Posted on 08/30/2009 5:31:48 AM PDT by NYer
Excerpts of the letter from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy that President Barack Obama delivered to Pope Benedict XVI earlier this year and an account of the pope's response, as read by Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington:
"Most Holy Father I asked President Obama to personally hand deliver this letter to you. As a man of deep faith himself, he understands how important my Roman Catholic faith is to me, and I am so deeply grateful to him. I hope this letter finds you in good health. I pray that you have all of God's blessings as you lead our church and inspire our world during these challenging times. I am writing with deep humility to ask that you pray for me as my own health declines.
"I was diagnosed with brain cancer more than a year ago and although I continue treatment, the disease is taking its toll on me. I am 77 years old and preparing for the next passage of life. I have been blessed to be part of a wonderful family and both of my parents, particularly my mother, kept our Catholic faith at the center of our lives. That gift of faith has sustained and nurtured and provides solace to me in the darkest hours. I know that I have been an imperfect human being, but with the help of my faith I have tried to right my path. I want you to know Your Holiness that in my nearly 50 years of elective office I have done my best to champion the rights of the poor and open doors of economic opportunity. I have worked to welcome the immigrant, to fight discrimination and expand access to health care and education. I have opposed the death penalty and fought to end war.
"Those are the issues that have motivated me and have been the focus of my work as a United States senator. I also want you to know that even though I am ill, I am committed to do everything I can to achieve access to health care for everyone in my country. This has been the political cause of my life. I believe in a conscience protection for Catholics in the health field and I will continue to advocate for it as my colleagues in the Senate and I work to develop an overall national health policy that guarantees health care for everyone. I have always tried to be a faithful Catholic, Your Holiness, and though I have fallen short through human failings, I have never failed to believe and respect the fundamental teachings of my faith. I continue to pray for God's blessings on you and on our church and would be most thankful for your prayers for me."
___
An account from the Vatican of the pope's response, according to McCarrick:
"The Holy Father has the letter which you entrusted to President Barack Obama, who kindly presented it to him during their recent meeting. He was saddened to know of your illness, and asked me to assure you of his concern and his spiritual closeness. He is particularly grateful for your promise of prayers for him and for the needs of our universal church.
"His Holiness prays that in the days ahead you may be sustained in faith and hope, and granted the precious grace of joyful surrender to the will of God, our merciful Father. He invokes upon you the consolation and peace promised by the Risen Savior to all who share in His sufferings and trust in His promise of eternal life.
"Commending you and the members of your family to the loving intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Father cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of wisdom, comfort and strength in the Lord."
His Holiness prays that in the days ahead you may be sustained in faith and hope, and granted the precious grace of joyful surrender to the will of God, our merciful Father.
And indeed, that phrase packs a lot of meaning. Perhaps that is all the Pope cared to say to the man, i.e. if he can't figure it out, tough luck.
Would the Church be that dismissive with any man?
If someone close to you, someone you loved dearly, was dying, sought you out with a list of his accomplishments in this life - what would you say?
What a scam. He pulled the Pope’s pants down with this one. No chance the Pope would eulogize this dirtball, so they send a private letter and then have some stooge priest read parts of the reply. Geez. You’d think the Vatican could have figured that one out.
My take is that Kennedy wanted to be given assurance and instead was told that he need to surrender to the will of God and NOBODY, in the private meditations of their heart, can conclude that God's will is to take innocent life.
I do think that the actual letter to Kennedy was more personal and direct.
If Ted Kennedy confessed ALL of his sins and asked for forgiveness merely because he knew he was hours from death, his confession and request would be as phony as his taking of communion when he knew damned well he was working day and night to destroy the Catholic faith and to ensure that as many babies as possible went to their graves before they had a chance to take their first breath.
IMHO if Ted Kennedy decided to make a confession on his death bed, that confession fell on deaf ears because it was not a conversion of the heart, but a conversion of the lips.
If he were a Muslim and turned to Christ at the last second, he would most likely end up in Heaven. But Ted Kennedy claimed to be a good Catholic his whole life, yet he lived a life that only a hedonistic atheist could take pride in.
He's in God's hands now. If God is just, he is rotting in Hell. But God is merciful to the merciful. Only god knows if he is going to grant him the mercy he denied to 50 million babies; an entire generation of American children, a number matched only by the genocide of Nazi Germany and Stalinst Russia.
I agree with what you are saying. However, I do believe that it is POSSIBLE that the death of Eunice and the knowledge of her years of prayer for him could have resulted in a true conversion of the heart.
He was pro abortion to his last breath. There was no evidence, other than this letter to the Pope (which contains no acknowledgment of his debauchery) that he had any conversion to Christ. If anything he was simply trying to convince himself that he was WORTHY of heaven because he took so many dollars from people who worked and gave them to his political allies.
Ted Kennedy's legacy will be that he did for America what he did for Mary Jo Kopechne. He drove the ship of state off a bridge and then left the scene to let us drown.
"Store up for yourselves treasure in heaven"
"It profits a man nothing to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul."
I can’t bring myself to read the letters. Can you tell me if the Pope urged Kennedy to repent of his pro partial-birth activism? Thank you.
As I said, I agree with you and I am fairly certain you are right. I was simply speculating that the death of his sister (which occurred after he wrote his letter to the Pope) COULD have had a positive effect on him.
My thoughts exactly. See my post #27.
To be honest, just as he didn't care about the fate of the unborn, I don't care about his. He's in God's hands now and no amount of speculating about whether he had some deathbed confession that saved his soul is going to change anything.
I agree COMPLETELY!
Tell it to God, Teddy, tell it to God.
Great comment...mind if I borrow it for a tagline?
It’s all yours.
Thanks Marlowe.
“I have opposed the death penalty” Really !?!? What about abortion?
“This has been the political cause of my life” Really!?!?
Everything in life was political with him!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.