t the establishment of a state church or the interference by Catholics in affairs of state. Ted Kennedy had become concerned in the 1980s by the rising temperature of radical and intemperate political rhetoric coming from the religious right. In a speech delivered by him on the subject of 'Faith and Freedom' to the New York Coalition of Conscience on September 10, 1984, he said that "there is a long and unhappy history of intolerance which still flourishes at the extremist fringe of American politics" and "we cannot let this pluralistic society descend into a collection of competing and embittered groups" (Herbers, A 1). At the same time, he took political risks by opposing efforts by the Roman Catholic Church to place pressure of candidates Mario Cuomo and Geraldine Ferraro to endorse a legal ban on abortion.
The setting reluctantly afforded him by Falwell seemed to Kennedy as a heaven sent opportunity to get his point of view across to an admittedly hostile audience and to appear willing to beard the lion in his den. As Falwell put it to Thomas in mulling over the invitation to Kennedy, "some of our people see him as the devil incarnate" (A 30). In his speech, he stated that his goal was "to discuss my beliefs about faith and country, tolerance and truth in America."
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