Sen. Edward M. Kennedy
Posted on 08/26/2009 1:07:04 PM PDT by NYer
.- Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) passed away last night at the age of 77 after a battle with brain cancer. Kennedy, a Catholic, will be remembered for his service to the poor, and dedication to education but also his opposition to pro-life issues.
After a long struggle with brain cancer, last night Sen. Kennedy took a turn for the worse while at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Surrounded by his family members and a priest, Fr. Patrick Tarrant, he passed away around 11:30 p.m.
Fr. Tarrant told BostonChannel.com that Kennedy died while his family prayed. “They'd been praying all day, and it was a wonderful experience for me. I don't see it that often," Tarrant said.
Kennedy, known as “Ted” was the younger brother of both U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Sen. (D-NY) Robert Kennedy who were both assassinated in the 1960s. Their sister, Eunice Kennedy Schriver, who was lauded by the pro-life community died exactly two weeks ago at the age of 88.
The family released a statement following his death saying, “We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever.”
Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the Archbishop of Boston also emphasized Kennedy’s devotion to social work as well as his loving family who “stood by his side” as he “faced his illness with courage, dignity and strength.”
“For nearly half a century, Senator Kennedy was often a champion for the poor, the less fortunate and those seeking a better life. Across Massachusetts and the nation, his legacy will be carried on through the lives of those he served,” the cardinal said in a statement.
Archbishop Daniel Wurel of Washington, D.C. also offered his condolences to Kennedy’s family and emphasized the senator’s commitments to “alleviating poverty” as well as his strong support of the area’s Catholic schools.
Wurel recalled that for five years, the senator and Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) organized a dinner to benefit the schools. “As a result, thousands of disadvantaged children in the District of Columbia have had their lives transformed through a quality Catholic education."
Both Wurel and O’Malley offered to pray for the repose of Kennedy’s soul and that his family may find strength in Christ.
Kennedy's political aspirations were curtailed by an incident in 1969, when he accidentally drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick island in Massachusetts. While Kennedy was able to escape from the car, his passenger, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne could not free herself and drowned.
Kennedy did not report the accident until nearly nine hours later.
With so many questions as to why he waited to contact the police as well as with his fragmented account of the incident, his aspirations for the U.S. presidency remained unfulfilled.
Kennedy was involved in other controversies. As a Catholic, though he worked hard for the poor, he was criticized by bishops and pro-life leaders for supporting Roe v. Wade, the use of fetal tissue in experiments and for voting against a ban on partial-birth abortion.
Although he did not support legalized abortion early in his political career, he later earned a 100% NARAL Pro-Choice America rating. In contrast, Kennedy was rated as voting 0% of the time on pro-life issues.
Sen. Ted Kennedy will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery next to his brothers John and Robert.
IMO the Church should have grown a pair and excommunicated him decades ago.
2) Abortion advocate
Sorry..pro-abort
All he every did was spend other peoples money (taxes)and led a life of debauchery.
don’t try to make him a “good” Catholic now.
“...an incident..” EUphemism is always so pleasant
You know I loved my father deeply. When he passed I sang him home. But the truth is ( and I said so at the time) and was that he was a ridiculous alcoholic who betrayed his family and his profession. When his second wife suggested I was being to hard on the newly departed I simply asked her if she prefered it if I told her what I thought of her as a home wrecker?
Bull. Tedd Kennedy didn't champion for the poor (unless of course you mean that he wanted to create as many of them as possible). He championed the confiscation of wealth from the successful and the redistribution of that wealth to his constituents - that's a big difference.
It's one thing to empower people or inspire people to help the less fortunate, the sick or the intellectually disabled. It's quite another thing to take from one group - by threat of force or imprisonment - and give to another because in your estimation, they're more deserving in some way. It's completely antithetical to what the Framer's intentions.
Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's goods.
How can you be a socialist/Communist and fulfill the above Commandment?
3) Murderer.
The Cowardly Lion of the Senate.
I don’t think the term “mixed” is the one I’d use to describe his legacy as a Catholic.
Totally anti-Catholic heretic, perhaps... but not “mixed”.
TED KENNEDY WAS A SCANDALOUS HERETIC WHO IS GUILTY OF MURDER FOR FUNDING ABORTIONS THROUGH BUDGET ALLOCATIONS TO USAID AND ELSEWHERE.
I hope you are referring to the author - not NYer.
NYer is not a pro-abort. She simply posted an article with vapid content.
Thank You..Perfect response to the Religion revisionist.
Mixed? From the way he carried on, more like Nixed.
Ofcourse. I have been trying to be careful in responding. Making sure people understand I’m responding to the article not the Poster. Sorry NYer. You know I didn’t mean you.
Actually, it is Sean Patrick Cardinal O’Malley who is giving the mixed message about being Catholic. While Kennedy worked tirelessly for the poor, so have a lot of (other) pagans. I hope that Father Tarrant helped the very anti-Catholic Kennedy make his peace with God by repenting of his numerous scandalous activities and grave sins. The Cardinal would be better served to allow only a graveside service and forbid any priest in the Archdiocese from offering a Mass for the individual who went whoring with his nephews on Good Friday, who apparently thought abortion was a sacrament, and who “married” after divorcing Joan (just to name three scandalous activities of the Archpagan Mr. Kennedy.)
For the RC church to say taxation and redistribution is bad, would be to invite fingers to point at the era when it was integrated with the state.
I’ve said it before, and i’ll repeat it: Ted Kennedy was as much a Catholic as a Klansman is a Christian.
“His service to the poor,” was the stealing of money from others for use in making “the poor” dependent on the government for sustenance and reliable votes for Social Democrats. That is not a reflection of his Catholicism. Neither is his promotion of fountains of money for progressively more dysfunctional public schools. His is not a mixed blessing to Catholicism. It is unmitigated anti Catholicism in practice while claiming the mantle of the Church in order to get votes and socialize the Republic.
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