Only excerpts of Ted Kennedy's Letter to Pope Benedict have been published so far, and on the critical issue of his excommunication latae sententiae due to his material cooperation with Abortion, only some oblique references;
Boston Globe: Kennedy’s letter only obliquely referred to his support for abortion rights, a position that put him sharply at odds with church teaching; nor did the excerpt from the Vatican reply touch on the issue.
Politics Daily quotes the Senator's letter directly: "I believe in a conscience protection for Catholics in the health care field and will 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."
But I found no repentance about his defense of abortion. That is between him and God now.
The Holy Father's letter: "The Holy Father has read the letter which you entrusted to President Barack Obama, who kindly presented it to him during their recent meeting. He was saddened to know of your illness, and has asked me to assure you of his concern and his spiritual closeness. He is particularly grateful for your promise of prayers for him and for the needs of the universal Church.
"His Holiness prays that in the days ahead you may be sustained in faith and hope, and granted the precious grace of joyful surrender to the will of God our merciful Father. He invokes upon you the consolation and peace promised by the Risen Savior to all who share in His sufferings and trust in His promise of eternal life.
"Commending you and the members of your family to the loving intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Father cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of wisdom, comfort and strength in the Lord."
This is a pastoral letter. It is not a concession to the Senator's Pro-Abortion work during his lifetime in the US Senate. However do not be surprised if it is spun that way.
I found the following grave site comments by Cardinal McCarrick to be stupid. Stupid because we are talking about abortion, an intrinsic evil, not simply a matter of disagreement. Abortion is not simply a matter important to us! It's important to God, which is why the Catechism says "From its conception, the child has the right to life. Direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a "criminal" practice (GS 27 § 3), gravely contrary to the moral law. The Church imposes the canonical penalty of excommunication for this crime against human life." CCC2322
"They called him the Lion of the Senate and indeed that is what he was," McCarrick said. "His roar and his zeal for what he believed made a difference in our nation's life."
"Sometimes, we who were his friends and had affection for him would get mad at him when he roared at what we believed was the wrong side of an issue which was important to us, but we always were touched by his passion for the underdog, for the rights of working people, for better education and for adequate health care for every American," the cardinal added. "His legacy will surely place him among the dozen or so greats in the history of the Senate of the United States."
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A letter to Sen. Kennedy.
MCFL: We received this poignant email from Eileen Smith and felt you would want to read it:
Laura died on the wrong side of Kennedy's Politics
My daughter, Laura Hope Smith died from a botched abortion in a doctor's office in Hyannis, MA on September 13th, 2007, down the street from the Kennedy Compound. I raised my family on Cape Cod near the medical Mecca of the world (Boston) with a false sense of security. Surely all our medical needs would be taken care of with the latest of technologies and the best of the best of doctors. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined my daughter would die at the hands of a Harvard Fellow doctor who practiced 3rd world medicine in our midst.
Laura died from the same drug that killed Michael Jackson, Propofol. Laura died for the same reason: carelessness, criminal negligence and recklessness. I was told the drs. criminal trail may start in February of 2010.
In January, a few months after my daughter's death, I knew I had to contact Senator Kennedy, the head of the US Senate Health Committee. Surely he would want to know what was happening in his own back yard in Hyannis. He certainly would not stand for such "abortions". I had visions of him personally closing down the office in righteous indignation. I had not followed Kennedy's political career and did not know he left his Catholic moorings of "Respect for Life" and joined the "Choice" group. I was totally unaware of Life politics at the time. I thought all Catholics were for Life. It was a given. After all, the Pope was watching!
I made a personal visit to the Senator's Washington DC office at the Senate by appointment and met with one of his aides. We spoke for almost an hour; she was polite, listened and took notes. She assured me I would hear back from her or someone else. One month went by. I called her, reminded her who I was and refreshed her on my story. Again I was assured I would hear something. I never did. Never got a call back. Never an ounce of concern came from Senator Ted Kennedy or his office regarding my daughter, whose life was snuffed short, carelessly, by the Harvard Fellow. To this day I cannot dignify him with the title of doctor. I refer to him by his first name, Rapin. Ironic isn't it? Rapin? I feel my daughter's life was raped from her along with my grandchild's.
The "Lion of the Senate", the Champion of the Little People and the overseer of Health Care in America was noticeably absent in the outcry after Laura's death. Also absent were all the organizations that are for "safe and legal" abortions. No, the lion didn't roar.
Much later I heard that Kennedy came down with brain cancer. I am sure he had the best of care by the highest caliber of doctors. But in the end it didn't matter, it was terminal. At least his family knew his end was near and could say goodbye. Laura and I never had that chance
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