During a crisis within the Roman Empire, Emperor Theodosius I slaughtered 7,000 of his own citizens in 390 AD. Shortly after this massacre Emperor Theodosius arrived in Milan where Saint Ambrose resided as bishop. Upon hearing of the emperors arrival Saint Ambrose refused to meet nor offer the Holy Sacrifice to him. Instead he castigated the emperor and demanded he repent for his sins.
Emperor Theodosius quickly obeyed [emphasis mine],
“and, being laid hold of by the discipline of the Church, did penance in such a way that the sight of his imperial loftiness prostrated made the people who were interceding for him weep more than the consciousness of offence had made them fear it when enraged”. “Stripping himself of every emblem of royalty”, says Ambrose in his funeral oration, “he publicly in church bewailed his sin. That public penance, which private individuals shrink from, an Emperor was not ashamed to perform; nor was there afterwards a day on which he did not grieve for his mistake.”[1]
Ted Kennedy was the leading proponent of abortion on demand.
Millions of innocent humans died due to the policies that Ted Kennedy championed.
Ted Kennedy passed away without repenting nor showing remorse for his direct actions in the death of millions.
Instead of performing his duty as Archbishop of Boston and teaching Ted Kennedy the errors of his ways, Cardinal O’Malley does absolutely nothing and then presides at his funeral.
Saint Ambrose, ora pro nobis!
_._
(photo from WPIX)
[1] Loughlin, J. (1907). St. Ambrose. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved August 30, 2009 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01383c.htm
The Church in Massachusetts has shamefully been in the hip pocket of the Kennedys since the days of Joe Kennedy,Sr.
http://books.google.com/books?id=eSBDF5_L3BgC&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=cardinal+cushing+joe+kennedy&source=bl&ots=Xh_ZbPQEwl&sig=sr2Xadza7G1iteC4-wk66qZKrps&hl=en&ei=nKubSt2NCunqnQf7pKCWCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6#v=onepage&q=&f=false
At the time, Catholics in America regarded the election of JFK to the presidency as one of the best things that ever happened to them and an historic advancement of their cause. In retrospect, however, I am beginning to think it was one of the WORST things ever to happen to Catholicism in America.
Without JFK’s election and subsequent assassination the myth of “Camelot” would never have been created, and the Kennedys would likely have remained a regional political dynasty similar to the Daleys in Chicago. The damage they have done to genuine Catholic social teaching and to the image of the Church would probably have been more contained, and their insufferable sense of entitlement to public office would not have been as pronounced.
Actually the Cardinal did not preside over the funeral. In fact an argument can be made by what he was doing he was making a subtle point. Perhaps it should have not been subtle but a point neverthe less
Get Relgion discusses this today at
Rites, wrongs and a letter from Rome
http://www.getreligion.org/?p=17206
JH,
Getreligion is not a Catholic website.
Cardinal O’Malley was presiding. He didn’t celebrate, but he was presiding. I was careful in how I worded it.
JH,
I finished reading the getRelgion blog and it’s open to interpretation.
This may well be a learning experience, so if anyone can locate the GIRM regarding this I would appreciate it!
A priest once noted that the senior ranking cleric present presides at the liturgical function even if another cleric actually leads.
“Ted Kennedy passed away without repenting nor showing remorse for his direct actions in the death of millions.”
Thank God somebody actually had the cajones to make this remark.
Unlike Ed Peters who previously stated:
So, the man simply being visited by clergy and attending Mass at home is a sign of repentance?
Come on!
All throughout his life, he continued to attend Mass (and what not) all the while supporting the dispicable dismemberment of babies within their mothers’ wombs; how could he virtually doing the very same while deposed at home could possibly be a sign that he regretted his support for murdering babies and rightly repented for it?
Being a visible figure, and given he was senator, he would have to have shown a public display of his great regret for this most abominable sin and endorse all efforts to undo the negative repercussions of his heinous Pro-abort stance, including an apology for the many deaths of so many innocents who died as a result thereof in his Culture of Death crusade!
e.,
Cut Dr. Edward Peters some slack, he may have been referring to his many indiscretions such as womanizing, drinking, etc, and indirectly inferring his stance on abortion.
Only God knows.