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Friday, September 4, 2009

An Open Letter to Cardinal Sean O'Malley

Cardinal O'Malley posted a blog entry September 2nd "explaining" his involvement in the Kennedy funeral. It begs the question. People were not so much concerned about his presence, but about a public showcase funeral being allowed for a man who "obstinately persist[ed] in manifest grave sin" (Canon 915) who never publicly repented. With help from a prince of the Church, Ted Kennedy was allowed to scandalize to the end.

Sadly, Cardinal O'Malley shifted the argument to an ad hominem attack on those who criticized the event.
At times, even in the Church, zeal can lead people to issue harsh judgments and impute the worst motives to one another. These attitudes and practices do irreparable damage to the communion of the Church. If any cause is motivated by judgment, anger or vindictiveness, it will be doomed to marginalization and failure. Jesus’ words to us were that we must love one another as He loves us. Jesus loves us while we are still in sin. He loves each of us first, and He loves us to the end. Our ability to change people’s hearts and help them to grasp the dignity of each and every life, from the first moment of conception to the last moment of natural death, is directly related to our ability to increase love and unity in the Church, for our proclamation of the Truth is hindered when we are divided and fighting with each other.


And so, once again, a highly-placed cleric blames, not those who murder the innocent, work for the destruction of marriage, and endorse sodomy but those who demur when the hierarchy act as enablers. We are the ones presumed to be motivated by "anger and vindictiveness." We are the ones doing "irreparable damage" to whom the cardinal "impute[s] the worst motives." Sadly, the cardinal's language is the same used by "pro-choicers" who cannot address the argument so they engage in ad hominem attacks.

I am grieved by Cardinal O'Malley's harsh judgment on the real defenders of life. I pray for Sen. Kennedy who was allowed to go to his grave without uttering one word of public repentance for being a champion of the culture of death. In the end the clergy surrounding him apparently acted, not like John the Baptist calling for reform of life, but like the pharisees tickling his ears. I hope he sincerely repented of his mortal sins of publicly advancing the murder of the innocent, sodomy, and the destruction of marriage. Above all I hope he repented for his frequent sacrilegious reception of Communion. There is little evidence that he did, but only God knows the state of his soul in his final moments.

I left a slightly different version of the comment below on the Cardinal's blog. Whether the moderator allows it is still in question. I publish it here as an open letter to the cardinal:

Your Eminence,

You set up a strawman on your blog post about the Kennedy funeral. Pro-lifers did not oppose a Catholic funeral for Sen. Kennedy. We hope that he repented. But public sins require public repentance and, sadly, that did not happen. The funeral should have been a private, family affair not what amounted to a public canonization leading others to believe that his actions were not gravely sinful and a serious scandal. It's ironic that Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a fine example of a pro-life Catholic, chose a humble private funeral. Her humility puts in greater contrast the unseemly spectacle at the cathedral honoring a champion of child-killing.

I find your condemnation and, dare I say, "judgment" of those who objected to the extravaganza puzzling. Is our intellect not called the "seat of judgment?" Did John the Baptist not "judge" the actions of those who paid lip service to faith while their actions showed them to be "whitewashed sepulchres filled with dead mens bones?"

Kennedy died as he lived, looking for human respect and accolades. He got them with your enabling assistance. Implied approval of homosexuality and the health care plan were incuded in the prayers of the faithful. Add that to the scandal and politicization of what was supposed to be a liturgical event but was actually thinly-disguised political theater.

Your excuses simply don't fly, Your Eminence. The faithful are looking for shepherds who love and defend the faith. The glittering public funeral for the lion of the culture of death was one more scandal damaging belief in the doctrines the Church teaches. Abortion is no big deal after all. Kennedy championed it to the end and not one word of caution was said at the funeral. The babies once again were sacrificed on the altar of human respect with your apparent approval.

The funeral was a scandal, Your Eminence, and your lovely words cannot make it less so.

8 comments:

  1. Thank You For speaking with the courage and backbone that this "traitor" lacked. I'm fed up with these 'judas priests'. There are so many poorly catechised Catholics already leaving the Catholic Church because they want to Know Jesus as Their 'Lord and Savior" , not their self esteem coach. Father Corapi's article posted on your blog not long ago is a real winner at a time like this. God Bless You,March on Christian Soldier,In Christ, Mrs.Markie Works

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  2. Co-signed, Mrs. Amy Seltzer, MEV

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  3. Twice I tried to post comments on "Cardinal Sean's" blog. Both were rejected, as were many comments that others attempted to post. Not very "tolerant" of his Eminence, is it?

    One person asked the question WWJD? I attempted to answer with:

    What would Jesus say? This is what He did say: "My house is a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves."

    With shepherds like Cardinal O'Malley, who needs wolves?

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  4. Very well said! Thanks for speaking the truth of our Catholic faith. I only wish all of our bishops would.
    God help us!

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  5. Bravo. I, too prayed for kennedy and said the Divine Mercy prayer for him months before he died and I hope he repented at the very end in private at least but the on-going public accolades which downplay the negative anti-catholic nature of his public career are indeed wrong. Why allow his faults to be magnified and continued after he has passed from this world? Rather let us have a renewed effort ot bring about correcttion of a career that has led many soul astray. This is an example of state-sponsored religion
    like the state sponsored religion in France during the Enlightenment era.

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  6. Judie Brown laid out the truth for the Cardinal in no uncertain terms when he still had time to do the right thing. Your comments rightly call him to task in clear, strong terms. God bless you both.

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  7. Yes Mary Ann I agree with you totally. My comment was also not posted on Cardinal O'Mally's blog.
    I will send it in two parts.
    Part I
    Cardinal O'Mally,
    This past weekend was sad, for the Kennedy family, the Church and the pro life movement. I am in serious disagreement with your handling of the situation.

    Can. 751. Heresy is the obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or it is likewise an obstinate doubt concerning the same; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him.
    Can. 1184. 1. Unless they have given some signs of repentance before their death, the following are to be deprived of ecclesiastical funeral rites:
    1* notorious apostates, heretics and schismatics;
    3* other manifest sinners for whom ecclesiastical funeral rites cannot be granted without public scandal to the faithful.
    2.If some doubt should arise, the local ordinary is to be consulted; and his judgments to be followed.
    Can. 1185 Any funeral Mass whatsoever is also to be denied a person excluded from ecclesiastical funeral rites.
    I'm sure Sen. Kennedy showed repentance for some of his shortcomings. But he never recanted his view on abortion rights and his voting record. Nor has any priest or Bishop or family member made a statement confirming his submission to the Pope on issues of faith and morals as all catholics must. On the contrary he voiced his wish for the passage of the health care bill which provides for funding of abortions.
    After the funeral I wrote the following over the weekend in response to some blogs.

    Cardinal O'Mally
    Siding With The Enemy
    A False Compassion

    I do not stand in judgment of senator Kennedy, that is for God. I have said prayers for Senator Kennedy, but there are other issues here.
    The Code of Cannon Law states: Can. 1398 A person who procures a successful abortion incurs an automatic (latae senteniae) excommunication.
    What about those who make this possible? Our Senators and Representatives who vote in favor of laws making it possible for the abortion to take place, in effect holding opening the doors to the clinic for the person having the abortion.
    The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: 2271: "Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:"
    "You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish." There are footnotes to this quote referring to the Didache, Barnabe, Ad Diognetum and Tertulian.
    Senator Kennedy throughout the years has consistently ignored these teachings and has been a co-conspirator in the deaths of 50,000,000 Americans. In the United States alone, 1,300,000 human beings are killed every year, that,s 3561/day, a 911 every day thanks to our “catholic” leaders Kennedy, Kerry, Pellosi, Reed and the rest of congress that votes for these bills.. How many cures for cancer and other diseases were thrown into the trash because of these abortions. This is Senator Kennedy's legacy! He was in fact, a heretic. God gave Senator Kennedy a special grace, Senator Kennedy knew he was going to die, he had plenty of time to recant his position on abortion to the American people, yet he did not. Even if he confessed to a priest, any good priest would have told him to do this. To be continued below

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  8. Part II
    To those who say that Senator Kennedy was a faithful catholic, please, don't insult our intelligence.
    In the War the Church faces on abortion, Sen Kennedy was a traitor to the Church.
    If you put his good works on one side of a scale and the consequences of his voting record on abortion on the other side, his good works would amount to a grain of salt to a ton of concrete.
    Oh, if you belong to “Future Church”, “Call To Action”, “Catholics for a Free Choice”, Yea, He was faithful.
    I'm sure they are applauding Cardinal O'Mally today. Maybe they will invite him to be one of their guest speakers.
    The time has come for catholics who are truly under the guidance of Pope Benedict to speak up! He is the only one a true catholic can rely on today without question. Not that there are not good priests and bishops, but we must always be on guard. You must know your faith. Learn it.! The Catechism, the code of canon law, Vatican Council II.
    Don't just go by whether a person is a theologian or has a Doctorate, many of them are idiots! Question! Question! Question! The truth is, the Pope speaks for Christ on issues of faith and morals and is infallible in them. Anyone who is apposed to these teachings is in fact against Christ, hence, a type of anti-Christ.
    People wonder what the anti-Christ will be like. He will be just like an Obama, a type of anti-Christ, a spokesman for Satan loved by the masses, one who promises the world, the only problem, is that he asks to devour the children in their mothers wombs, through abortion. He also asks for your souls and many give it without even realizing it.
    Cardinal O'Mally could have made a great statement in support of Life by denying the Senator a Catholic Mass.
    Cardinal O'Mally has set the pro life movement back a thousand years.
    He has made himself a man of mere words. I am sure he will ask the catholics to send post cards to Kerry and whoever takes Kennedy's place. I can't wait! I'm sure the 3561 children who will be aborted tomorrow can't wait either.
    We are at war Cardinal, Wake Up!
    He has also betrayed the church by allowing a type of anti-Christ into the sanctuary during the Holy Mass.
    In the General instruction for the Roman Missal #382There should be as a rule a short homily, but never a eulogy of any kind.
    As Pope Paul Paul VI said, the smoke of satin has entered into the church.
    The Church needs a John the Baptist today who is willing to give up his head in support of the truth.
    I will end with a prayer card distributed in my church.
    "In Our Dear Savior's dialogue with St. Catherine of Siena, He tells us that nearly all of the evils that are done by souls subject to the priests are the fault of bad pastors because had they corrected them....these evils would not have been done. God demands of us, says St. Catherine, that, instead of cursing such faithless priests and prelates,we earnestly pray for them,begging God's mercy and forgiveness, lest they be damned forever in hell. If all of us did this, God promises, "I will have mercy on my Spouse (the Church), reforming her with good and holy pastors then the good pastors will reform her, correcting by force,those under them"

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