“And, if Kennedy went to confession and confessed his sins, received absolution and communion, he died in a state of grace, and would be entitled to a Catholic funeral Mass.”
I would think that part of the penance for absolution would include, since he was very public with his views, would be to renounce them publicly. Being a Catholic for all these years, anything less would be heresy, IMHO.
I for one, will loose an awful lot of respect for my Church if theu honer him...
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.