(no subject)
After Kennedy's Death: Silence from the Pope
There was a poignant footnote to President Obama's historic July 10 meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Behind closed doors in the papal library, Obama handed Benedict a letter that Senator Edward Kennedy had asked him to personally deliver to the Pontiff. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs later told reporters that nobody - not even the President - knew the contents of the sealed missive. Obama asked Benedict to pray for Kennedy and called the ailing Senator afterward to fill him in on his encounter with the 82-year-old Pope.
The letter, most likely already resealed and tucked away in the Vatican archives, was probably just a dying Catholic's request for a papal blessing. In the eyes of the traditionalist wing of the Church, however, Kennedy should have been asking the Pope for forgiveness. The Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano reported Kennedy's death, praising his work on civil rights and fighting poverty, but noted that his record was marred by his stance on abortion. As of yet, unlike some other world leaders, Pope Benedict has not commented or issued an official communiqué in response to Kennedy's death. The niceties of international diplomacy do not require the Pope to issue a statement on the death of a non-head of state. Earlier in August, when the Senator's sister Eunice was dying the Papal Nuncio to the U.S. delivered a letter to her family saying the Pope was praying for her, her children and her husband.
One veteran official at the Vatican, of U.S. nationality, expressed the view of many conservatives about the Kennedy clan's rapport with the Catholic Church: "Why would he even write a letter to the Pope? The Kennedys have always been defiantly in opposition to the Roman Catholic magisterium." (Magisterium is the formal term for the authority of Church teaching.) (See a Kennedy family photo album.)
During Benedict's 2008 trip to the U.S., there was some heated debate - with conflicting photographs and eyewitness accounts - about whether Kennedy took Holy Communion at the papal Mass at Nationals Stadium in Washington, with conservatives insisting that the Pope says the rite should be denied to prochoice politicians. With this in mind, Church observers are keen to see if Boston's Archbishop Cardinal Sean O'Malley will preside over Kennedy's funeral. Some conservatives already see the fact that the rites are not being held in a cathedral (but rather at the Senator's favorite church) as significant.
For four decades Ted Kennedy remained the nation's most prominent Roman Catholic politician, as well as brother of America's first and only Catholic President. Ted Kennedy received his first Communion directly from Pope Pius XII, and his marriage in 1958 was performed by Cardinal Francis Spellman, the influential Archbishop of New York. His mother Rose once reportedly said that she'd dreamed that her youngest son would become a priest rather than a politician, destined to ultimately rise to bishop status. (See pictures of Pope Benedict XVI visiting America.)
Edward Kennedy, it can be said, was not cut out for the priestly life. His first marriage, to former model Virginia Joan Bennett, ended in divorce in 1982, with the marriage annulled by the Roman Rota more than a decade later. And there are the infamous episodes in his life that showed a man not quite in control of his demons. But ultimately, beyond his personal travails, Kennedy's relationship with the Church hierarchy was destined for conflict because of politics. The Senator became both the face and the engine of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party that has long led the battle for abortion rights, stem-cell research and gay marriage, all of which Catholic doctrine strictly forbids.
"He is a complicated figure," says the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and the culture editor of the Catholic magazine America. "Catholics on the right are critical because of his stance on abortion. Catholics on the left celebrate his achievements on immigration, fighting poverty and other legislation that is a virtual mirror of the Church's social teaching." (See pictures of the Lion of the Senate.)
Back at headquarters, however, there is little room for nuance. "Here in Rome, Ted Kennedy is nobody. He's a legend with his own constituency," says the Vatican official. "If he had influence in the past, it was only with the Archdiocese of Boston, and that eventually disappeared too." Some say the final sunset on the Kennedy name within Catholic halls of power was the Vatican's decision in 2007 to overturn the annulment of the first marriage of former U.S. Representative Joe Kennedy, the eldest son of Robert Kennedy. The successful appeal by Joe Kennedy's ex-wife Sheila Rauch, an Episcopalian, was another blow to the Kennedy image in Catholic circles.
In what may mark the final flicker of Kennedy influence in American Catholicism, reports circulated last spring that Obama was considering JFK's daughter Caroline Kennedy as the possible next U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican. That was not to be. Indeed, in the wake of Uncle Ted's death came word Thursday that Obama's final choice had arrived in Rome to take up the diplomatic post at the Holy See. He is Miguel Diaz, a little-known Cuban-born professor of theology firmly on the record as prolife.
Once again, Pope Benedict has managed to make me apoplectic. The Vatican is clearly not concerned with real life problems, such as poverty and illness. No, the Church is way too concerned with Kennedy's stance on abortion to deal with the conditions that give rise to abortion in the first place.
This typically medieval worldview is the hallmark of Benedict's papacy. When the Pope went to Africa earlier this year, he reaffirmed the Vatican's stance on birth control. To him, AIDS is a suitable punishment for those who fornicate. This conveniently overlooks the women with unfaithful husbands, rape victims and babies who contract HIV in utero. To me, this is bold evidence that the Vatican is okay with punishing women for being women.
Despite the Vatican's numerous proclamations about helping the poor and sick, see little evidence of the Vatican DOING anything. I do see various Orders and parishes doing a lot of work for the downtrodden, but the Pope appears as a king on a throne, pointing a glittering finger with the arrogant notion that Catholics will do his bidding while he sits on his ass.
Ted Kennedy worked harder in his life to alleviate the suffering of Americans than Benedict. Ted Kennedy understood how the conditions of poverty affected people. He did not ignore the realities of humanity like the Vatican does.
The Church has a damned irresponsible attitude about sex. When I was a senior in high school, we were given some sex ed in catechism class. The opener was titled "Sex, You and Reality," and it was a joke. The bottom line was to not have sex until marriage.
My own parents were the same way. My father in particular was obsessed with preserving our virginity. What the Church and my parents should have focused on was not the act of sex, but on respecting and loving myself and others so I can make better choices about sex. Had I had an education like this, I might have avoided many of the mistakes I've made in my life.
I do not recall anyone other than public school teachers discussing the ramifications of babies and sexually transmitted diseases, which are a part of sex and reality. I'm sure that for some people, the fear of some sort of Hell punishment keeps them from having sex, but I'm willing to bet it's a tiny minority.
It is irresponsible to dismiss sex that is had outside of marriage. At no time in history has there ever been a period when only married people have sex. If the Church actually cared about women and the poor, it would both work to alleviate the conditions that cause women to have abortions (rape, unfaithful husbands, etc.) and it would stop denying that unmarried people have sex. People are dying because all kinds of churches would rather they be punished with HIV and forced pregnancy.
I didn't know Jesus, but it seems like he kept the company of a lot of people who'd been deemed unsavory characters. According to the Bible, Jesus understood the condition of the poor and diseased and he didn't treat them like idiots. He cured dead guys, sick little girls, the blind and lepers. He taught about forgiveness. He also reminded people that no one was without sin. Matthew 7 should be a stern reminder to those who claim to be Christian.
Shame on you, Pope Benedict.
There was a poignant footnote to President Obama's historic July 10 meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Behind closed doors in the papal library, Obama handed Benedict a letter that Senator Edward Kennedy had asked him to personally deliver to the Pontiff. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs later told reporters that nobody - not even the President - knew the contents of the sealed missive. Obama asked Benedict to pray for Kennedy and called the ailing Senator afterward to fill him in on his encounter with the 82-year-old Pope.
The letter, most likely already resealed and tucked away in the Vatican archives, was probably just a dying Catholic's request for a papal blessing. In the eyes of the traditionalist wing of the Church, however, Kennedy should have been asking the Pope for forgiveness. The Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano reported Kennedy's death, praising his work on civil rights and fighting poverty, but noted that his record was marred by his stance on abortion. As of yet, unlike some other world leaders, Pope Benedict has not commented or issued an official communiqué in response to Kennedy's death. The niceties of international diplomacy do not require the Pope to issue a statement on the death of a non-head of state. Earlier in August, when the Senator's sister Eunice was dying the Papal Nuncio to the U.S. delivered a letter to her family saying the Pope was praying for her, her children and her husband.
One veteran official at the Vatican, of U.S. nationality, expressed the view of many conservatives about the Kennedy clan's rapport with the Catholic Church: "Why would he even write a letter to the Pope? The Kennedys have always been defiantly in opposition to the Roman Catholic magisterium." (Magisterium is the formal term for the authority of Church teaching.) (See a Kennedy family photo album.)
During Benedict's 2008 trip to the U.S., there was some heated debate - with conflicting photographs and eyewitness accounts - about whether Kennedy took Holy Communion at the papal Mass at Nationals Stadium in Washington, with conservatives insisting that the Pope says the rite should be denied to prochoice politicians. With this in mind, Church observers are keen to see if Boston's Archbishop Cardinal Sean O'Malley will preside over Kennedy's funeral. Some conservatives already see the fact that the rites are not being held in a cathedral (but rather at the Senator's favorite church) as significant.
For four decades Ted Kennedy remained the nation's most prominent Roman Catholic politician, as well as brother of America's first and only Catholic President. Ted Kennedy received his first Communion directly from Pope Pius XII, and his marriage in 1958 was performed by Cardinal Francis Spellman, the influential Archbishop of New York. His mother Rose once reportedly said that she'd dreamed that her youngest son would become a priest rather than a politician, destined to ultimately rise to bishop status. (See pictures of Pope Benedict XVI visiting America.)
Edward Kennedy, it can be said, was not cut out for the priestly life. His first marriage, to former model Virginia Joan Bennett, ended in divorce in 1982, with the marriage annulled by the Roman Rota more than a decade later. And there are the infamous episodes in his life that showed a man not quite in control of his demons. But ultimately, beyond his personal travails, Kennedy's relationship with the Church hierarchy was destined for conflict because of politics. The Senator became both the face and the engine of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party that has long led the battle for abortion rights, stem-cell research and gay marriage, all of which Catholic doctrine strictly forbids.
"He is a complicated figure," says the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and the culture editor of the Catholic magazine America. "Catholics on the right are critical because of his stance on abortion. Catholics on the left celebrate his achievements on immigration, fighting poverty and other legislation that is a virtual mirror of the Church's social teaching." (See pictures of the Lion of the Senate.)
Back at headquarters, however, there is little room for nuance. "Here in Rome, Ted Kennedy is nobody. He's a legend with his own constituency," says the Vatican official. "If he had influence in the past, it was only with the Archdiocese of Boston, and that eventually disappeared too." Some say the final sunset on the Kennedy name within Catholic halls of power was the Vatican's decision in 2007 to overturn the annulment of the first marriage of former U.S. Representative Joe Kennedy, the eldest son of Robert Kennedy. The successful appeal by Joe Kennedy's ex-wife Sheila Rauch, an Episcopalian, was another blow to the Kennedy image in Catholic circles.
In what may mark the final flicker of Kennedy influence in American Catholicism, reports circulated last spring that Obama was considering JFK's daughter Caroline Kennedy as the possible next U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican. That was not to be. Indeed, in the wake of Uncle Ted's death came word Thursday that Obama's final choice had arrived in Rome to take up the diplomatic post at the Holy See. He is Miguel Diaz, a little-known Cuban-born professor of theology firmly on the record as prolife.
Once again, Pope Benedict has managed to make me apoplectic. The Vatican is clearly not concerned with real life problems, such as poverty and illness. No, the Church is way too concerned with Kennedy's stance on abortion to deal with the conditions that give rise to abortion in the first place.
This typically medieval worldview is the hallmark of Benedict's papacy. When the Pope went to Africa earlier this year, he reaffirmed the Vatican's stance on birth control. To him, AIDS is a suitable punishment for those who fornicate. This conveniently overlooks the women with unfaithful husbands, rape victims and babies who contract HIV in utero. To me, this is bold evidence that the Vatican is okay with punishing women for being women.
Despite the Vatican's numerous proclamations about helping the poor and sick, see little evidence of the Vatican DOING anything. I do see various Orders and parishes doing a lot of work for the downtrodden, but the Pope appears as a king on a throne, pointing a glittering finger with the arrogant notion that Catholics will do his bidding while he sits on his ass.
Ted Kennedy worked harder in his life to alleviate the suffering of Americans than Benedict. Ted Kennedy understood how the conditions of poverty affected people. He did not ignore the realities of humanity like the Vatican does.
The Church has a damned irresponsible attitude about sex. When I was a senior in high school, we were given some sex ed in catechism class. The opener was titled "Sex, You and Reality," and it was a joke. The bottom line was to not have sex until marriage.
My own parents were the same way. My father in particular was obsessed with preserving our virginity. What the Church and my parents should have focused on was not the act of sex, but on respecting and loving myself and others so I can make better choices about sex. Had I had an education like this, I might have avoided many of the mistakes I've made in my life.
I do not recall anyone other than public school teachers discussing the ramifications of babies and sexually transmitted diseases, which are a part of sex and reality. I'm sure that for some people, the fear of some sort of Hell punishment keeps them from having sex, but I'm willing to bet it's a tiny minority.
It is irresponsible to dismiss sex that is had outside of marriage. At no time in history has there ever been a period when only married people have sex. If the Church actually cared about women and the poor, it would both work to alleviate the conditions that cause women to have abortions (rape, unfaithful husbands, etc.) and it would stop denying that unmarried people have sex. People are dying because all kinds of churches would rather they be punished with HIV and forced pregnancy.
I didn't know Jesus, but it seems like he kept the company of a lot of people who'd been deemed unsavory characters. According to the Bible, Jesus understood the condition of the poor and diseased and he didn't treat them like idiots. He cured dead guys, sick little girls, the blind and lepers. He taught about forgiveness. He also reminded people that no one was without sin. Matthew 7 should be a stern reminder to those who claim to be Christian.
Shame on you, Pope Benedict.