Ted Kennedy's well-lived life

You will surely get more than your share of hate mail over this tribute, but this reader sends her deepest thanks and congratulations.

Very nicely written about a wounded healer - aren't we all. I can't wait for the lunatic fringe to attack this writer on this page. It should be fun to see the tortured logic.

I read the Autobiography shortly after it came out. He had such a modest tone. He seems to have made a friend of the world. His many achievements were seen as difficult ascents, made only with the help of friends. An entertaining and illuminating book. A good and gentle man.

B. Johnson PDX

Thank you for an inspiring remembrance of the "last of the Kennedy sons." He was so villified by many in the Church that he loved that it's good to remember the man's faith and good works on his death anniversary. I was reminded of the lines from "Julius Caesar": "The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft' interred with their bones." We all need to think of this in today's climate of political rancor and division.

Thank you for this tribute to one of America's great statesmen. Kennedy was so villified in life and after his death by many in the Church that it seemed fitting to remember the faith and good works of this flawed politician. We are none of us perfect, and I was reminded of that famous line from "Julius Caesar": "The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft' interred with their bones." In this age of political rancor and division, it's refreshing to remember the good. Thanks again.

Today, august 25th, the diocese of Versailles celebrates the feast of Saint Louis of France, King. The celebration of his feast is not required in the rest of France. I asked a French priest why not. He replied "You know, Kings are not always appreciated by the French and it's hard to think that someone with power can not be corrupt." I'm sure that some will have difficulty with the positive slant given in this article of Senator Kennedy's attempt to live his vocation as powerful politician and a Catholic. I choose for now to remember the good done and thank the Lord for whatever counsel his Spirit gave to Ted throughout his life. May the Eucharist continue to sustain Vicky on the anniversaire of her husbands passing.

Patrick,
Thanks so much for your kind and encouraging words about Teddy. Many Catholics still look down on him and judge him harshly, but none of them had to walk in his shoes and bear the heavy burden of supreme sacrifice and loss, as well as the weight of his own weaknesses and sin that he was acutely aware of. You did a marvelous job in telling a portion of that story here. I can't help but think of Mark Antony's words in Julius Caesar: 3.2.75 "The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones." He was vilified by many even after his death as representing everything bad about politicians, especially liberals. He never forgot a friend or acquaintance, no matter how insignificant they were. The last time I saw him, it nearly broke my heart. He looked so weary and was bent over his cane while he walked. But he had a happy smile and a few words for me. Then he walked off alone. There was nobility and a sense of purpose in his gait despite how short and slow it was. I'm a nobody, but with him I always felt like a somebody, like nearly 40 years ago when he sent me a telegram wishing me well on my wedding day. Through Teddy I felt like I had someone representing me and helping make this country a more caring and just one.

with all that he accomplished, what a pity he was unable to take an unpopular
pro life position --------------- so many lives would have been saved. Certainly he would have made a great difference.

Thank you. Those of us who live in Massachusetts repeatedly voted for Sen. Kennedy, not because of any celebrity "mystique" but because he was a good senator who was faithful to his constituents, and worked hard for the common good. No one lives a perfect life -- we all hope for redemption, and Ted Kennedy was a good example of this.

What a beautiful and uplifting essay. Thank you so much for reminding us -- through to example of Senator Kennedy -- that our faith really is our strength.

Well said, Thank you.

Great article! I have always contributed my optimistic outlook to my genes,
but perhaps I should also contribute it to being a lifelong Catholic.

In the spirit of Ted Kennedy I believe the last sentence of the last paragraph above would have read more Christ-like if the author had said "...in the tapestry of any Christian life that is truly well-lived."

Ted Kennedy,   like all humans,   was a complex paradox of sinner and saint — ultimately learning from his failures and using what he learned to accomplish many good things for America.     Unlike most of us,   his entire life was lived in the fishbowl spotlight where failures are magnified and successes rarely get the realistic credit due.     One would be hard-pressed to find anyone who was completely indifferent about Ted — it seems that everyone has an opinion — but on balance,   his was a life well-lived.
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Ted’s brother John,   became president when I was in seventh grade and was assassinated when I was in tenth grade.     My generation has always had Kennedy’s,   and their family celebration and tragedy,   as part of our lives.     When they had successes,   we cheered;   when they screwed up,   we were disappointed and angry;   and when tragedy struck them,   we cried.     That’s just how it was in a more civilized era of communications.     Walter Cronkite reported fifteen minutes of national news (without editorial comment) every evening,   and extra information could be read in the local newspaper.     Everyone had to figure out for themselves what they thought about “the news” and the people in it.
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In earlier days,   we were as a nation,   blissfully without the 24/7 cable news talking heads and blogging scandalmongers who daily bombard us with information overload (much of it suspect) and polarizing opinion.     Perhaps it was easier then to stay focused on factual issues of government rather than become distracted with scandal and wedge issues.     It’s probably a good thing that the founders of our nation didn’t have cable news and bloggers dogging their every step,   or perhaps they would have never been able to establish our nation and organize a government.     The real truth of the matter is that none of them were perfect humans either.

I miss Ted Kennedy. Thank you Patrick Whelan for a great article.

"A well-lived life" is an elegant way to describe Ted Kennedy. He had such a great heart, so much love and concern for the poor and the marginalized. He was a good man who made mistakes; a good man who suffered such loss. Thank you.

A great article on one of the greatest advocates for the poor and downtrodden. I think of sometime of his sins and think if they were numbered, his good works and tireless advocacy for the less fortunate would far outnumber them.

I am not without spot or stain; I hope those who condemned Sen. Kennedy at his every turn and utterance will remember their human frailties, and rise far above them as Ted Kennedy did.

H.G. Bishop Timothy (MacLam)
Pilgrim Prayer & Healing Ministries

What a wonderful tribute. Although Sen. Kennedy has been made fun of and criticized for his difficulties and the mistakes in life; his faith and the concept of celebrating forgiveness from a loving God was always woven in the pattern of his life. He could have easily lived quietly and retired early, but he chose to constantly make a difference. He is an example of "to whom much is given, much is expected" and he stayed true to that principle.

Thank you.

Santo subito!

A lovely tribute to a wonderful man, who gave so many of us so much hope for so many years. You didn't have to live in Massachusetts to know you could count on Teddy! Yes, he was a flawed human being, but he tried very hard to amend his life (it appears from this perspective), and in doing so, he set a beautiful example for the rest of us. May God hold him close!

It's easy to forget that membership in the community is not earned and is not based on our 'goodness'--we are together because we are all broken and need healing. Ted Kennedy showed the courage of one whose weaknesses were public but who never let that deter him from seeking justice. As Leonard Cohen wrote, "There's a crack in everything--that's how the light gets in." We can hope that some handful in the political mix today will be encouraged by Kennedy's legacy to let justice trump greed, cynicism, and the sickness of power. It takes only a few--Gandhi brought down an empire and MLK undermined forces of evil now being renewed in the name of libertine lust for control.

Even though two of his brothers were assassinated by the powers that be, Ted Kennedy never ducked for cover but stood open to humiliation and even death in the cause of the principles Jefferson declared to be the ground for any just government.

In the fiftys I was a member of the U.S. Army stationed at Ft. Devens. On one of my visits to Marlborough, Massachusetts, Ted visited St. Marys church there and was the featured speaker at the Holy Name Society gathering after mass. He was promoting his brother's effort for the senate seat here in Massachusetts. At the time I did not know to much about the Kennedy family being from Arizona which at the time was Goldwater country. Now I know and through the years what a treasure the state of Massachusetts had in this person and in the family itself. We were recently honored this week by having a Health Care facility in Worcester named after him. His efforts on health care issues is well known throughout the country, a great honor for him and his family. We owe alot to Ted and the entire Kennedy family for what they have accomplished for our state and country. Praise God for this gift. Peace Roger

Dr. Whelan writes “He (Kennedy) was villainized because he took an alternative and more humane approach to grappling with the moral aspects of abortion…”

Is it not an oxymoron to use the words “humane” and “abortion” in the same sentence? Let us examine one grisly aspect regarding this legalized killing of these innocent little human beings – the issue of fetal pain. During a 1993 congressional testimony D. Jean A. Wright, of Emory School of Medicine said, “The scientific literature… and my clinical experience in the delivery of general anesthesia, systematic analgesia, conscious sedation, local and regional anesthesia to a wide variety of patients leads me to believe that…the pain experienced during ‘partial-birth abortions’ by the human fetus would have a much greater intensity than any similar procedures performed in older age groups.” (1) Dr. R. White, the Director of Neurosurgery & Brain Research at Case Western University stated before a House subcommittee hearing in 1996 that "The fetus within this time frame of gestation, 20 weeks and beyond, is fully capable of experiencing pain. Without a doubt a partial birth abortion is a dreadfully painful experience for any infant.” (2) Professor J. Dellapenna of Villanova writes that there is strong evidence that unborn children are sensitive to pain even during their early stages of development, “The neuromotor development of such a young fetus goes beyond mere reflex reaction. We now know that a fetus makes controlled, rhythmic movements well before viability and that the fetus will move to avoid pain – including an abortionist’s scalpel or a vacuum aspirator – at least as early as the third month of pregnancy… (the) motor region of the cortex (that) controls movements of the fetal eyes, and rapid eye movements, characteristics of dreaming, have been observed as early as the seventeenth week of pregnancy – the end of the fourth month. A fetus ‘will bend (its) fingers round an object” by the ninth week of gestation. Physicians have even observed unborn children of as few as nine weeks gestation covering their eyes to shield them from bright lights…” Technology now allows us to witness the graphic images of fetuses desperately trying to fight off and move away from the deadly tools of the abortionist as the mother’s formerly protective womb is gruesomely turned into a painful execution chamber.

Senator Kennedy, that “consummate vintner of lemonade”, was also the consummate advocate of legalized abortion. Based on the medical evidence of fetal neural development his legacy also includes supporting policies that lead to the agonizing deaths of countless little human beings who never had the opportunity “to have their blood drawn at the pediatrician's office” because their blood was violently and painfully spilled at the abortionist’s office.

FOOTNOTES:
(1) Raymond Dennehy, Anti-abortionist at Large (Victoria, B.C., Canada, Trafford Publishing, 2002) pp153-154.
(2) Dr. and Mrs.J.C. Willke, Why Can't We Love them both?, (Abortionfacts.com) Chapter 14
(3) Joseph Dellapenna, Dispelling the Myths of Abortion History, (Durham, NC, Carolina Academic Press) p 751

"He took an alternative and more humane approach to grappling with the moral aspects of abortion". "Every baby who's ever had blood drawn at the pediatrician's office thinks he has suffered more in that moment than any human in history".

Unbelievable statements! More humane for who? Yes, babies do experience extreme pain sometimes! When we cast votes we throw ourselves in with the ideals of those we vote for. If we vote for cowards who run from responsibility or seek to facilitate others in doing so, we join them in their culpability. God help us.

I'm not from the States, but who hasn't followed the Kennedy Family to some degree. I knew of his mistakes and from time to time I heard of his passion for the less privileged. I am glad I read this account of him on his anniversary. It was great to know he held close to his heart the Eucharist and his Catholic Faith.

This reminds me of the Parable of the Pharisee and the Sinner. Based on this parable, Ted Kennedy, whose sins were many, but who, later in life, daily sat in church begging God for forgiveness and to heal his children of cancer, must have been more worthy in the eyes of God than the Catholic Hierarchy and their lawyers, pounding their breasts, telling God, and the rest of us, how worthy they and the pedophile priests that they've sheltered for decades are.

God bless you, Teddy!

In the end, Ted Kennedy was a struggling human and faithful Catholic like the rest of us. Great story. His Catholic faith and life experiences (like cancer and women's rights) took him on a different path from most of us, and he had great courage to follow it knowing so many would hate him for it.

Ted Kennedy stands beside Webster,Clay and LaFollette as a great Senator. More than that, the legislation he advanced outstandingly Jesus' statement that"whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me" Requiescat in pace.

I am genuinely shocked that there's so little hate mail on this one. Last year Brooklyn's 'The Tablet' had a reader writing a letter to the 'letters to the editor' page for six consecutive weeks talking about how Sen. Kennedy should not have received a Catholic funeral; of course, those readers clearly were more knowledgeable than either of the Bishops in Boston or Washington.

Thank you for your tribute to Ted Kennedy, a man who was born to privilege but fought all of his life for those who could least defend themselves.

Ted Kennedy realized there was more "right to life" than just being born. The Catholic Church did great harm to its own image when it attacked Ted Kennedy and did not strongly advocate causes of social justice as he did.

It is for us to remember, and carry on his work. There are those of us who still take great pride in calling ourselves "A KENNEDY LIBERAL" !!!

Condolances to his widow Vicki, and all of his family. May it be a comfort to them to know that so many of us miss and mourn him still...

Ted Kennedy was granted a gift by The Almighty in that he was allowed to accurately anticipate his death due to his terminal illness. I hope for the sake of his immortal soul he made the best use of that gift.

While one does try to hold to the old adage, "speak no ill of the dead", it should also be remembered that the late Senator Ted Kennedy was far from being the saint, some of the posters on this site would have you believe.

Senator Kennedy was a consumate politician, which means he played to the feelings and opinions of his consituents well. He recognized that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was one of the most liberal states in the Union and so he played to that crowd. What he truly believed, I suspect we will never know in this life, assuming he believed anything.

His involvement in a suspicious drowning death of a woman at the Chappaquiddick in 1969 has never been fully explained and still raises serious questions and suspicions all 41 years later.

But by far the most troubling aspect of his political career was his unrepentant support for the murder of unborn children. His outspoken support for this, the most horrific crime of our time, cannot be reconciled with his professed Catholicism.

The late Senator may have done some good in his time, but that good is far outweighed by the intrinsic evil with which he cooperated in his support for abortion on demand.

Denis, the lack of "hate mail" shown here is because they're screening it out.

John F. Daly III said: "More than that, the legislation he advanced outstandingly Jesus' statement that 'whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me' Requiescat in pace."

This is utterly perverse. Ted Kennedy ceaselessly promoted the slaughter of the least among us: infants in the womb. So you're right in a sense: Kennedy brutally slashed, hacked, and butchered Christ.

"Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil: that put darkness for light, and light for darkness."

-Isaiah 5:20

I think Ted was a great man.