[livius]

Well, I didn’t think O’Malley would preside, and I’m really disgusted.

What people are omitting, however, is not only the fact that Kennedy is getting a big splashy funeral of the type that implies approval, but that Obama is being permitted to speak from a leading position in front of the Church...even though eulogies are not permitted at a Catholic funeral and homilies by someone who is not a priest or not Catholic are not permitted. Furthermore, the one somewhat ambiguous permission for brief remarks by a family member (only at the vigil, IIRC) certainly doesn’t apply to Obama, who is not a family member and will not be brief.

There might be some excuse for Kennedy getting a Church funeral, but there’s much less excuse for his getting a big formal Church funeral, and NO excuse at all for letting someone like Obama speak at it.

[tanknetter]

What people are omitting, however, is not only the fact that Kennedy is getting a big splashy funeral of the type that implies approval, but that Obama is being permitted to speak from a leading position in front of the Church...even though eulogies are not permitted at a Catholic funeral and homilies by someone who is not a priest or not Catholic are not permitted.

Ok, I'm genuinely confused by this. I'm not Roman Catholic, but my wife and her family are. When her grandmother died, the funeral mass was held in the Cathedral of the Assumption in Louisville KY, and all three of her sons gave eulogies.

[Alex Murphy]

What people are omitting, however, is not only the fact that Kennedy is getting a big splashy funeral of the type that implies approval, but that Obama is being permitted to speak from a leading position in front of the Church...even though eulogies are not permitted at a Catholic funeral and homilies by someone who is not a priest or not Catholic are not permitted. Furthermore, the one somewhat ambiguous permission for brief remarks by a family member (only at the vigil, IIRC) certainly doesn’t apply to Obama, who is not a family member and will not be brief.

There might be some excuse for Kennedy getting a Church funeral, but there’s much less excuse for his getting a big formal Church funeral, and NO excuse at all for letting someone like Obama speak at it.

I think you summed it up pretty well.