WASHINGTON — Tim Kaine personally opposes the death penalty, the moral stand of a staunch Roman Catholic who regularly attends Mass and whose church believes executions to be wrong.
Yet as governor of Virginia, the Democratic vice presidential nominee allowed the execution of 11 men.
The death penalty is part of a political tightrope Kaine has walked for almost two decades, trying to balance his Catholic faith with policy positions that are at odds with the church’s teachings. He also personally opposes abortion, for example, but supports the right of women to choose to have one.
That intersection — or collision — between faith and politics could be a significant part of Tuesday’s vice presidential debate between Kaine and Republican Mike Pence, a devout evangelical Christian and former Catholic whose faith also has defined major points of his career.
And as Kaine’s record shows, some of those collisions could make for tricky politics in the debate.
The biggest flashpoint is abortion.
Like many religious Democrats, Kaine acknowledges his personal opposition but says the state should not restrict a woman’s right to choose.
That’s not enough for some Catholics.
“Kaine has found a way to finesse the tricky dance of being a Catholic in politics today in the Democratic Party,” said Brian Burch of Catholic Vote, a conservative group that is not officially associated with the church.
“When you peel back the curtain you see nothing more than a power-seeking Democratic politician that is willing to sacrifice his own faith and his own personal beliefs for power and prestige.”
The voting record of Kaine, a senator since 2013, has been perfectly in step with Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America, two groups that advocate for expanded abortion protections.
Catholic Democrats in the Senate like Kaine outnumber Catholic Republicans 16-11. Vice President Joe Biden also is Catholic.
Like most liberal Catholics, Kaine most closely follows the church on issues such as help for the poor and support for immigrants.
“He has decided that the political arena is a way of actually forging your values into a kind of activism, social activism that can make a difference,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., a fellow Catholic and friend.
They claim freedom to ignore the church on public issues such as abortion or gay marriage.
“It’s the Kennedy defense,” Connolly said of Democrats who are devout Catholics. “I’m not running as a Catholic politician; I’m running as a Catholic who is a politician.”
“The social justice doctrine of the Catholic Church is a really integral part of our lives, trying to help people who are less fortunate,” Connolly said. “Try to leave the world a better place than you found it.”
If the social justice part is easy, Kaine has walked the tightrope on other issues.
Before entering politics, he defended death row inmates as a civil rights lawyer. But when his Republican opponent for governor attacked him for his defense of death row inmates, Kaine countered that he would support state law despite his personal and religious objections.
“I really struggled with that as governor. I have a moral position against the death penalty,” Kaine said in 2012. “But I took an oath of office to uphold it. Following an oath of office is also a moral obligation.”
Other Catholic governors found ways to rein in executions while in office. Maryland Democrat Martin O’Malley upheld a moratorium on executions in 2007, a year after Kaine took office.
Virginia ranks third in the country for number of executions since 1976.
