NCR’s Sr. Fiedler gushes over the death of the late pro-abortion Catholic Senator

At the passing of the… do we have to hear the cliche one more time… okay “liberal lion” of the Senate, absolutely committed pro-abortion Catholic Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), reactions – especially panegyrics – are coming in from the weak-identity Catholics.

On the site of the ultra-liberal, dissenting … wait for it… National Catholic Reporter Sr. Maureen Fiedler has a reaction to the passing of Sen. Kennedy:

He made me proud to be a Catholic
by Maureen Fiedler on Aug. 26, 2009

I don’t often cry when a public figure dies. [Cry cry cry…] This morning, I cried when I heard the news that Senator Ted Kennedy had passed away.

I “grew up” with the Kennedy Clan. I remember how John Kennedy broke the “Catholic barrier” with his election in 1960. I remember Robert Kennedy’s prophetic words as he ran for President in 1968… his fearless embrace of the “least of these” and his opposition to the War in Vietnam. And I remember the wrenching agony of the two Kennedy assassinations.

But today feels a bit like the end of an era. [Oh Lord… if only…] Ted Kennedy, like his brothers, was a champion of civil rights, women’s rights, [NB: liberals usually classify abortion as a matter of “women’s rights”] and the welfare of the “least of these.” [Unless, of course, you hadn’t yet been born.  How million is it at now, Sister?  And the “least of these” who were killed before birth would have paid into the coffers through their sweat so that entitlement programs would have been easier to pay for.][People can have differing opinions over that war, but Catholics cannot take a benign view of other Catholics who for decades give the greatest sort of public scandal on the matter of the sanctity of life and the corruption of Catholic identity in the public square.] He strongly and eloquently opposed the war in Iraq. Because his life (and the lives of others in his family) embraced the great Catholic social justice tradition, [?  So, abortion is not in her mind, a matter of social justice.  Gotchya.] they have made me proud to be a Catholic.

So I guess now… the torch has been passed… to us. [Meaning…what? That she is now going to soldier on publicly for unrestricted abortion?]

Okay everybody! Let’s all sing along!

CAMELOT!… CAMELOT!…

See Patrick Madrid’s take on Sr. Fiedler’s gooey piece.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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41 Comments

  1. JoeGarcia says:

    It does not come easily or naturally to me but…I am praying for Sen. Kennedy’s soul.

  2. Random Friar says:

    A great part of it is our fault as clergy. We failed him and many others when Humanae Vitae came out. We failed when the Kennedy’s were asking their priest friends if one could vote for abortion. We gave him the proverbial rope with which to hang himself, wrt abortion. Let our cry be “Never again!”

    May God have mercy on his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed.

  3. ssoldie says:

    Cry! Oh, good grief, I said an Our Father for his immortal soul. I was embarrased that he (and many of his ilk) pass themselves off as Catholic.

  4. I can understand someone maybe getting a little teary at the thought of, say, the true passing of youth, the remembrance of things past, the end of the innocence, the sense of encroaching death, etc.

    But it is a little hard to think of weeping over the passing of this man for reasons other than nostalgia or, perhaps, fear for his soul.

  5. becket1 says:

    And he will still probably get a Cathedral funeral, with the Archbishop of Boston as the celebrant. How wrong will that be!!.

  6. I think he can use as many prayers and Masses as he can get, frankly. And the Archbishop of Boston is more likely to be informed than we are, about whether he died a penitent and was absolved. I hope he did. I pray that he did.

    He wasn’t exactly a shining light of Catholicism, that’s true. But the Church is a hospital for souls.

  7. Pray very hard for his soul. Kennedy’s liberal friends will not pray for him because they will assume that he is in heaven.

  8. JuliB says:

    I will be donating to get a Mass said for him. He will need it. But really, I think the Anchoress has the best take on this whole thing.

  9. becket1 says:

    Kennedy’s funeral Mass will take place Saturday at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica — commonly known as the Mission Church — in the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston.

    I wonder how many “pro-abortionists” will be allowed to receive communion. Will be curious to see.

  10. MargaretMN says:

    I think what a lot of these liberals feel is nostalgia. My mom was proud to vote for JFK although she leaned Republican even back then. She was shocked and appalled when she found out what he was really like later. Ted Kennedy had a piece of that mythology and what the media built exclusively for him later (“the lion of the senate” etc.) was a pale imitation.

  11. ckdexterhaven says:

    I’ve never heard of Sr. Maureen until today, but I say this with confidence: I bet Sr. Maureen would never say that Pope Benedict XVI makes her “proud to be a Catholic.”

  12. Random Friar says:

    It’s not just our country where the Kennedy’s are revered, especially JFK. I’ve been in a handful of Latin American countries where there are JFK schools, parks, halls, stores, etc, named after him. And some of these were built within the last decade or so.

  13. DavidJ says:

    Suburbanbanshee has put together an excellent comment. Kudos.

  14. Girgadis says:

    Having wasted a good part of my life taking my faith for granted, even abandoning it for a period of years to “experiment” in other faith traditions, I can only look at Sen. Kennedy and other Catholics of his ilk and say “there, but for the grace of God, go I”.
    I’m in no position to judge to him, nor should I. However, I did feel some sadness upon learning of his death, perhaps in part due to nostalgia but mainly because I can’t help but lament that he, like other prominent Catholics, helped to foster a false notion of what it means to be Catholic and in the process, led others astray. Like Biden, Kerry, Pelosi, etc. he abandoned the tenets of his faith for political gain under the false guise of helping those without a voice. In turn, he helped deny the most vulnerable of us not only a voice but of life itself and helped perpetuate the great deception. Among the many intentions I pray for each day is that just one prominent Catholic politician will have a public conversion and immediately renounce their pro-abortion past. The effect would be profound. That obviously didn’t happen with Sen. Kennedy but I hope at least privately, he made things right and will rest in peace.

  15. The Egyptian says:

    In 6th grade religion Fr Hoying told our class that you had to vote for a Kennedy , because after all they were Catholic. I had to open my mouth and comment that I might as well be voting for Satan, needless to say I flunked the class, ah, memories of the late 1970’s

  16. chcrix says:

    I remember when JFK was elected. I also am morally certain that my father voted for Nixon.

    With the revelations about JFK in Hersch’s book, it is difficult to see how any catholic could be comfortable with his record.

    As far as RFK, those who remember know that he opposed the Vietnam war – after Gene McCarthy showed it was a smart move.

    Edward: I always kind of felt sorry for him. Yes, he got “his” Senate seat – after Jack threw a tantrum to make sure it would be held for him. But he would have probably been better off personally (and maybe happier) if he hadn’t been born to wealth.

    Funny how a “democracy” starts to run to “families” after a while. Kennedys, Bushes, Gores. Where are our “social teaching” types when it comes to these hereditary fiefdoms?

    Two Questions:

    Since JFK was elected in 1960 was another catholic ever elected president? (no)

    Did it matter? (I submit the answer is no to this one as well)

  17. Paul Q says:

    I understand a priest was with Ted when he died. Let us hope that he made peace with God.

    I was hoping the priest would make a public statement after Ted’s death saying something like “In his dying hours Senator Kennedy said, ‘Tell the world I was wrong about abortion!”

    Perhaps he confessed it to the priest, but it would have been great if he had publically recanted.

    Paul

  18. EXCHIEF says:

    Met the man once and had an opportunity to observe him when the “public” and the media were not watching (the beauty of being a cop assigned to his security detail for an evening). Gave a whole new meaning to the term two faced. His public and private demeanors were quite different and the private was not very good.

    Look at his death in a positive way. It is one less dinasour “catholic” for the rapidly fading 60’s era hippie nuns to idolize. I’ll pray for his soul but won’t miss him, his CINO status, or his politics.

  19. Peggy R says:

    I guess the good sister didn’t hear that other great Catholic (cough, cough), Chris Matthews, declare that Obama is the “fourth brother” that the torch has been passed to Obie. Oh, dear.

    Fr Z–what are your thoughts about Obie delivering the eulogy–which is not part of the rites of funeral masses anyway–for Ted Kennedy?

    Thanks,

  20. Thomas S says:

    Hearing Obama is to deliver a eulogy makes me doubtful of any death bed conversion by the Senator of my home state. And let’s not kid ourselves that the abortion issue was his one downfall. Even before he betrayed his original pro-life beliefs he was a drunk, an adulterer, and had that little motor vehicle homocide incident, too. It’s very sad to think what a force for Good he could have been for his country and his party if he had remained faithful to Christ. What would the Democrat Party look like today?

    But now that he’s gone to his judgment, I pray for him. I hope that in that last hour God broke through that blackness.

    However, the thought of the Moloch-in-Chief standing in the sanctuary of a Catholic Church, a basilica no less, and speaking from the pulpit makes me sick. Sicker even than the thought of a Judas like Kennedy being granted a Catholic funeral. If he so much as alludes to Kennedy’s support for a “woman’s right to choose,” I hope some brave priest in the church strides up to the pulpit and rips the power cord out of the microphone.

  21. Timbot2000 says:

    1 Maccabees seems appropriate here
    “36 And they placed there a sinful nation, wicked men, and they fortified themselves therein: and they stored up armour, and victuals, and gathered together the spoils of Jerusalem; 37 And laid them up there: and they became a great snare. 38 And this was a place to lie in wait against the sanctuary, and an evil devil in Israel. 39 And they shed innocent blood round about the sanctuary, and defiled the holy place. 40 And the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled away by reason of them, and the city was made the habitation of strangers, and she became a stranger to her own seed, and her children forsook her.

    38 “An evil devil”… That is, an adversary watching constantly to do harm, as the evil spirit is always watching and seeking whom he may devour.

    41 Her sanctuary was desolate like a wilderness, her festival days were turned into mourning, her sabbaths into reproach, her honours were brought to nothing. 42 Her dishonour was increased according to her glory, and her excellency was turned into mourning. 43 And king Antiochus wrote to all his kingdom, that all the people should be one: and every one should leave his own law. 44 And all nations consented according to the word of king Antiochus. 45 And many of Israel consented to his service, and they sacrificed to idols, and profaned the sabbath.

  22. Jane says:

    I live in Australia. Today I heard all the glowing stuff about Senator Kennedy….campion of the poor and the oppressed etc., however that is not all that there is to this man as we well know. The “canonisation” is inappropriate. His sister who died two weeks ago deserves the praise that she received for her pro-life and Catholic views. I am praying for the happy response of his soul. God’s Mercy is great and let’s hope Senator Kennedy’s death was a happy one.

  23. ajwagner54 says:

    He actually was pro-life during his early Senate career, and took a lot of flack for it. Who knows how the nation might be different today if he had stuck to his original principles.

  24. Ellen says:

    I said the Office for the Dead for Sen. Kennedy’s soul. I think he was a worm of a man, but we are all in need of prayer, and he more than most.

  25. isabella says:

    Wasn’t it St John Vianney, Cure d’Ars who was comforting a woman whose husband had jumped off a bridge & said he’d had a vision that the man had repented his suicide just before drowning? Only God knows other people’s hearts at the end of life, and possibly some future saints gifted with the ability.

    I don’t know if Sen. Kennedy repented in those same last seconds of life when he was past communicating, but pray he did. God can make a split second in earthly time last long enough in “God’s time” for him to have repented his sins.

  26. Lori Ehrman says:

    I have been praying for him for months…since his health began deteriorating but my first reaction was that it was a shame he didn’t pass many many years ago. The damage and path of destruction caused by him was/is very very evil. To think that Massachusetts has reelected him so many times is difficult to understand. And now, I am sure, some priest, will launch him, via a liturgical cannon, directly into Heaven, where he will enjoy a mansion next to Bl. Mother Teresa, whose birthday he died on.

  27. becket1 says:

    The current Benedictine Sisters of Erie.
    http://www.eriebenedictines.org/
    They lost their habits and traditions long ago.

  28. irishgirl says:

    I hope that he had a deathbed conversion, and realized that he was wrong about supporting abortion.

    ThomasS-I’m with you! The thought of ‘Obie’ giving a eulogy is sickening. And I echo your wish that a priest will run up and yank out the microphone cord!

    I offered my Rosary in our Adoration Chapel this morning for his soul.

  29. irishgirl says:

    Oh-Patrick Madrid’s ‘take’ was funny!

    What a contrast between the Erie Benedictines ‘then’ and ‘now’.

    I wonder if ‘sister’ Chittister was in that clip?

    I prefer faithful Sisters such as the Benedictines of Mary and the Ann Arbor Dominicans!

  30. Dear Fr. Zuhlsdorf,

    The ink in which the article you gloss was printed may very well have been of an emerald hue.

    The reactions of many conservatives, and, sadly, many Catholics, have been appallingly crass. These, it seems, are at least as concerning as the logorrheic flow from liberal sources.

    Whatever happened to the maxim: de mortuis nihil nisi bonum?

    Best,
    C.

  31. MargaretMN says:

    Chris, I think you can separate the man from what he represents and it’s fair to criticize what you think he represents. We’re not talking about some random private citizen here. I liked ajwagner’s comment above about what would have happened if he had stuck to his original (political) principles. The same goes for Jesse Jackson and a host of others on the abortion issue. Given that the Kennedy men were all notorious womanizers, it’s not hard to understand why abortion might have fit better with the way they lived their lives, indeed, they may have found it less hypocritical to support abortion than to oppose it. In any event, Ted made his choice as did many others. We will never know which way the brothers who died earlier would have gone but we have a clue with their offspring.

  32. Hamburglar says:

    If he is granted a Catholic funeral, then I hope it is publicly proclaimed of his repentance of abortion, if he did so. No doubt that pro-abortion “Catholics” will be attending, such as Pelosi and Vice President Biden. I only hope that they will be denied Holy Communion at this very public event.

  33. Mary Ann says:

    I don’t mind the “liberal lion” moniker in this sense: At first all I heard was “Lion of the Senate”. Adding “liberal” actually makes it more palatable for me.

  34. r7blue1pink says:

    “While the deep concern of a woman bearing an unwanted child merits consideration and sympathy, it is my personal feeling that the legalization of abortion on demand is not in accordance with the value which our civilization places on human life. Wanted or unwanted, I believe that human life, even at its earliest stages, has certain rights which must be recognized – the right to be born, the right to love, the right to grow old.

    On the question of the individual’s freedom of choice there are easily available birth control methods and information which women may employ to prevent or postpone pregnancy. But once life has begun, no matter at what stage of growth, it is my belief that termination should not be decided merely by desire….

    When history looks back to this era it should recognize this generation as one which cared about human beings enough to halt the practice of war, to provide a decent living for every family, and to fulfill its responsibility to its children from the very moment of conception.”

    Sen Ted Kennedy to a pro-lifer on August 3, 1971.

  35. coeyannie says:

    I may be wrong, but isn’t Ted Kennedy’s first wife Joan still living. I don’t think there was an annulment, but there might have been. Isn’t their every wish granted in the Church. Oh well, what the heck, Kennedy’s are above and beyond the unwashed Catholics.

  36. AndyMo says:

    The plot thickens. America magazine responds to Patrick Madrid’s criticism of Sr. Fiedler:

    http://www.americamagazine.org/blog/entry.cfm?blog_id=2&id=12821765-3048-741E-6581036289637179

  37. Catherine says:

    I will not sit in judgment, as I am “the foremost of sinners,” as St. Paul says. However, I have repented and am atoning by living a very different life. I work against the very thing I was once a part of. I never saw any change for the good in Kennedy, but I hope that God did. His last enduring act, and his sad legacy, was to have been instrumental in helping to elect a man who is unprecedented in spreading abortion throughout the world.

    How would you like to have that emblazoned on your chest when you meet Our Lord?

  38. Supertradmom says:

    Two items–firstly, the video made me laugh and cry at the same time. And, secondly, doesn’t the present Canon Law excommunicated a lay person for aiding and abetting an abortion? Sadly, the Kennedys did more harm than good for the Catholics in America, by placing Faith second to politics and power. God have mercy on him and us all for such failings.

  39. Supertradmom says:

    PS, why is Obama giving the eulogy at the Catholic funeral, when those have been proscribed by the latest liturgical guidelines on funerals?

  40. TJM says:

    In liberal world, Obama is Jesus Christ. Tom

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