If anyone thinks Kennedy’s only problem with Catholic teaching was abortion they should sit down and study the catechism. I am pretty certain that several of the commandments and moral precepts cover the whole leaving someone to drown while you sober up and get your story straight.
The Cardinal should have simply said that out of respect for the family members and in hopes that Kennedy had made his peace with God he attended the funeral. But he made things worse by trying to put the “he really was a great Catholic, if you think about it” spin on things. Sure mention mercy, mention our frailness as humans in trying to overcome sin, mention faith and hope in Christ.
But don’t use it as a means to lecture faithful Catholics that they might be too strident for your tastes. O’Malley has politicized this issue. And I mean in terms of Church politics not secular politics.
And ya know it would not hurt more funeral goers to hear that we face judgment as a consequence of our sins and that our only salvation from that is through Christ.
Blessed be God, forever.