Good News From Canada
With all the talk of scandal surrounding the Kennedy funeral, I think it is a shame that media outlets, especially Catholic media outlets, haven’t made a bigger deal about the historic first that is playing out in the Catholic diocese of Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
This past weekend, I was a speaker at a pro-life, pro-family event at a parish here in Toronto. We were blessed to have been joined by our Archbishop, Thomas Collins. Now, just so you’re not under any illusions, our Archbishop is no revisionist; this past year, he invited the good bishop from Denver to come and speak in our diocese about politics. Following the excellent talk that Bishop Collins gave on building a culture of life (with much reference to the imperative of subsidiarity, I was pleased to note), the first question from the audience concerned the Kennedy funeral.
Asked for his take, Bishop Collins carefully spelled out that both sides in this debate were pursuing genuine Catholic values, but that it was inevitable that the details of the funeral itself would have to be left to the prudential judgment of those in charge. He highlighted the difficulties involved in these decisions and then concluded: though one might, in good faith, disagree with how the details were handled, it was a scandal that many in the Church attacked a manifestly pro-life bishop on such a matter of prudential judgment. Further, he took the opportunity to emphasize that Brett Salkeld (though I wasn’t addressed by name) and Thomas Collins and Edward Kennedy all need the prayers of the faithful when they go to meet their maker.
I was elated. This, to me, has been the crux of the issue. The too frequent suggestion, both crass and uncharitable, that those in charge of the Church is Boston were more interested in currying the favor of the wealthy and influential than in saving the lives of unborn children morphed any legitimate disagreement about the funeral into another public yelling match that did serious damage to the witness of the Church. Score one for Bishop Collins!
How tragic, though, that even in Canada, the Kennedy funeral takes top billing (there is also some elation now over the news that Rick Santorum is considering a presidential run) while the news from Antigonish has been ignored.
So what happened in Antigonish? The diocese has made an offer of $13 million dollars to the survivors of sexual abuse dating back to 1950. More importantly, they are the first diocese to do so without first fighting the law suit brought against them. (At least, that is what I have seen reported.) No hiding behind statues of limitations, no excuses, just “We are so very sorry. We want to do whatever we can to help.”
This should be standard Catholic practice. Those who think that funerals for pro-choice politicians send the wrong message to those outside the Church about our convictions about the sanctity of life might be right and they might be wrong. What is undeniable is that fighting victims of sex-abuse in court makes the Church’s convictions about sexual morality, including her teachings about abortion, virtually risible to non-Catholics. There are scandals and then there are SCANDALS.
May the example of the diocese of Antigonish have many echoes in the years to come. The witness of the Church depends on it.
Brett Salkeld is a doctoral student in theology at Regis College in Toronto. He is a father of two (so far) and husband of one.
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unbelievable.
The first respondent to Archbishop O’Malley on his blog concerning the funeral put it perfectly:
Of course Senator Kennedy should have been afforded a Catholic funeral. And I had no problem with you being there.
If you read what has been written about this Mass of Christian Burial, however, I think what you will find is that the bulk of the criticism out here is not directed at your participation, but at the way in which Senator Kennedy was canonized at the funeral and the way in which certain aspects of the funeral were politicized.
The purpose of a Mass of Christian Burial is the pray for the soul of the deceased and to bring to mind the hope we have in the Risen Christ. Period. It is not to be a celebration of the life of the deceased, no matter what pop culture and contemporary praxis seems to say.
In watching the funeral closely, there was no sense of this. It was all about Kennedy, all the time. The homilist effectively canonized him, picturing him in heaven. The General Intercessions, in particular, were a rather shocking politicization of the moment.
I don’t think anyone but the most inveterate Kennedy-hater would have expressed any objections to the funeral or your participation in it if the rite had been respected for what it has traditionally been about – praying for the soul of the departed, prayers that we will all need.
Kudos to Nova Scotia but I suspect you have less aggressive lawyers than down here since we’ve had 5 dioceses go into bankruptcy and all told paid over 1 billion dollars country wide. I’m just stunned that you had that same problem there in the land of Green Gables.
Amen to Christopher’s cited poster on the Kennedy thing and
Fr.Brian Harrison has pointed out that were Kennedy to have had a record not of supporting abortion and gay rights (politically correct…and unjustly so) but of supporting white supremacy (politically incorrect…and rightly so), the funeral would have been totally different and private to the family and without a homily placing him in Heaven….which by the way, the implications of the Council of Trent forbids as to judging where a soul is outside the parameters of Revelation.
First, Senator Kennedy’s support of gay rights. It is among his great virtues that the Senator was an active force against jailing people for homosexuality or denying them a means of living. I have no doubt God will reward him for his leadership on these matters.
Second, I am most pleased that after the heroic struggle by liberals, conservatives have abandoned their support for white supremacy. Sadly, during the period when white supremancy was unquestioned and during the period when it was questioned, no one was denied a Catholic funeral for that reason.
It is a cute debater’s trick to pick an issue that is no longer a matter of social dispute.
Kurt
Errrr……Kennedy supported gay marriage…not just the right to earn a living. Try reading Romans chapter one slowly, Kurt. You do read the Bible…correct?
You do read the Bible…correct?
Surprisingly for a Catholic, yes.
Kennedy supported gay marriage…not just the right to earn a living.
As opposed to conservatives supporting laws to put gay people in jail and deny gays the right to earn a living.
You elected to make an amalgamated statement about gay rights. If it is a package deal, as you imply, live with the results of your assertions.
I’ll try to live with it. My cousin is a practicing lesbian and for years had a high position with the Catholic Church in one of the states though I think they were unaware of her personal life. I saw no conflict in her case vis a vis her particular role and have never opposed gays’ right to work but I do oppose gay men’s right to work near children in school for example unless their school’s prinicipal is very conversant with their personality in particular. Gay women seem to have no history of abusing children. Gay men on the other hand from Plato’s time seem inclined to youth while not always children per se….unless you can name me a gay men’s group that virulently opposes sex with teens.
Isn’t it men involved in the arts that need to be kept away from children? Name a male artists group that virulenty opposes sex with teen girls?
Kurt
Besides being an artist, I have one degree in art history and can’t think of one case in art history of an artist of note being involved with young girls. I await being disabused of that view if you actually have a case.
Kurt
You have a good case though for all men in Yemen…read this…12 year old dies in labor:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/09/14/yemen.childbirth.death/index.html?iref=mpstoryview