Posted on 08/27/2009 10:22:18 PM PDT by STARWISE
Saturday's grandiose Catholic funeral for Senator Ted Kennedy has the potential to be a scandal that will make Notre Dame's Obama Day a walk in the park.
With all four living former Presidents in attendance and an address from President Barack Obama, the funeral is set to be a royal crowning, right inside a Catholic Church, of a man who betrayed the most fundamental moral teachings of the faith.
What example will this give to Catholics and the rest of the world looking in? It will surely belie the Catholic teachings on the sanctity of life and sexuality.
"Surely," they will say, "if one of the most vociferous proponents of abortion and homosexuality in politics is so feted in the Church, the Church cannot possibly regard abortion as murder."
Would anyone so honor one who so advocated what the church officially considers an "unspeakable crime"?
The Church in the US has suffered a dangerous precedent with the recent Notre Dame award to President Obama. However, President Obama is not Catholic. Therefore, the impact of the scandal was blunted.
Regarding Senator Kennedy, however, the stakes are much higher in terms of scandal and public relations.
Kennedy, began his life as a Catholic in great ceremony. At age seven, he received his First Communion from Pope Pius XII in the Vatican. He was also pro-life early in his political career.
"Wanted or unwanted, I believe that human life, even at its earliest stages, has certain rights which must be recognized - the right to be born, the right to love, the right to grow old," he wrote in 1971.
However, abandoning the practice of faith is regarded as worse than never having known.
The Bible, in the second book of Peter teaches: "For if, flying from the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they be again entangled in them and overcome: their latter state is become unto them worse than the former. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of justice than, after they have known it, to turn back from that holy commandment which was delivered to them." (2 Peter 2:20-21)
Rev. Patrick Tarrant, pastor of the Church where Kennedy is to be buried has informed the media that he was present at Kennedy's death and thus hopefully the senator made a last confession and was reconciled with the Church.
However, only a public repudiation of his militantly anti-life and anti-family actions would serve to lessen the scandal of the upcoming funeral extravaganza.
I don't discount that that might be coming. After all, Kennedy did have President Obama deliver a letter to the Pope when Obama made his visit to the Vatican in July. Although unlikely, given the Senator's recent, intense support for Obama's health care reforms, perhaps there was a public confession in the letter waiting to be released. We can hope and pray.
If we assume a private confession was made there could be a private funeral Mass for the family, without politicians and media. And of course there would still be a secular memorial event, with all the pomp and ceremony for this star of the secular world.
Such a deliberately subdued Catholic liturgical event for the Senator would, at this time, with the announcement of the Catholic funeral already out, come at the cost of enduring the rage of those who have become used to the Church giving in to their demands. However, the eternal benefit would be to send a clear message to Catholic politicians in particular, and to the public in general, that the Church is actually serious about the sanctity of human life.
It could also be an opportunity for Church leaders to repent of having failed to work hard enough to bring wayward Catholic politicians back to faith, or even of having in many cases led them away from the faith, as some clergy are known to have influenced Kennedy.
It would not be the first time the Church has apologized for not living up to it's pro-life convictions. In 2000, when Pope John Paul II was making his much touted "Universal Prayer" of "Confession Of Sins And Asking For Forgiveness" one of the ignored apologies concerned the unborn.
Then-Archbishop François Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân prayed "let us pray for those who are most defenseless, the unborn killed in their mother's womb or even exploited for experimental purposes by those who abuse the promise of biotechnology and distort the aims of science."
The Pope responded in prayer, "God, our Father, you always bear the cry of the poor. How many times have Christians themselves not recognized you in the hungry, the thirsty and the naked, in the persecuted, the imprisoned, and in those incapable of defending themselves, especially in the first stages of life. For all those who have committed acts of injustice by trusting in wealth and power and showing contempt for the "little ones" who are so dear to you, we ask your forgiveness: have mercy on us and accept our repentance. We ask this through Christ our Lord."
Canada suffered a similar scandal in 2000, with the death of former Catholic Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
Despite his having legalized abortion, divorce and homosexuality he was given a state funeral in Montreal's Notre-Dame Basilica, presided over by the archbishop of Montreal, Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte. One of the pallbearers was Cuba's communist president Fidel Castro.
Five months after the funeral Calgary Bishop Fred Henry was asked if he were offended by Trudeau’s funeral. He replied: “Yes, I was.... there were some issues or questions there that might make one kind of pause and consider whether or not this was an appropriate funeral to have or not."
Sister Anthony Mary answered the phone. She is an admin assistant to the Cardinal. She can’t speak top the matter, but will ask you to leave a comment on a recorded line.
Isn’t it special our president can find time to give this eulogy when he couldn’t be bothered for the woman who raised him (sent a letter and flowers).
To be fair, he got around to it... almost two months later when vacationing and seeing to that ‘court’ thing.
On Kennedy:
I know many friends who didn’t get a Mass or buried in a Catholic cemetary because they married a divorced person, much less what Teddy did. They’ll tell you that’s the ‘old’ church and we have to get with the ‘WCC’ version of forgiveness and we can’t judge (no mention of scandal or our three-legged stool of the Church), he repented and got last rites and it’s a private Mass. Watch.
We went over canon law on it two days ago; If I find the thread, i’ll mail it to you.
P.S. One of the threads on here covered it as well:
http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/theanchoress/2009/08/26/ted-kennedy-healthcare-purgatory
My purpose in mentioning that was all the reports I had read on funeral arrangements mentioned the “Mission Church.” Then Mrs. Don-o’s post said it would be in the “Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica.” Not being from Boston (at least not for fifty years as a child!) I assumed it was two different churches and the funeral had been “bumped up” from the Mission Church (which I thought of as some lesser, Congregational type church) to a more formal Roman Catholic church with the acquiescence of the Archdiocese. I was surprised and somewhat relieved to find from a news report (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090826/ap_on_go_co/us_kennedy_burial) that they were one and the same.
That would be the St. Jerome version. Outside the church with sackcloth and ashes for a longggg period of time.
Ah, the good old days.
I’m not kidding.
You should see (via the first things link I posted), the piece by Bishop de Souza called The Two Kennedys, re: Eunice and Teddy the split in how some practice their faith. It was excellent.
however, I don't believe it. I do know there are some who have sincerely asked for asked forgiveness and sought repentance at or near the time.
Ah the Mission Church made basilica by Pius XII... who also gave him his first communion.
I have to go weep and pray now.
It's once again --- (dang) --- scandal without formal "ownership," as at Notre Dame; and the greater scandal of an honorific boilerplate statement from Sean O'Malley and then silence, when the world is parched for a prophet's words.
I am almost not fit to write about this, non-faster and slacker that I am. I need to go off and think. A long while.
They are oozing with dignity and class. They have more dignity in their pinkies than most people have in their bones. Plus, I think it all stems from their Christian upbringing. I don't think they horned their way in. I honestly think they were invited by the entire Kennedy family. They could have easily turned the invitation down, but they didn't.
A funeral of this kind for Kennedy would make a mockery of faith and reverence for God...
We are all part of the living “Body of Christ” in His One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic faith, as stated in the Nicene Creed. Just as we could be physically healed through the intercession of the saints, we may secure spiritual graces from the holy lives of others. The weaker limbs of the body are nourished and draw strength from the healthier parts.
Indeed. President George W. and Kennedy collaborated on the education bill early in his presidency and actually praised Kennedy. Kennedy then turned on the President for most of the other positions taken in his presidency. Notwithstanding Kennedy's actions, the Bush's will join in paying final respects to the man.
If the Church itself isn't doing anything to stop this sort of abuse from within, then it is a scam. It's sacriligious and God wouldn't permit it. Period.
You can foam at the mouth and call it whatever you like, it still doesn't take away from the fact it's happening before your eyes unabated.
God is not permissive, so why should the Church be? That's not what God intended anyway.
The greater sin is being on the inside, standing idle, allowing it to happen.
The longer the Vatican sits on it's hands, the greater the mixed message it sends to the Catholic church.
A noted local member of the Mafia was allowed to have a funeral at the Church out of respect for the family members. When the Priest went into the Homily/Eulogy part he surprised the audience (Paraphrasing) “John lived in a life of sin and most likely is not with our God. Right now some of John's associates are present. If they would repent and turn their life away from murder, prostitution, and theft maybe John's death would not be in vain.”
The Priest was very Spiritual and never minced words. Perhaps the reason why the deceased family picked him to do the Funeral Mass.
I heard that ANY Senator can be buried at Arlington. TK did serve the minimum requirement in military in his day. But it is somewhat annoying that he can be buried there but so many others who have served more nobly (imo) are turned away for ‘lack of space’ and buried at other national cemeteries.
I think the most productive thing one could do at this point is pray for his soul and the direction of the Catholic church.
Kennedy, to his credit, stood for all the positions and ideals he believed in. He thought he was right. I entirely believed he was wrong. Kennedy never compromised his positions. Something many on our side should learn from.
As to No Child Left Behind. Many hail that as an achievement, because standards have now been put in place in the education system. The fact that the NEA and most school boards disagree with it, means it's good legislation.
This is why Catholics support abortion!
The Bishops and the Cardinals treat these PRO ABORTION KENNEDY’S WITH great respect giving their tacit approval to Kennedy’s Pro Abortion policies!
This is why Notre Dame thumbs its nose at its local bishop.
"We have no king but Caesar."
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