Posted on 08/29/2009 11:18:09 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
There was a poignant footnote to President Obama's historic July 10 meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Behind closed doors in the papal library, Obama handed Benedict a letter that Senator Edward Kennedy had asked him to personally deliver to the pontiff. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs later told reporters that nobody - not even the President - knew the contents of the sealed missive. Obama himself asked Benedict to pray for Kennedy, and called the ailing Senator afterward to fill him in on his encounter with the 82-year-old Pope.
The letter, most likely already re-sealed and tucked away in the Vatican archives, was probably just a dying Catholic's request for a papal blessing. In the eyes of the traditionalist wing of the Church, however, Kennedy should have been asking the Pope for forgiveness. The Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano reported Kennedy's death, praising his work on civil rights and fighting poverty, but noted that his record was marred by his stance on abortion. As of yet, unlike some other world leaders, Pope Benedict has not commented or issued an official communique in response to Kennedy's death. One veteran official at the Vatican, of U.S. nationality, expressed the view of many conservatives about the Kennedy clan's rapport with the Catholic Church: "Why would he even write a letter to the Pope? The Kennedys have always been defiantly in opposition to the Roman Catholic magisterium." Magisterium is the formal expression for the authority of Church teaching.
Since Kennedy's death on Aug. 25, commentators have been poring over the Liberal Lion's many legislative achievements and the details of his biography. But it is also worth remembering that for four decades Ted Kennedy remained the nation's most prominent Roman Catholic politician, and brother of America's first and only Catholic President. Ted
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
....Back at headquarters, however, there is little room for nuance. "Here in Rome Ted Kennedy is nobody. He's a legend with his own constituency," says the Vatican official. "If he had influence in the past it was only with the Archdiocese of Boston and that eventually disappeared too." Some say the final sunset on the Kennedy name within Catholic halls of power was the Vatican's decision in 2007 to overturn the annulment of the first marriage of former U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy, the eldest son of Robert Kennedy....
....Ted Kennedy received his first communion directly from Pope Pius XII....His mother, Rose Kennedy, once reportedly said that she'd dreamed that her youngest son Teddy would become a priest rather than a politician, destined to ultimately rise to bishop status.
This Pope kicks ass. Even when he doesn’t say anything he’s cool.
Ted Kennedy was a HUGE promoter of abortion and he did leave a woman for dead...
A drunk, a womanizer and a liar.
We’re lucky to have him. :)
Maybe a letter of confession about a certain woman?
Not even the Pope can help you now, Teddy.
>>Maybe a letter of confession about a certain woman?<<
Why go to the Pope? His mouth is no closer to God’s ear than the local priest in Massachusetts.
Well, the American Catholic Church has been disappointing the last few months with the election, the Notre Dame scandal, and now with some bishops kissing the Kennedys’ ass once again.
At least Rome’s been better though with the Pelosi smackdown meeting and the Pope’s very special gift- the encyclical on abortion-to Obama.
I think he says a lot by not saying anything. The Kennedys along with other Libs have made their choice - their political ideology trumps the teachings of the Catholic church. The Popes silence highlights the hipocrisy.
There ain’t no atheists in foxholes, right, swimmer.
I was thinking the same, too.
What powers do mortal ears have over these issues?
IMHO, Red Ted used his religion as just another tool in his political toolbox.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver was a real pro-life Catholic.
In contrast to Ted (about whom he released no statement), the Pope had the following to say about his sister, Eunice:
“His Holiness unites himself spiritually with each of you at this difficult time, holding close Eunice as she is called home to eternal life and trusting in the words of Sacred Scripture: What will separate us from the love of Christ?” said the letter, which was released to The Associated Press.
The pope prayed Shriver would be rewarded for her ardent faith and generous public service, particularly for those who are physically and mentally challenged, the letter said.
Shriver, inspired in part by the struggles of her mentally disabled sister, Rosemary Kennedy, organized the first Special Olympics in 1968. The two-day event, in Chicago, drew more than 1,000 participants from 26 states and Canada.
The 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games, in Shanghai, involved more than 7,500 athletes from 164 countries.
Shriver is the fifth of nine Kennedy children. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Jean Kennedy Smith are her sole surviving siblings.
In July, President Barack Obama met the pope at the Vatican and gave him a letter from Sen. Kennedy, who was diagnosed a year ago with brain cancer. Aides said Obama asked the pope to pray for Kennedy, a political ally.
My mom was an Irish immigrant, a devout Catholic and a true Conservative -- the only one in her large family. Her sister worked as a switchboard operator in a club frequented by the Kennedys.
She detested them all as hypocrites, hedonists and wife-abusers -- without the aid of the internet, and in opposition to the adorational media and the Irish community.
To her, the Kennedys were worse than nobody -- they were trash. History, and the trail of bodies, abuse and excess, has vindicated her opinion.
This man was the Drum Major for the pro-abortion band. He could have lead them in another direction, that of a respect for life. If the Pope were to address his death in a way that eulogized him, the effort of christians who follow the ten commandments would be trashed, much like Father Jenkins did on that slimey display at Notre Dame. Ted Kennedy was what he was. He did what he did to rationalize his actions in life. To now call on the Pope to sugar coat him is wrong. The Fifth Commandment meant what is says!
maybe cause like a true lib he doesnt trust the local priest and or feels he is better than the rest and gos to the head honcho
I wonder what faithful Roman Catholics think about that statement?
yup like my momma usta say”cant say sut’en nice,dont say nutt’en”
Teddy was probably already smelling burning sulfur.
Well here is a view from one, Ted has to answer for Mary Jo now and there isnt any media or money that can help him now.
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