Kerry - legitimately and seriously religious?

Update: This from James Taranto/Opinion Journal:

So here's Kerry's idea of "common ground":

Abortion opponents agree to accept that any woman who wants to abort her baby has an absolute right to do so (per Roe v. Wade), at taxpayer expense ("health insurance for everyone").

In exchange, Kerry and his fellow abortion enthusiasts have to say that they devoutly hope that the various big-government social programs, which they would support anyway, will reduce the number of abortions.

Sounds like Kerry gets the better end of this deal.

Is Kerry the real deal, or is this just a ploy for votes in the next presidential election? I think I know. But even if he is for real, is he relying too much on answers to the problems he points out that his political opponents will simply disagree with - too much government dependence for the poor, Kyoto treaty for global warming, condom demonstrations in grade school for reducing abortions?

Democratic Sen. John Kerry on Monday urged people of faith to work cooperatively on problems such as poverty, global warming and reducing the number of abortions - "godly tasks" that transcend the nation's culture wars.

In a speech laced with anecdotes of his own journey of faith, Kerry, a Roman Catholic, told students in a speech at Pepperdine University that "we can take up God's work as our own.

"Shame on us if we use our faith to divide and alienate people from one another, or if we draft God into partisan service," Kerry said. "As God gives us the ability to see, let us take up the tasks associated with loving our neighbors as ourselves."

Even with the nation riven over reproductive rights, Kerry said a shared goal should be reducing the high number of abortions. The first step, he said, it to accept the responsibility of making abortion rare.

"Even as a supporter of Roe v. Wade, I am compelled to acknowledge that the language both sides use on this subject can be unfortunately misleading and unconstructive. ... Everyone is worse off for it," the Massachusetts senator said.

The 2004 Democratic nominee is a potential candidate for the party nod in the next presidential election.

Kerry's remarks were among his most extensive ever on religion. He alluded to the 2004 election, saying his past reticence to openly discuss his faith allowed others to "draw the caricature for me. I will never let that happen again."