[Bombshell: KERRY not validly married?] MEDIA INTEREST IN KERRY’S CATHOLICISM GROWS

Catholic League ^ | April 2, 2004 | William Donohue

[Notwithstanding]

Catholic League president William Donohue commented as follows:

“The Catholic League does not possess a theological micrometer that judges, with digital precision, how ‘good’ a Catholic is. Furthermore, it is not our business anyway. But it is also true that we will not pretend disinterest in subjects that touch on the issue of Catholics in public life.

“This week’s issue of Time magazine says Senator John Kerry ‘sought an annulment of his 18-year first marriage before marrying again.’ News reports indicate, however, that Kerry didn’t seek an annulment until after he married Teresa Heinz in a civil ceremony in 1995. Today’s New York Times says Kerry ‘sought an annulment from the church when he was divorced from his first wife.’ Notice that neither Time nor the New York Times says that an annulment was granted. They say it was ‘sought.’

“Kerry cannot claim that this is a private matter since he publicly joked about his quest for an annulment on the Don Imus show of May 8, 1997. ‘Seventy-five percent of all annulments in the world take place in the United States,’ Kerry said, ‘and I guess the figure drops to 50 percent if you take out all Massachusetts politicians.’ He continued saying, ‘It’s one of those special Catholic things. It’s like confession or feeling guilty about things you haven’t even thought of doing.’

“On February 16, 2004, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that ‘Kerry’s office didn’t respond to several e-mail and telephone requests’ regarding the question of whether an annulment was granted. On March 23, 2003, the Providence Journal-Bulletin said that Kerry ‘will not say whether he obtained an annulment of his first marriage….’ Why the reticence, especially since Kerry says his ‘current marriage is in good graces with the church?’

“Why does this matter? If Kerry did not receive an annulment, then he is not married in the Catholic Church and cannot receive the sacraments. But even if he was annulled, did he and Teresa Heinz get married in the Catholic Church following the annulment? If not, then Kerry is not married in the Church, thus raising all sorts of questions.”

[js1138]

He met Ms Ketchup before her husband had his unfortunate accident.

[bert]

...Catholic politicians who fail to uphold church doctrine....

It would seem this phrase is an oxymoron.

It would seem a politician who fails to uphold church doctrine is not actually Catholic. Logic dictates that Kerry is Catholic only in his mind.

He ceased being Catholic a long time ago. There is no doubt that since the divorce/remarrige fiasco Kerry ceased to be Catholic.

[GraceCoolidge]

Your post is excellent... I think you perfectly summarize the issue. I keep meaning to order "Shattered Faith" and just haven't gotten to it yet. I look forward to reading it.

[hellinahandcart]

[sobieski]

It matters in that Kerry is creating himself a "Sister Soujah" moment w/o consequences. At least BC attacked a group in his own coalition. Kerry makes a big show of how "Catholic" he is, then he turns around and tells the Church that to take a hike on abortion, gay marriage, whatever. Then the media talks up how "courageous" he is, since he's such an ostentatious Catholic. It matters that way.

Also, it's another "character check". He prattles on about what a good Catholic he is, how he was an altar boy, goes to communion, walks around w/ ashes on his head. Hey, you're catholic by the precepts you follow, not which rituals or what you did at 10.

[pepperhead]

I think someone should make some Kerry is a gigolo who divorced his first wife of 18 years and then tried to have it annulled commercials. I not sure how many divorced women will change their mind about this low life but I am guessing it will get some of them and maybe their kids. To many americans annulments are something people get very quickly after the marriage and when have kids.

[Jim Noble]

One wonders if there was a fat donation involved

Probably not.

Annulments are complex to apply for, but routinely granted if the applicant uses the right words.

I assume JFK II had access to good coaching on the application, but that's really not hard to find if you look for it.

If it is a given that a Catholic needs the sacraments, and it is also a given that said sacraments are witheld in the case of civil divorce regardless of circumstance, then the annulment system is best seen as a reasonable compromise between the needs of the faithful and homage to Church discipline.

They're not hard to get, and although I'm sure Kerry's (and Kennedy's) was a certainty, most other people's are too.

[Cvengr]

From a Dayton Daily News forum dtd 3/23/04 has since been pulled,....anybody else see this one of an ongoing investigation?

Sen. John "F'ing" Kerry is being investigated for possible conspiracy in the death of Sen. Heinz in 1991. Sen. Heinz died in a suspicious plane crash in April of 1991 less than a year after he introduced Theresa Heinz to John Kerry at a politcal function.

Less than a year after Sen. Heinz's death Sen. Kerry began publically dating the recently widowed Heinz.


Sen. Kerry's involvement was discovered after his failure to report security problems at Logan International Airport months before the 9-11 hijackers used this airport and its notoriously lax security to smuggle box cutters onto aircraft.


A recently fired Security guard there informed them of Sen. Kerry's involvement with the Heinz crash after Kerry failed to save the guards job after another security breach.


The FBI is reopening the Heinz crash investigation and will soon call on Sen. Kerry to answer questions concerning his involvement.


Elsewhere from CNN:

This is a list of prominent politicians killed in plane crashes in recent years:

October 16, 2000: Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan (D). Carnahan, his son and an aide were killed when their small plane crashed in bad weather in Missouri. According to Reuters, Sen. Paul Wellstone's death was eerily similar to the circumstances surrounding the October 2000 plane crash death of another Democratic Senate hopeful, Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan. His plane crashed in bad weather in that state killing him shortly before that year's election. He was elected after his death and his widow was appointed to take his seat.

April 3, 1996: U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. A U.S. Air Force jetliner carrying Brown and American business executives crashed into a mountain in Croatia, killing all 35 people aboard.

April 19, 1993: South Dakota Gov. George Mickelson (R). Mickelson died along with seven others when a state-owned airplane slammed into a silo during a rainstorm in Iowa.

April 4, 1991: Pennsylvania Sen. John Heinz (R). According to AP: A fiery plane-helicopter collision 11 years ago killed U.S. Sen. H. John Heinz III and showered flames on children in a playground. Heinz, a three-term Republican and heir to the Heinz food fortune, died along with the two pilots of his chartered plane and two pilots in the helicopter who were attempting to see if the plane's front landing gear was down and locked in place. The plane's captain had radioed that an instrument light failed to confirm the gear was in place.

April 5, 1991: Texas Sen. John Tower (R). Texas Sen. John Tower, his daughter and 21 other people, including NASA astronaut Manley "Sonny" Carter, Jr., were killed in a commuter plane crash near Brunswick, Georgia.

August 13, 1989: Mississippi Rep. Larkin Smith (R). Pilot error in hazy conditions was ruled the probable cause of the plane crash that killed U.S. Rep. Larkin Smith and his pilot, according to a federal report. According to AP: The National Transportation Safety Board report indicated that pilot Chuck Vierling, who was not rated to fly on instruments, probably lost control after encountering conditions that required them. Vierling, 58, of Gulfport had expressed concern about the haziness before leaving, the report said. Vierling had flown Smith to Hattiesburg on August 13. On the return flight to Gulfport, the Cessna 152 crashed into woods near New Augusta in southeastern Mississippi.

August 7, 1989: Texas Rep. Mickey Leland (D). Rep. Mickey Leland, a Texas Democrat who chaired the House Select Committee on Hunger, killed when plane crashes during a trip to inspect relief efforts in Ethiopia.

September 1, 1983: Georgia Rep. Larry McDonald (D). McDonald was killed when Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down by a Russian fighter.

August 3, 1976: Missouri Rep. Jerry Litton (D). Litton was killed along with his family in a plane crash in the northwest part of the state on the evening he won the Missouri's Democratic gubernatorial nomination. He was en route to a victory celebration.

February 14, 1975: California Rep. Jerry Pettis (R). Pettis died when his plane crashed into a mountain near Beaumont, California. His wife, Shirley N. Pettis Roberson, replaced in the House five days later. "People come up to you, with little pieces of memorabilia about your husband, and they mean to show their deep regret in losing him," Pettis Roberson said in a telephone interview from her home in California. "I had to steel myself against tears, because I thought if I cried now, I would cry forever."

October 16, 1972: House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, D-Louisiana and Rep. Nick Begich, D-Alaska: Both were killed when their plane disappeared over Alaska.

December 8, 1972: Rep. George W. Collins, Illinois (D). Collins was killed when a United Airlines jetliner plane crashed on approach to Chicago's Midway Airport. Forty-four others also were killed. Collins' widow, Cardiss, succeeded her husband in the House.

[White Eagle]

The guy is in favor of abortion, and voted for partial-birth abortion. So, I don't think he really cares about the teachings of the religion he says he belongs to.

And as long as the Princes of the Church are more interested in damage control about homosexual pedophiles and the cash-flow drain that has presented than in enforcing Catholics to live a Catholic life, we can expect this to continue.

I expect that an Islamic Mullah will denounce terrorism long before a Catholic bishop excommunicates a liberal politic an for holding and acting beliefs contrary to church teachings.

[Cvengr]

Here's another interesting tidbit.

Both George W. Bush and John F. Kerry attended Yale in the mid-1960s. Both were members of the secret Skull and Bones society (though during different years).

[Ravens70]

This campaign will put the heat on three groups with regards to character and integrity. First is Kerry who will be exposed to Catholics as a hypocrite in yet another area of his life. Second, the Bishops of the Church who will be exposed as hypocrites (excepting a few brave ones)with regard to taking a public stand on Church teaching. Third, exposing the majority of Catholics who vote Democrat as hypocrites. This will certainly stir the pot...if we are cleansing the Church of depraved priests and bishops, then CINO's should also be scrutinized.

[mtbopfuyn]

But W is the only one who's being painted as the devil himself being a member of a secret society.

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

Seventy-five percent of all annulments in the world take place in the United States,’ Kerry said, ‘and I guess the figure drops to 50 percent if you take out all Massachusetts politicians.’

HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHA

No wonder the Massachusetts Court thinks they can direct legislation about marriage. Marriage vows don’t mean squat to the citizens of the state since they can continually reelect those a**holes.

[Cvengr]

The more I read about Teresa Heinz Kerry, the more I wonder who is more treacherous, Teresa or Hillary.

Another website blog posted that the members in the Clarke audience who applauded when Clarke made his public apology for failing the WTC families were on the Teresa Heinz environmental payrolls.

[cynicom]

Ask Kerrys Rabbi, he can sort it all out for everyone.

[Desdemona]

Why did Ketchup ditch his first wife?

I believe he died in a plane crash.

[js1138]

I'm not terribly impressed that a lot of politicians have been killed in plane crashes. So have a lot of musicians.

These occupations involve a lot of flying. Not just flying, but flying in small planes and chartered planes: both categories have much worse safety records than scheduled airliners. Often these flights are done in hazardous weather, but they are undertaken because someone needs to be somewhere for an engagement.

Still, one wonders...

[Hand em their arse]

TOTALLY AGREE... Give me a break, this is really reaching... we have PLENTY to put Kerry in his place but to voters on the fence in this election this sounds so petty it's ridiculous!

[miele man]

"Burke told him that he shouldn't present himself for Communion in the archdiocese and Kerry says that when he's there, that's not stopping him."

Well, I see nothing has changed. Kerry is still telling folks to go "eff" themselves. Secret service agents, plain
citizens who are republican and now an Archbishop in the Church Kerry claims to believe her teachings.

Kerry is extremely narcissistic and selfish among other things.

[Mr. Thorne]

I'll toss a bit of spice on that...

To my fellow Catholics:

I'm unsure of this, since the issue never came up for me (I've never wanted to be a Mason, for example), but doesn't Church law forbid membership in secret societies?