Matthew at Creative Minority Report makes a great point here.
Ha! Via Fr. Humphries
I thought to watch the Kennedy funeral was too severe a penance to inflict upon myself. Ed Peters though managed it and has some comments about it. At the end he says:
The whole experience left me less hopeful about “dialogue” on life issues (not that I was very hopeful to begin with): we are, it seems clear, talking to people who have no sense of the enormity of the crimes being committed daily against the innocent. None. None.
This matches exactly my own feeling on this. That what abortion means seems to be totally lost on so many in the Church. Even among those that call themselves pro-life they have lost the horror of the murder of the unborn. It seems like the support of abortion has become to them like some unpopular zoning ordinance. Disagreeable, but don’t make too much noise about it. Don’t mention the fact that the deceased supporting sucking the brains out of a child just before being born – talking about this is bad taste, but I guess not voting for this.
Looking at what Ed Peters wrote on the funeral it is just sad that the Church is used in such a way as to promote someone who was a leader in the Culture of Death and who planned and orchestrated how to keep the Supreme Court nice and favorable to abortion. Also very sad that the only person to offer a prayer for the Senator was the President (how does that figure in his Protestantism?).
It also becomes a mockery of the Mass when the intercessions become “Intercessory Talking Points” such as praying for national health care (Oh Lord Deliver us from this). It is also quite evident that the people who talked about the Senator were irony deficient in their praise.
The purpose of a funeral Mass seems to me to pray for the departed, not ask for their intercessions. So instead we have scandal instead of asking for prayers for the late Senator. Just too bad we can’t stick to the GIRM.
From the Catholic Action League
The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today decried the scandal which occurred this morning at Boston’s most historic Catholic shrine — the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, known as Mission Church — where a Mass of Christian Burial was used to “celebrate the life” of one of America’s most notorious opponents of Catholic morality, the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Senator Kennedy fought for more than three decades to keep the killing of pre-born children legal and unrestricted in the United States.
Surgical abortion has claimed more than fifty-one million human lives since 1973. The Catholic religion defines abortion as an “abominable crime”.
President Barack Obama delivered the eulogy, in which he alluded to Kennedy’s support for gay rights. One of the Prayers of the Faithful was a petition to end divisions “between gays and straights”.
Ecclesial participants included Rev. Raymond Collins, Rector of the Basilica; Rev. Mark Hession, Kennedy’s parish priest from Our Lady of Victories Church in Centerville on Cape Cod; Rev. J. Donald Monan, Chancellor of Boston College; and Sean Cardinal O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston, who thanked President Obama for his words and his presence. Both the homilist, Fr. Hession, and Cardinal O’Malley suggested that the late senator had found eternal salvation.
The Catholic Action League called the event “a tragic example of the Church’s willingness to surrender to the culture, and serve Caesar rather than Christ”.
Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle stated: “Senator Kennedy supported legal abortion, partial-birth abortion, the public funding of Medicaid abortions, embryonic stem cell research, birth control, federal family planning programs, and so-called emergency contraception. He defended Roe v. Wade, endorsed the proposed Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), and opposed both the Human Life Amendment and the Hyde Amendment. Kennedy maintained a 100% rating from both NARAL and Planned Parenthood. In 1993, he received the Kenneth Edelin Award from Planned Parenthood, and in 2000 received the Champions of Choice Award from NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts at the hands of the same Dr. Kenneth Edelin, the infamous abortionist.”
During his 1994 reelection campaign, Kennedy said ‘I wear as a badge of honor my opposition to the anti-choicers’. His successful obstruction of the nomination of Judge Robert Bork to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1987 effectively prevented the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Beyond his specific positions on human life issues, Senator Kennedy, along with the late Congressman Robert Drinan, provided the cover and the example for two generations of Catholic politicians to defect from Church teaching on the sanctity of innocent human life.”
“No rational person can reasonably be expected to take seriously Catholic opposition to abortion when a champion of the Culture of Death, who repeatedly betrayed the Faith of his baptism, is lauded and extolled by priests and prelates in a Marian basilica. This morning’s spectacle is evidence of the corruption which pervades the Catholic Church in the United States. The right to life will never be recognized by secular society if it is not first vindicated and consistently upheld within the institutions of the Church itself.”
MIAMI — There’s nothing unusual about churches advertising Sunday services, but some atheists are turning that idea on its head: Why not promote the belief that there is no God?
“Most people are under the impression that atheists lack morals and ethics. We are trying to dispel that myth,” said Ken Loukinen, founder of the 400-member Florida Atheists and Secular Humanists, which is sponsoring a controversial billboard in Broward County, Fla.
“Being a good person doesn’t require God,” the sign declares. “Don’t believe in God? You’re not alone!”Put up for $2,200 in early July in Fort Lauderdale, where it quickly drew protests from residents, the message has a new home on a billboard in Oakland Park, Fla[reference]
But to be a saint does require God.
But first you must ask them what the definition of a “good person” is anyway and how do you objectively define good? If you read the comments on John C. Wright’s blog you will certainly find that their is no atheist consensus other than that Mr. Wright must be wrong. Atheists can certainly live out the natural virtues. There is a recognition of the virtuous Pagan. I know that as an atheist I practiced some of the natural virtues, but it is only by grace that this is transformed into supernatural virtues.
Jesus asked “Why do you call me good” trying to get a response of faith, but I might ask the atheist “Why do you want to be called good” in a morally relativist world?
Ellyn at Oblique House on a new Walter Percy related book.
It appears to be very intense…and filled with that 11 point type that screams both “fabulous scholarship” and “your eyes ain’t gonna be enjoying this at 9:00pm on a Friday.”
Terri Schiavo’s father, Robert Schindler, died last night of apparent heart failure at the age of 72. His health was broken by the ordeal of trying to save his daughter’s life and he never fully recovered from the horror of watching her dehydrate to death. The family is grieving. Any condolences can be sent to: Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, 5562 Central Avenue ~ Suite 2 – St. Petersburg, FL – 33707
What great witness Robert Schindler gave in trying to save his daughter. The very model of a Catholic father. I saw him once at Mass shortly after Terri Schiavo’s death and it looked like the weight of the world was bearing down on him. I pray for his family in this time and for the repose of the soul of this good and faithful servant.
Today is also the funeral of the Senator who led the fight against Terri Schiavo in the Senate. Praying also for the repose of Sen. Kennedy’s soul.
Today being the The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist I do wonder what progressives think of this great saint. After all he is one who dared to criticize a politician and even went farther and asked him to repent of his irregular marriage. He also called everybody to repentance while wearing camel fur. I mean how judgmental could a saint get in criticizing a politician for their remarriage and bringing up the fact that people have sins to repent of? Plus his rhetoric calling people a “brood of vipers” and actually calling people to show signs of repentance. Herod Antipas himself was sensitive to Jewish tradition and his coins carried no image and like his father he did a lot of building which must have been a stimulus package for the local economy. He was not as cruel as his father, so this John the Baptist guy really should have been quiet about his flaws. You can easily imagine what a writer at America Magazine or National Catholic Reporter would say about an equivalent John the Baptist today. I mean the guy was not into modern ecumenism at all going around baptizing people and preparing them for Christ.
Though as a pundit blogger I must also remember that John the Baptist started his ministry after years in the wilderness spent in pray and fasting. He was able to recognize Christ and see the sign of the Holy Spirit. We must recognize Christ in others and remember that whatever we do for others we do for him We must not be a stumbling block to others in coming to Christ so that they too will have the sign of the Holy Spirit by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and recognize God as their father. We also must decrease while Christ increases.
Amy Weborn in a post with lots of book reviews.
Finally (I think there are more, but I can’t remember right now…) there’s A Little Guide to Your Last Days by Jeffry Hendrix. Jeffry, a former evangelical Christian pastor and Catholic convert, was diagnosed with kidney cancer and wrote this book – a quite specific book reflecting his own experience, on how to approach life and death when the prognosis is clear. Of course, the prognosis is clear for all of us, whether we believe it or not, so this is not just a book for those who are terminally ill – for, of course, we are all terminally ill.
I recently read this book myself and can highly recommend it. It is certainly a little guide and gets to the points quickly. It concisely offers not only solid spiritual advice, but also some very good practical advice and as Amy says we are all terminally ill.
Ed Peters weighs in on whether Ted Kennedy should have a Catholic funeral from a canonist’s point of view. I was curious about this and he certainly shows that canonically the Senator is eligible for a Catholic funeral. He ends with this:
Now, about President Obama giving a eulogy thereat, don’t even get me started.
Surely the President will give a moving eulogy on why we need to pray for the late Mr. Kennedy’s eternal soul. Either that or call him forth “Rise Ted Kennedy.”
Fr. Trigilio posts:
Sadly, as a priest, I have seen too many funerals become canonization events where the person is literally declared present in heaven because he or she was a ‘good’ person or because ‘we all end up in the same place, don’t we?’ Nothing could be farther from the truth. Being ‘good’ or just being a ‘nice’ guy will NOT get you into heaven. One must be HOLY to enter the Holy of Holies. Holiness comes from grace which comes from God. Look at the obituaries in your local paper today. Most if not all tell you esoteric things about the deceased like: they belonged to the Rotary Club, or the Elks, the Moose, Loyal Order of Waterbuffalos, etc. He or she liked fishing, shopping, travel, sewing, playing cards, ice cream cones, etc. They tell os of mundate and trite things the person did. The most important aspect, however, is not their extracurricular activities, their employment or their social life. Bottom line is their FAITH. Did they BELIEVE in God? Did they faithfully WORSHIP him every day and every Sunday? Did they OBEY his moral laws and Ten Commandments? Yes, I agree that those who served our nation and defended her in times of war and peace via our military ought to be recognized. That is a commendable act of patriotism. But we also need to hear about those brave souls who bore the cross of Christ in their own bodies and did so with dignity and deep faith. We need to hear about the sacrifices made for marriage and the family. We need to hear about those who struggled and persevered to live a devout life close to their God. I would rather read that than see a bunch of hooey telling me the hobbies of a dead person.
The doctrine of Purgatory is GREAT. It allows us to be purified when we are not fully detached from all stain of sin. The temporal punishment due to sin for an entire lifetime may be great or it may be small. While most of us are not Mother Teresas ready for the Pearly Gates the day we die, hopefully we are not Lucifers either, ready for the pain and torments of hell either. Purgatory is where most of hope to end up with the sure and certain hope we will eventually get to Paradise. Whatever sins we may have committed in life can still be remitted while there is still air in our lungs and blood being pumped from our heart. Pray for the dead and pray for the conversion of sinners. The battle to end abortion and euthanasia is far from over.
One of the phrases being used in referring to the late Sen. Kennedy is that “He was a Catholic in good standing.”
This seems to me to be phrase that almost always pops up in referring to somebody who was at odds with the teachings of the Catholic Church. If can’t think of reading an article ever where this term was used in connection to someone totally faithful to the magisterium of the Catholic Church.
Now what exactly is a Catholic in good standing? Is there a list on the internet somewhere of good standing Catholics? If so where is the list of Catholics in bad standing? Is there some Catholic equivalent of Santa Clause out there compiling this list and checking it twice?
Now this term is often used in hiring by diocese, but the term itself does not seem to have a technical definition. Though you would think it means something like a person who is a faithful follower of Christ, accepts the authority of the Holy See, follows God’s law, and whose personal life gives evidence of this. Though dissenters that say the are “Catholics in good standing” like the infamous abortion advocate Francis Kissling and the way it is used in many articles I think that it means “A Catholic who is not excommunicated, yet.”
The term is used in such a way as saying that since the Catholic Church has not sanctioned me in any way then they must not have a problem with me as a Catholic. In many cases they are able to say this because their bishop has done little or nothing in regards to the public scandal these publicly dissenting Catholics have caused. Nancy Pelosi, another “Catholic in Good Standing” made outrageous comments on abortion and remains a strong abortocrat. Her bishop did have a talk with her on this that she finally got around to attending. I am all for bishops working to persuade those Catholic politicians by dialoging with them on a personal level. It just seems to be that the dialog never ends and the public figure goes on causing scandal with no repercussions. Why exactly was a figure like Sen. Kennedy able to flouted Church teaching and positively support intrinsic evil over a large period of his life and never experience a medicinal remedy like excommunication? So many Catholic politicians have done exactly the same thing and have been the impetus for the Culture of Death. Though there are also a lot of Catholic priests and theologians that gave these politicians cover by inventing justifications for allowing a Catholic to support abortion. Fr. Drinan and others have a large hand in this. Though Fr. Drinan was also called a “Catholic in good standing” despite his support of abortion.
I am quite glad that more and more bishops seem to be speaking out and I hope this continues to happen. I just hope more realize that the care of souls includes both stopping scandal and providing medicinal remedies as provided by Canon Law. If men could be excommunicated for resisting integration, then why does not the same happen when public figures support intrinsic evils? If this leads to repentance than they can actually say there are “Catholics in good standing” without the tone of “Haven’t got caught yet.”