Saturday, August 29, 2009

Fr James Martin, S.J. On Ted Kennedy

Senator Kennedy was not perfect. But that did not stop him from doing a world of good for the poor and marginalized in this country and around the world.
Those photos of Chappaquiddick, the testimony from that rape trial, and his support for abortion
must be placed alongside 46 years of dedicated work for this country. And, by his own admission, the Gospels were directly related to a great many of his legislative accomplishments. In that same interview mentioned above, his biographer said, “I once asked him why someone as well off as him was so interested in the poor and the sick, and he said it was his mother's Catholic teaching: the Sermon on the Mount and the passage from Luke that to those who much is given, much is expected.”

Link (here) to Jesuit Fr. James Martin, S.J. and his full piece at the blog portion of America.

More on Sen. Ted Kennedy

His infamous "Waitress Sandwiches" at the La Brasserie (here)
His Hyannisport meeting with Jesuits on abortion (here)
Ted Kennedy and Fr. Robert Drinan, S.J. (here)

Photo of Mary Jo Kopechne's funeral at St. Vincent's Church Plymouth, PA (here)

Fr. James Martin, S.J. on Ted Kennedy from the latest issue of Time Magazine.
"He is a complicated figure," says the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and the culture editor of the Catholic magazine America. "Catholics on the right are critical because of his stance on abortion. Catholics on the left celebrate his achievements on immigration, fighting poverty and other legislation that is a virtual mirror of the Church's social teaching."
Link (here)

We could all use a little refresher on purgatory (here) and (here)

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