2004 when John Kerry, a practicing Catholic and supporter of abortion rights, was the Democratic candidate for President, and then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was head of the Vatican's doctrinal office. At the time, in the heat of the campaign for the White House, several U.S. bishops had declared that pro-choice politicians like Kerry should be denied the rite of Holy Communion at Catholic Mass. When he was formally asked for doctrinal counsel on the matter, Cardinal Ratzinger wrote a carefully worded letter to the U.S. bishops conference that simultaneously reaffirmed strict Catholic opposition to abortion, yet urged Church leaders to do their best to avoid getting involved in electoral politics.
One American bishop who railed against John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi and other pro-choice politicians was
recently demoted by Pope Francis.
The times they are a-changing.