"Death comes for us all, My Lord... even for kings." - Sir Thomas More to the Chief Justice, "A Man for all Seasons."
| A part of the Senator's legacy which cannot be forgotten or ignored: see here and here and most importantly here. |
Absolve, we beseech Thee, O Lord,
the soul of Thy servant Edward Kennedy
from every bond of sin,
that being raised in the glory of the resurrection,
he may be refreshed among the Saints and Elect.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
10 comments:
Expect the liberal MSM to "canonize" the Senator. He will be celebrated as some sort of "champion of the poor and helpless" even though he supported the murder of the most helpless and innocant among us: the unborn.
I don't believe in speaking ill of the dead. But it is dishonest to portray Ted Kennedy as a hero who was "loyal to his principles." He was pro-life at one time but sold out to the culture of death for the sake of politial expediency. But as Jesus taught us, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul in the process?
Countless unborn children have been put to death because of pro-abortion politicans like Edward Kennedy. Yes, we should pray for his soul. We should also pray for God's Mercy on our morally bankrupt country. A country where more than a million innocent babies are slaughtered every year on the altar of choice.
Obama called Kennedy "defender of the dream," and "compassionate." Given his radical support of abortion, is it appropriate to use the word "compassionate" in his regard? So many who call themselves Catholic no longer have faith. These are the people who kept voting for Kennedy in Massachusetts and who also voted for Obama. So many have deserted the faith and are embracing the world and the spirit of Antichrist.
Kennedy Priest: He Went In Peace
Reverend Says Massachusetts Senator Was Devout, Ready
By M.R.F. Buckley
The Boston Channel (5) WCVB-TV
POSTED: August 26, 2009
BOSTON -- Sen. Edward M. Kennedy died in peace with his whole family praying around him, the clan's priest said Wednesday morning as the world mourned Massachusetts' senior senator, who died from brain cancer at the age of 77.
"It was a total surprise to me to see another world he was involved in -- the spiritual world," said Rev. Patrick Tarrant of Our Lady of Victory Church.
Tarrant, who was called to Kennedy's bedside late Tuesday as the senator was dying, said it was clear that Kennedy was ready for the journey that awaited him. He described the senator as "a man of quiet prayer," in his last hours.
"The truth is, he had expressed to is family that he did want to go. He did want to go to heaven. He did want to die and he did want to go. He was ready to go. There was a certain amount peace -- a lot of peace actually -- in the family get-together last night. I couldn't help but think that the world doesn't know that part of the senator at all" Tarrant said in a lilting Irish brogue.
As is part of the family tradition, Kennedy was surrounded by loved ones, including his wife Vicki, his children and other relatives,the priest said.
"I was there last night when he died and the whole family were praying. They'd been praying all day, and it was a wonderful experience for me. I don't see it that often," Tarrant said. "It's commendable."
The Roman Catholic priest was called to Kennedy's bedside when Kennedy took a "serious turn for the worse," between 9 and 10 p.m.Tuesday, Tarrant said.
Kennedy died about 11:30 p.m., he said.
Tarrant said the public generally knows about Kennedy the politician, but in death, he said, he saw a more personal side that was deeply devout.
"I think the whole world knows certain parts very well, but I think there's another part of his life that very few people know, and that's his deep faith. His very deep faith in God and his love for his family," Tarrant said.
The priest recalled how Kennedy led the prayers following Kennedy's sister Eunice's death Aug. 11, even though he was debilitated by his brain cancer. He said it was clear it was Kennedy's faith that gave him strength.
"He was there and very reverent. I wish the world had known that part of him, but that was his secret. It was like it was the secret of his power, to be involved in doing good for others and it was what, I believe, drove him," Tarrant said.
He said priests pray for the faithful to go in peace and Kennedy did, comforted and consoled by his family.
"They were there and they were very prayerful and reverent and of course crying," he said. "Of course they were aware that the very sick, the sense of hearing is the last thing to go. So, whatever is said around the sick bed is always heard by the patient ... and they were very well aware of it. They let him know how much he was loved and cared for and missed ... it was quite an experience, for me," he said.
I'm not sure how Fr. Tarant can say with any degree of certainty that Senator Kennedy "was ready for the journey that awaited him." Especially given the Senator's support of abortion, embryonic stem cell research and homosexuality.
Vatican II says that "God alone is the judge and searcher of hearts; for that reason he forbids us to make judgments about the internal guilt of anyone." (Gaudium et Spes, 28). But for the same reason (God alone is judge) we cannot say that the Senator is saved. We simply don't know. Therefore, the liberal MSM and other politicians etc should refrain from saying that the Senator is in Heaven or that he is saved. Frankly, given his life and political ideology, there is real reason to be concerned for his soul and to pray for him.
The Scriptures tell us that God can neither deceive nor be deceived. Last-minute confessions or death-bed conversions may or may not be sincere. God knows the whole of it.
Vatican paper laments Ted Kennedy's support for abortion
Europe News
Aug 26, 2009
Vatican City - The Vatican's official newspaper Wednesday marked the death of US Senator Edward Kennedy by praising his civil rights battles, but lamented his pro-choice stance on abortion.
Edward 'Ted' Kennedy, who died late Tuesday of a brain tumour, was the younger brother of John F Kennedy, the first, and to date only Roman Catholic US president,
L'Osservatore Romano recalled how he had stood 'constantly in the frontline... for the rights of immigrants, on gun control and minimum wages.'
However, 'unfortunately, he also took on a position that was in favour of abortion,' the newspaper said.
John, you raise a good point. Kennedy's record on abortion is a matter of public record. A real moral tragedy.
Definitely a church funeral in Boston; and possibly a "state" funeral in Washington:
Kennedy to lie in repose at JFK Museum before funeral in Boston
By Bryan Bender and Michael Paulson
Boston Globe
August 26, 2009
Senator Edward M. Kennedy will lie in repose at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum before his funeral at a historic Boston church where he prayed daily while his daughter successfully battled her own cancer. Kennedy will then be buried at Arlington National Cemetery next to his brothers.
Kennedy's funeral is being planned for the The Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in the Mission Hill section of Boston. Commonly known as the Mission Church, the 1,300-seat basilica on Tremont Street was built in the 1870s. Kennedy prayed there in 2003 while his daughter, Kara, was being treated for lung cancer.
An official at Arlington National Cemetery said that plans are underway to lay Kennedy to rest next to John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy at the military burial ground where some of the nation's most revered leaders are buried. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said the Military District of Washington will be in charge of making all the arrangements at the national shrine, located just across the Potomac River on a bluff overlooking the capital city.
Kennedy leaves 'sad legacy' on traditional values
Jim Brown - OneNewsNow - 8/26/2009 10:20:00 AM
A Massachusetts pro-family leader says Senator Ted Kennedy was a "remarkable individual," but has left a "sad legacy" of opposition to traditional values.
Edward "Ted" Kennedy, 77, passed away Tuesday night at his home on Cape Cod after a year-long struggle with brain cancer. He served nearly 50 years in the U.S. Senate, serving alongside 10 presidents and nearly as many governors in his tenure of public service. He is survived by his wife, a daughter, two sons (Patrick is a congressman from Rhode Island), and two stepchildren. (More details from Associated Press)
Kris Mineau of the Massachusetts Family Institute says the death of the long-time Democratic lawmaker marks the end of an era and provides a time of reflection about what America's political leaders should be standing for regarding family, human sexuality, and parents' rights.
"Senator Kennedy was certainly opposed to many of our traditional value issues," the family advocate notes. "Nonetheless, we have to give credit that he was a man of integrity and well-esteemed by his [fellow] senators -- both those conservative as well as liberals."
Mineau says sadly, Kennedy "epitomized what is wrong with our leaders and their value of life." He notes the liberal lawmaker originally ran for office as a pro-lifer, but once he took office was lured to the pro-abortion side for "power and finances."
"He was a champion for abortion, later on a champion for same-sex 'marriage' and the pushing of the homosexual agenda in our public schools," he points out. "That's a very sad legacy."
According to Mineau, Kennedy's passing is an opportunity for Massachusetts to elect a future leader who "would be more open to the great need for the restoration of values in our culture.
Echoing Mineau, CatholicVote.org President Brian Burch acknowledges the pros and cons of Kennnedy's career, what he calls a "mixed legacy." He notes Kennedy's efforts to improve education and help the uninsured and the poor, but he says the late senator neglected to acknowlege his Catholic roots by protecting the rights of unborn children.
"Senator Kennedy's legacy evokes deep sadness. During his early days in the Senate, Kennedy fittingly included the rights of unborn children in his dedication to protecting the most vulnerable," Burch remembers. "Since that time, millions of Catholics have been both saddened and disappointed by his decision to abandon the defense of unborn children and their mothers, a position contrary to the common good."
Burch says he will join today with fellow Catholics to pray for the repose of Ted Kennedy's soul and the comfort of his family and loved ones.
If the following is by a "Ted Kennedy biographer," then he's a poor researcher, was left "out of the loop" by the family, or is an "official" biographer retained to write a "hagiographical" work as Arthur Schlesinger did for JFK:
Q&A: Ted Kennedy Biographer Adam Clymer on Kennedy's Catholicism
By Dan Gilgoff
God & Country
August 26, 2009
I spoke with Ted Kennedy biographer Adam Clymer, former chief Washington correspondent for the New York Times, about the influence of Kennedy's Roman Catholicism on his life and career:
Some obituaries today are calling Ted Kennedy a devout Catholic. How important was his faith to him personally?
It meant a great deal to him. A friend of his told me how painful it was for him not to take [Holy Communion] between the time he got divorced and an annulment. He and [second wife] Vicki would often go to noontime mass if things were slow at the Capitol.
I once asked him why someone as well off as him was so interested in the poor and the sick, and he said it was his mother's Catholic teaching: the Sermon on the Mount and the passage from Luke that to those who much is given, much is expected.
So you think his Catholicism shaped his politics?
I wouldn't say it's the only factor, but it's the earliest one. I mean, his mother made sure her children went to church and Sunday school and on summer retreats when they would rather be doing something else.
How long did it take for Kennedy to get his first marriage annulled?
Between the divorce and the annulment, there was about 10 or 11 years. They never really announced when the annulment was granted. We all became aware of it when [Kennedy] took [Holy Communion] from Cardinal [Bernard] Law at his mother's funeral in '95. But the divorce was in 1982.
Was Kennedy someone who talked openly about his faith?
He didn't wear it on his sleeve. He didn't talk about it much, and in all of his autobiographical writings he never once wrote that it meant a great deal to him.
He gave the eulogy when his mother died, and there was a wonderful story he told about taking her to church in the years before she died. The nurse had told him that his mother would get tired and that he couldn't keep her there for the full two hours, that she had to come home after an hour. But when he would tell her its time to go, she said, "Shhh—it's not over yet."
Beyond stories like that, why do you think Kennedy didn't talk much about his faith?
He didn't need to. He had Massachusetts regardless of that, and I think he was just brought up that way. His brothers didn't, and you add a little New England to it—people just don't wear their religion on their sleeves there.
Did you get a sense for how he squared his Catholic beliefs with his support for abortion rights after Roe v. Wade ?
He said he'd been convinced by the court's logic, but I don't know any more than that.
Remember the "waitress sandwich"? From capveterans.com:
"Reports over the years have chronicled the dynamic liberal duo's [Senator's Kennedy and Dodd] La Brasserie exploits, like this one in the Hartford Courant:
"Dodd and Kennedy were also reported to have made a 'human sandwich' with a waitress at La Brasserie, another Capitol Hill restaurant. The report had it that Kennedy threw the woman on Dodd, who was slumped in a chair, and then jumped on top of her. She was said to have run screaming from the room."
The victim herself detailed the attack for Penthouse magazine in 1989, which was summarized by the Washington Times:
"When she put in an appearance in their private retreat - 'The Teddy Kennedy Fun Room' - the Massachusetts senator picked her up and heaved her onto a table. The crystal candlesticks and champagne glasses shattered as he grabbed her again and flung her on top of Dodd.
"Then Kennedy threw himself on top of the woman. The waitress implored Mr. Kennedy to 'Get off me!'
"Another waitress entered to find 'things all tipped over and Kennedy was on top, [the waitress] was in the middle and Dodd was on the bottom.' At that point the sandwich was disassembled."
And Senator Kennedy is being portrayed by the liberal MSM as a "compassionate man of the people"?
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