Politics
Sunday August 30, 2009
Kennedy's Letter to Pope: "I've never failed to believe and respect the fundamental teachings" of Catholic Faith
Spoke of Support for Conscience Protections for Catholic in Healthcare
TODAY'S HEADLINES
E-MAIL
PRINT
By John-Henry Westen
BOSTON, August 30, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The contents of the letter from Senator Ted Kennedy delivered to Pope Benedict XVI by President Barack Obama in July were made public at Kennedy's burial today. Former Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick read excerpts from the letter and a response from the Vatican during the burial service.
Despite his advocacy for abortion and homosexual 'marriage', Kennedy told the Pope: ""I have always tried to be a faithful Catholic, Your Holiness, and though I have fallen short through human failings, I have never failed to believe and respect the fundamental teachings."
Kennedy also wrote that he opposed the death penalty and also that he supported conscience rights in the healthcare bill which would permit Catholic doctors to refuse to participate in abortion without sanction. "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," he wrote.
Cardinal McCarrick only read selected portions of the Vatican reply in which a Vatican functionary assured Kennedy of his prayers and imparted him and his family a blessing. (Reading of the letter starts at 6:30 in the video)
See Kennedy letter text and Vatican's reply
Back to TopLatest Headlines
- Appeal Filed to Give D.C. Voters Right to Vote on Gay “Marriage” Law
- San Francisco Chronicle: “Open Secret” That Prop. 8 Judge is “Gay”
- Cardinal George Denounces "New Ways Ministry" as Pseudo-Catholic Organization
- Vatican: Population Growth is a Means of Overcoming Poverty, Not a Cause of It
- “Bogus Compassion” is Killing Children and Corrupting Society: Belgian Philosopher
- Indian Court Rules Born and Unborn Are Equal
- United Nations Urges Nicaragua to Legalize Abortion
- Vatican Consultant Responds to 'Completely Ignorant' IPPF Accusation
- Irony: 19-Child Duggar Family Renting Former Home of Local Planned Parenthood Leader
- Document Reveals Inconsistencies in ND's Jenkins Claims on ND88
- New Country Music Star Born as Pro-Life Ballad Climbs the Charts
- Commentary on February 8 News
- Police Refuse to Release Federal "Threat Assessment" on Wis. Pro-Lifers
- Canadian Human Rights Commission Appeals Ruling against Hate Messages Statute
- Homosexual Activist Keith Norton Dies at 69
- Letters to the Editor
Most Read this Week
- Veterans, Former Army Legal Chief Defend “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
- Planned Parenthood President Lands Spot on Ford Foundation Board
- Rabbis Warn against 'Disaster' of Open Homosexuality in the Military
- Football Pros Give Support to Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad
- Clash of the Abortion Titans: Planned Parenthood Launches 'Pro-Choice' Football Ad
- Canadian Station Pulls Pro-Life Ad – Too “Graphic”
- Hijacking the Brain — How Pornography Works
- Group Exposes Media "Fraud" at March for Life
- U.S. Sisters in Crisis after Embracing “Secular Culture”: Vatican Cardinal
- NYT: Rampant Polygamy in Gay 'Marriage' May Benefit Institution
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.