Ted Kennedy’s letter to the Pope
Some may remember that when President Obama met with Pope Benedict at the Vatican in July, he carried a private letter to the Holy Father from Senator Kennedy. From cnn.com, here are several excerpts from that letter, which Cardinal McCarrick read today at Arlington:
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 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. 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 provided 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 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’ll 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.
I won’t pretend to know the state of Senator Kennedy’s soul at the moment of his death, nor will I deny that his self-professed love of the poor and vulnerable was directly contradicted by his fierce efforts to block any kind legal protection for the unborn. Nonetheless, I think the humility expressed in this letter can and should serve as an example to all Catholics.
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in aeternam, quia pius est. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis cum sanctis tuis in aeternam, quia pius est.
Comments are closed.
Paragraphs 1, 2, 3, and 6 are certainly great examples, but 4 & 5 could easily come off as a bit proud and self-justifying.
If this is an example of humility, I’d love to see what pride looks like.
I have to admit, the first thing that came to mind on reading this was Luke 18:9-14.
Ted Kennedy claims to never have failed to believe or respect the fundamental teachings of the Catholic faith. How could he possible have made and believed that statement when he was a powerful and consistent proponent of abortion, of same sex marriage, of embryonic stem cell research…there are over 50 million babies exterminated in the wombs of their mothers who would have generated many, many millions more…and among these millions surely there were scientists who would have found cures for so many diseases, who would have brought peace and brotherhood and help for so many. Well, Ted Kennedy will answer to his Creator now for those lives and those gifts that he declared unwanted, that he rejected along with the gifts and blessings they brought to humanity…Father for give Him for surely he knew not what he was doing…
Who got a hold of this “private” letter and what would the purpose except manipulation of posting it? I am shocked…. truly shocked by the presence of this letter! It leaves me to believe only one thing, Obama was to deliver it to the Pope….. and?
Theresa: the Senator’s wife gave the Cardinal a copy and suggested that he read it at the burial. I’d say that’s probably well within her rights.
I am most thankful the Holy Father extended the Apostlic Blessing to Senator Kennedy before he died.
“I am most thankful the Holy Father extended the Apostlic Blessing to Senator Kennedy before he died.”
….and without the judgment and public rebuke of Sam’s comment above.
Josh – indeed!
In the Rite of Christian Burial, within the Eucharistic Prayer, there is a strong reminder to us that we are not God, when we pray to our Father for those “whose faith is known to you alone.”
R.I.P. Teddy
Humility and self-justification all in one script! What’s so surprising about that? It’s very human and precisely why we need a Divine Redeemer. May God grant this man, along with any and all of us who really try hard to live our faith and sincerely seek forgiveness for our failings, eternal rest and peace! Thank God that God retains the role of final judge and does not relegate our final judgment to other humans …otherwise none of us would have a prayer of a chance for eternal rest!
As an Irish Catholic the whole sordid affair just makes me want to have a stiff drink.
Saturday was the feast day of John the Baptist; I wonder what his reaction to all this would have been!
What a sorry lot we’ve become.
Sam,
I’ll pose to you again the drug addict dead in the gutter and the righeous man/woman being a great example to all. Who is of the Kingdom of God?
Careful Sam, it may be, when YOU stand before God, a man long dead by the name of Edward Kennedy pleading before the Father on your behalf: “Father, forgive him, he knows not what he has done…”.
Some day, hopefully far in the future, St. Peter will be at his gate looking at his files noting today we have a Mormon and an admitted adulterer coming before him. And Teddy will come bounding forward like one of his Portuguese Water Spaniels, and with his booming voice shout “Peter, let me tell ya. Orrin and “Mac”, they are great guys. Ya gotta let them in. Oh, the times we will have with them! You will love ‘em.”
44 uses of the first-person singular pronoun in 22 sentences.
I asked President Obama …I am so deeply grateful…. I hope this letter finds you in good health.
I pray…. I am writing with deep humility to ask that you pray for me as my own health declines. I was diagnosed with brain cancer …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. …I know that I have been an imperfect human being,…
Thank you, Senator Kennedy.
I am constantly amazed at the self-righteous attitude around here. What is more, the lack of any pastoral awareness is stunning. Don’t you think that in the last stages of life, when its clear treatment will only prolong life for a month or more, one is self-reflective and takes stock of their life? There is reason clergy are the confessors and theologians are not….they know that life is more than sound, disinterested argumentation.
Josh
Most of what you see is the infestation of political hackery into religion, turning true belief to be that of one’s political party — very sad indeed that we see this happening.
As I have told people before, and I will tell people again I am sure in the future — I am not a fan of Ted Kennedy myself, but I see much in him in common with most princes who the Church has supported throughout history. Good and bad qualities alike. We don’t know his judgment, we can only hope Christ’s mercy has led him to salvation, all the while we should ponder our own sins, our own future, and tremble as we work out our own salvation.
Henry, Josh:
I agree. There is an “infestation of political hackery into religion.”
Just as troubling is the intrusion of religious fundamentalism into the heart and soul of American politics.
With the religious right comes chauvinism, intolerance, anti-intellectualism, self-righteousness, selective literalism, fear, authoritarianism, and the intensity of a passion-ridden apocalyptic mindset. The list goes on.
These are primal forces. All are contrary to the spirit of Catholicism. But they not only threaten the integrity of Catholic intellectual, moral, and spiritual traditions, they also menace the social, economic, and political life of the American people. Such forces overpower the imagination and the full range of democratic liberties. Once set in motion, they promote a practice of redemptive violence that knows no ethical or legal restraint.
How does one counter such irrational impulses with reason? Not an easy question to address. Yet, hasn’t this been the principle challenge throughout the three decades of the culture wars? Has anyone taken irrationality into account when criticizing politicians for their failures to act prudently on behalf of the unborn?
To compound difficulty, it has become customary to appeal to lies and deceit as means of promoting political ends. Truth no longer has practical value, UNLESS it serves a desired result. The value of truth is purely instrumental. At the same time, political objectives are shrouded with a religious emotionalism. This creates a poisonous state of mind which can easily fend off efforts to bring logic into the national dialogue. The maxim “By Any Means Necessary” affords political advisors and hacks a new found dexterity.
What a damn mess!!!
Religious fundamentalism and the willingness to embrace the practical value of falsehood poses a grave threat to the political legitimacy of the nation. Lies and deceit breed fear. Fear destroys integrity, hope and purpose. Soon, all is reduced to expediency and expediency worms its way into and destroys community from the inside.
How can the integral life of the unborn to be furthered in such a milieu? Does any one have an idea? Hardly. Rather than criticizing Catholic politicians for their failures, perhaps it is time each of us look in the mirror and ask whether we are at fault for our democratic failures. How much of this evolving mob mentality can be traced to our own intellectual and moral corruption? Plenty.
I only have a moment but I must express my concern over your well written intellectual slam and complete in one stroke of the brush, attempt to eliminate the underlying cause of the fear and concern over the status of our country. With all do respect Mr. Gerald Campbell, we all know that you are intelligent, but why must you assume that the majority of us are not…. Is it possible that because you close yourself off from the facts uncovered by sources you label “religious fundamentalist” that maybe you are in the dark? You can be smart and wrong about the Lord’s coming, the Pharisees and Sadduccees were wrong about his first coming….
“With the religious right comes chauvinism, intolerance, anti-intellectualism, self-righteousness, selective literalism, fear, authoritarianism, and the intensity of a passion-ridden apocalyptic mindset. The list goes on.”
Hmmmmm…Chauvinism in that we believe that a man should be the head of his household not in a condescending dictatorial way but as a Leader? Intolerance, that homosexuality be taught in our schools, K – 12, as a legitimate lifestyle… our children are not even allowed to pray at the beginning of school or ball games anymore because of our lack of backbone…. we’ve been tolerant…to a fault! Anti-intellectualism, gee, as a nun I was not even allowed to study on the same level as a Priest or Bishop… look in our Catholic Churches, you won’t find a Bible… they are Lectionaries. The mob mentality? Goodness, our country is on the brink of financial bankruptcy, it is already morally bankrupt and if we choose to hit the streets and say NO MORE GOVERNMENT expansion NO MORE TAXATION! We don’t want GOVERNMENT controlled/sponsored Healthcare paid for by more taxes…. I will be there…. not violently, but vocally there! I have still not forgiven the women who didn’t hit the streets when I was a child after the Supreme Court made abortion legal in our country… Hit the streets, nothing else seems to be working!
Theresa,
It seems you have generously illustrated my point.
I am happy to oblige.
FYI Gerald,
I guess we all have a facet of the diamond of Truth and it serves little to yell from behind our dimension of it arguing my perspective against yours. Perhaps I should invite you to my side of the Diamond for a moment:
I am not a fear-based individual; I am hopeful and earnest about the good work that I am involved in on a daily basis in collaboration with a great number of outstanding Americans of diverse backgrounds. I am hopeful Because He is my Fountain whom I seek and He doesn’t disappoint.
Washington on the other hand has and most poignantly, now, causes me the same level of anger as Jesus when he turned the tables over in the Temple! I have been angry for a long time at the lack of integrity and the sheer incompetence….the chambers are often empty and they don’t even read the bills…..I was angry to blatantly visualize the extent of the Kennedy machine…. that was just plain unconstitutional…for him to have usurped that much power…. and the ends do not justify the means….
I do listen to and read from a lot of different sources, some would not be considered legitimate, perhaps to you. I do so because the tendency of every group, no matter how hard they try, is to get into their cave and consider every other non-Academic/pure Biblical viewpoint as invalid. Invalid or not, understanding what is being said and going on is terribly important today. I have followed Farakahn, for example, over the years casually, forcing myself to hear him speak and he has influenced a great sense of hatred toward the White People “who have and continue to keep them down…” there is a very organized campaign against our WHITE capitalist society by his organization alone— you do know that? I wish that we could all sit down and agree that we don’t want either Capitalism or Socialism and design something different — Social Capitalism, perhaps — that leads us in the direction of, from our perspective, “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven, society”! We cannot just sit back and allow God to be removed like He has been from the EU Constitution, for example. We are close to seeing that happen here…. or do you think that doesn’t matter or is never going to happen?
Yes, I walk both in a garden and with a sword right now…. and I believe that I must walk this way …. maybe the Lord will tell me like Peter to put that sword down….. when He does I will know what is to follow… and I won’t be able to stop it. So, Gerald I have been a rainbow queen all of my life, shining the rainbow of hope in the midst of great storms… but at the moment my soul is heavy with great forboding and it is not due to misinformation. I do honor your perspective, I am just afraid that you may not want to grasp/face/accept what is coming… I promise I am working to do everything that I can think of to prove what is in my spirit to be wrong…
Teresa,
I accept your gracious invitation to walk quietly with you.
Your expression of commitment to good works, and to alleviating the suffering of others, is very moving. I believe it is so persuasive because it flows out of the power of your example. The vision you sketch — a vision of mutual collaboration — appears to rest on the twin notions of Gift and Gratitude (“He is my Fountain whom I seek and He doesn’t disappoint.”) To help others, and to have the courage to be helped by them, is a dynamic we should all embrace. We should do so with all the energy we possess. In this way, we make room for the Holy Spirit to do its work.
I see in your words a belief in love as a power that heals the pain which afflicts so many in our society. Our collective grief is the searing pain of spiritual alienation. It is the intrinsic cause of all the ills that beset us as persons. Love alone heals spiritual wounds. Thus we need to do good works, and allow the gentle nudges of the Holy Spirit to impact our lives and others.
When I read in your comments about places like Washington, and I suppose I could add Wall Street, it is clear you see them as symbols of corruption. They signify the death of the human spirit and love.
I found it ironic that you related the story of Jesus in the Temple because it is that story, perhaps more than any Biblical story, that comes to my mind as well. Like you, I am disappointed with what I see — even a little angry at what we have become as a people and as a nation. More specifically, I an disappointed at Catholic leadership in America for not addressing more forcefully America’s problems within the context of the Church’s intellectual, moral, and spiritual traditions. During my lifetime, I have witnessed a long litany of failure and indifference. Despite so many cries, we seem to be obsessed with abstractions.
Since you made reference to it, let me explain one thing about what you called the Kennedy machine. The size of any Senate staff is determined by Senate Rules. All Senators are authorized to have the same size staff. If they are Committee Chairman, they have additional staff allotted to them for Committee purposes. So, over the span of a half century, the number of staffers a Senator might have might be large. What you saw on the Senate steps is not unusual for a man of his tenure. Any Senator serving that long would have similar number of staff people spaced out over the course of time. What is unusual about the visual you saw of Kennedy’s staff was that most of those who worked for him in the past showed up to honor him. Theirs was truly an expression of love. Thus it wasn’t the numbers that were dramatic, it was the fact that so many showed up. I’ve worked for many Members of Congress but none of them earned my affection as Kennedy did theirs.
Your comments on the “road less travelled” are fascinating. You mentioned Minister Farakahn which I found interesting. I’ve long wanted to know the why? not only of Farakahn, but of his appeal. Having had occasion to live among the homeless, the substance abuser, and violent youth on the streets of Washington for over five years, I got to know many of his followers. Farakahn inspired them in ways that no one else did or could. He helped bring order into their lives and allowed them to give back and help others in the inner city who lived in constant fear of violence. To be sure, Farakhan gives vent to real anger over the fact that blacks suffered for 450 years. His language can be frightening. Whether he is a man of the times or a man for all time waits to be seen. He is certainly not the caliber of Martin Luther King, Jr.
You mentioned economics. You will find many young thinkers on this site struggling with questions about the future of Capitalism, Socialism, or, as you call it, Social Capitalism. Few are happy about the current state of affairs in the U.S. I, too, think we can do better, although I don’t usually comment about economics. Others know much more than I do.
Let me conclude by saying both you and I walk in the garden carrying a sword. But when I speak of the sword I refer to the power of example over control; persuasion over force; a struggle for hearts and minds over direct intervention in people’s lives. I’m not in a hurry and I hope I don’t become too weary. But, as you, I will continue to move towards bright sunny uplands. Though the clouds may be dark and heavy, I will try not to lose my spirit or capacity to love.
Thanks for allowing me to get back to you.
.
The Pope should have written a letter back which stated something like this: “Just because you are personally opposed to the current healthcare system doesn’t mean you can impose your morality on others by staging a big government healthcare takeover.”
Despite the strong feelings against Senator Kennedy about his abortion stand, I wonder how much support the Pro-Life Establishment will give to pro-life, pro-labor, liberal Democratic Congressman Steve Lynch, who is thinking about running for the seat.
Anyone want to take a guess?
Cyril G.,
You say the Pope should have written a letter to Kennedy that in part says:
“Just because you are personally opposed to the current healthcare system doesn’t mean you can impose your morality on others by staging a big government healthcare takeover.”
Let me ask: Is it your view that the Pope believes health care should be a function of corporate profit and/or an individual’s ability to pay? If so, doesn’t this make health care to be a privilege, not a right of citizenship?
Now let me get this straight. The Pope believes that:
1) health care is a function of profit;
2) health care is rooted in the anthropology of the autonomous individual; and
3) health care is a privilege made available to those who can afford it.
In short, the Pope supports the U.S. health care system! Is that what you are suggesting?
Hmmm. Some Pope. Some health care system.
Good Morning Gerald,
I am truly thankful for the quality of your response… I am happier when I recognize properly when the sword is not needed and am prompted to engage peaceably.
With regard to your questions about whether the Pope supports our U.S. Health system; you and I both know that he believes that all should have access… not that it is a right, like the right to Life….
I think that we all agree that some changes need to happen in the design of the way we access healthcare….. (move it from Employer to Individual like Auto Insurance) and to keep costs under control we must design systems that support individual responsibility … and for those who are unable to care for themselves we, as Americans, should jump in locally… Meaning that the Medicare dollars/temporary healthcare assistance be handled locally…..as you beautifully described your work in Washington. I believe the Government-run solutions are too far removed from real life and the controls that get put in place interfere with the possibilitites for creative solutions and spontaneous charity groups springing up…. I think that tax incentives to Employers for covering/subsidizing the cost of Health Insurance as a Benefit should be put in place… not mandated…
Do you know what the real statistics are for uninsured motorists in America and for the Medically uninsured… not including those who are covered by Medicare, etc? It seems that no one can agree on that number.
I am not sure I was clear, but I believe that I have a responsibility to live my life in a way that supports good health, if I don’t I don’t think I have the right to make you pay for it….. though I most likely would donate compassionately for their care… and most definitely would take care of a family member, spouse, even my ex-husband of course, and even a dear friend I would hope, no matter what the cause of their sickness might be…. however, their might be a period of Tough Love depending on what we are dealing with…. :) We need to do all we can to push things back to families taking care of one another and designing our systems to support strong healthy Families. Heck we still don’t teach parenting and spousing (:)) except in Divorce court…. what is wrong with that picture! In other words allowing me to cover my brother if he loses his job/health insurance, even if he doesn’t live with me.
That is not how a disciple of Christ is supposed to behave, let alone someone who is supposed to be acting in the place of Christ. Look at the Gospels and read Jesus said Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethern, that you do unto me. Jesus came to save the sinners not sit around in a fancy dress and look important while doing nothing to help stop the increase of evil in the world. Jesus did not reject people for being rich or having sinned rather sought out their company so he could dave their souls. Now compare that to the pope’s prideful hypocritical response after the president of the U.S. gives him a letter from another man who has worked hard for world peace and justice.. So what does the pope do but ignore the way, the truth and the light that Jesus set right before his eyes to remind him that he was JUST A MAN. Now if he was more than just a man you know what he would’ve done. He would’ve acted how any Christ on earth would’ve acted and that would’ve been to comfort an old man by saying to him that his sins were forgiven, That is what a priest is supposed to do and if he does not then he should not be a priest, let alone a pope. They are not supposed to do it expecting any reward on earth.