Alan Cooperman reports on the joint statement released yesterday by 55 Catholic Democratic House representatives, as part of a long-delayed reaction to the way John Kerry’s Catholicism was questioned and dismissed as that of a “bad Catholic” due to his support for abortion rights during the 2004 election campaign. The Catholic Democrats’ statement was explained as a decision to “‘stop letting others define us'” entirely over the issue of abortion. As could be expected, pro-life groups aren’t convinced, with the Family Research Council offering its own theological musings on the matter: “‘the core of being Catholic'” is being anti-abortion.