What is at stake here, she said, is the Anglican system, under the settlement worked out in the reign of Elizabeth I, of maintaining a theologically diverse church through adherence to its laws.
One thing that most experts agree on is that the pope is enigmatic: while he seems to espouse liberal values on some days, raising the hopes of progressive Catholics of a changing church, his staunch adherence to conservative doctrine proves that he is not the radical reformer many liberals might wish that he was.
Mr. Kerry has responded to questions about his adherence to church teachings by proclaiming his belief in the separation of church and state, just as President Kennedy did in a speech that largely laid to rest suspicions about his allegiances, said David Wade, a Kerry spokesman.
What that means has changed in recent decades as the teaching of Catholic doctrine has centered less on unquestioning adherence to church doctrine.
Sheer legalistic adherence to church law does not explain it, nor even anti-Semitism, although that was always an important factor in the background, nor even the highly politicized atmosphere that quickly engulfed the family and church officials.
Traditionalists, as they call themselves, are seeking not less but more orthodoxy in issues of morality and adherence to church doctrine, and are passionate about a liturgy that all but disappeared after the Second Vatican Council.
The pope insisted on adherence to church doctrine, saying, "Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity, and, far from advancing freedom, inevitably leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual or spiritual".
Adherence to church doctrine has given the country one of the world's higher birth rates, but the church's moral teachings haven't made much of an impact.
In his first year, some priests frustrated with his strict adherence to church teaching and liturgy began referring to him as "Francis the Corrector".
Discussions of George tend to focus on his public adherence to church discipline and his cerebral manner, but not on his intense personal attention to issues such as crime and immigration.
