Kennedy was no friend of Rome

Mother Rose Kennedy is reported to have dreamed that Edward would become a priest. His was a life of privilege and opportunity recklessly squandered. Even Time-CNN recognizes the reason Kennedy alienated himself from the Catholic Church.

"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.l(understatement of the year; Chappaquiddick drowning death of Mary Jo Kopechne, Kennedy Smith rape trial, public reputation for drunkenness) 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."

Truer words were never spoken; Kennedy became the antithesis of the Catholic politician, fighting against the most central beliefs of the Church. The sad thing is, with his last name, he didn't have to compromise himself the way he did to stay in office. He could have remained true to the Church; after all he lived in one of the most Catholic states in the nation.
John Henry Westen remembers his abortion legacy and publicly wonders if his funeral will cause grave scandal to the Church.
"What example will this give to Catholics and the rest of the world looking in? It will surely belie the Catholic teachings on the sanctity of life and sexuality. "Surely," they will say, "if one of the most vociferous proponents of abortion and homosexuality in politics is so feted in the Church, the Church cannot possibly regard abortion as murder." Would anyone so honor one who so advocated what the church officially considers an "unspeakable crime"?

He of course, is referring to the fact that President Obama will be delivering the eulogy. Will this be another Notre Dame scandal?
HT Life Site News.

Read the entire story at Time.com.


Fr Raymond de Souza talks about missed opportunities here at NC Register blog.
"The public legacy of the Senate’s greatest liberal and the last lion of his pride is a matter for public judgment. During his 47 years in the Senate, he was the most prominent Catholic Democrat in America. Many critics considered him a better Democrat than Catholic. Yet the tragedy of Ted Kennedy is that had he been more faithful to the public implications of his Catholicism, he may have been a more successful leader of the Democratic Party. The culture wars have not been electorally kind to the Democratic Party, and there is perhaps no person more responsible for the culture wars than Ted Kennedy himself."
Strong words but necessary. We can never imagine what the Kennedy name could have done to advance the Culture of Life in America because this flawed man let his youthful sins drag his entire adult career into the pits of the Culture of Death. That's how the Enemy works; he gets a good person to do something bad (ie leave a young woman to drown to cover your drunken mistake) then he whispers in your ear for the rest of your life, "well you did that, this isn't any worse" about the next worse sin, and the next and the next. Before you know it you have a reputation as a drunk, womanizing extremely liberal senator who is undefeatable in the Senate.
It's a long, slippery slope with Satan pushing you all the way down.
Had Teddy made a heartfelt confession instead of listening to advisers, he might have turned his life around then. Had he served time in jail like any other citizen would for Chappaquiddick, he might have had true repentance. But he got away with murder and then became complicit in the murders of millions of unborn children.
If you have power, you must be extraordinarily vigilant to remain pure and blameless, precisely because you are a target of the enemy who seeks to destroy the earth with our help.

May God have mercy on Edward Kennedy for letting his weakness drag him down to cooperating with evil in his Senate career.