The pro-life movement has, quite ironically, “thrown the baby out with the bathwater!” I hope they will think long and hard about that.

The 250+ comments (and counting) on this post show you’ve clearly riled them up; so now we need other prominent Catholics to unite with you in this message, that “division, destruction, hatred, vitriol, judgment and violence,” will no longer be tolerated by us, their brothers and sisters in Christ.

It is not a simplistic repetition of Pope Benedict’s words. Catholicism is about charity and truth, mercy and justice. To us, frail human beings, they seem like opposites. But God knows they are interconnected.

Some Catholics are good at putting truth up front. Some other Catholics are good at showing the need for forgiveness. Some ask others for more charity in their talk, others are like watchmen, raising awareness concerning fear of scandal. Why don’t we put our strenghts together? Let’s give an ear to what the others have to say and try to build an even better position out of our complementary positions, not in relativism but in communion. That’s what the Church is all about.

For my part, I believe both are necessary : to avoid scandal by a clear statement on the sanctity of unborn human life AND to show mercy to frail repentant human beings. Our Lord Jesus did not compromise on truth nor on charity. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to help us do likewise.

Holy Mother of God, pray for us.

Are you sure they were attacks on the clergy involved or attacks on the action of holding a public funeral, a eulogy [and full of praise at that], thus leaving a canonizing tone? I ask the question since I have not come across the type of attacks you speak of.

Attacks or not, the majority of contention as I read it, was outrage that the Catholic Church would allow such a misleading message to go out. I will pray that you have a change of mind on this matter, and see the awfulness of this action (public funeral, with eulogy, for a person who held/fought for pro-abortion views).

Please show some even-handedness and attack the public pro-abortion “Catholic” politicians with the same verve you have used against vocal pro-life Catholics.

That is all.

Ben

It is my passion for the end of abortion that says we need to start acting like Christians in our struggle to end it, or we will never succeed. What will have a more positive impact on someone who is contemplating the Catholic position: a movie like Bella, or a cartoon like the one run by Lifesitenews? I think the answer is self-evident.

It is when SOME pro-lifers face up to that reality that we will see genuine cultural renewal on this question.

I have never felt so much like a fool for trying to be a faithful Catholic than i did watching the Church give public support for Teddy Kennedy’s lifetime of promoting the death of infants in the womb. Your note is so unfair. I do not know of a single Catholic who wishes anything other than final repentance and at least purgatory for Teddy Kennedy. But we are truly scandalized by what looked like approval from our Church for his support of killing children.

I am heartsick by the funeral, by send off by Cardinal McCarrick, by Cardinal O’Malley’s defense and attack on prolifers, and by your own.

This is all so sad.

Sincerely,

Austin Ruse

We are allowed to say that he took some bad actions, but we cannot say whether or not he was responsible for them and therefore guilty of them…

but the actions that he took make a public funeral Mass for him scandalous… almost like when “prochoice” candidates receive Communion. Communion is to be refused to them because of their public disobedience of the Church and heresies (whether they are responsible for their beliefs in them or not)…

I hope and pray Ted Kennedy may join our Lord in Heaven, but the actions taken during the funeral were inappropriate… it is not acceptable to give such speeches at the funeral that were given about him… and one priest there made a statement saying that he wasn’t doubting that Ted was in Heaven (which is very inappropriate for a Catholic funeral)… it sounds like the priest is proclaiming Ted a Saint when he is not canonized and we therefore must pray for the repose of his soul… just as we pray for the repose of the soul of Pope John Paul II who may soon be Beatified and then Canonized.

“According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons.”

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/sep/09090402.html

They bring scandal to the church by failing to follow the Canon Laws of the church. (Canon 915)

They bring honor and glory to a man whose politics lead to the death of 50 million innocents. There is just no way that Kennedy should have been given a “public Mass”. How much monmey did the Kennedy family pay the Ardiocese of Boston to put on this “circus”? How much did the Jews pay Judas to betray Christ? Do you see any similarities here?

I am not aware that Kennedy made any public confession, which he must do because his sins were very public. As far as the fact that he is now with his brothers, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Only God knows.

It’s more than high time that we purify our Church by “casting out” the heretics, whether they are “religeous” or lay people.

It’s very easy to proclaim that you are pro-life, but your actions and your rants speak louder than your words.

Let’s start enforcing the Canon laws on which are church was established.

People who don’t like the requirements of the Catholic church have numerous other options.

Regarding Fr Rosica’s public scolding of pro-lifers: Yes some pro-lifers go too far in attacking the church, however, if we are going to such extreme lengths to be compassionate and understanding of politicians or others who use their very public stature for very scandalous and anti-Catholic behavior, then it would be logical to at least extend at least the same effort to those who fight to promote the protection of innocent life in our society. What I have seen and heard of the relatively few pro-lifers who probably have gone too far in criticizing the church for perceived and/or actual refusal to defend the unborn is that they can be irritating and/or insulting. If a bishop does not have the humility to tolerate this expressed frustration from relatively few, then that would seem to invite more introspection than condemnation of pro-lifers.
There have been very public and well documented cases of attacks by local churches against pro-life people, including Bishop Sherlock’s public letter condemning pro-lifers claiming pro-lifers wanted us to all “live in ghettos”. Bishop Sherlock published a second letter in an attempt to end the controversy but failed to apologize in that letter. He subsequently published an actual apology, then Ron Pickersgill of the London diocese re-published almost the exact letter that the bishop had originally published, but this time Pickersgill put it in the London Free Press and used his official office to identify himself in the public editorial. Pickersgill was never fired or publicly reprimanded. We see the expressed official outrage over pro-lifers who could at most be described as irritating, but where is the expressed official outrage against those who work agains the unborn but claim to be Catholics?
If the officials of the Catholic church refuse to hold pro-abortion politicians accountable for the grave scandal they cause and the actual number of abortions that they have legislated, tax-funded or otherwise enabled, then I personally thank God for even those pro-lifers who err on the side of being rude or irritating for the cause of life. No apologies to Fr Rosica, because even Jesus demonstrated that there was a time for strong wordsand tipping tables.

Kennedy had far too many years when the local Catholic bishop allowedhim to call himself Catholic while enacting and advocating for pro-abortion legislation. Now that he is dead we pray for his soul and lets hear from Fr Rosica and others about John Kerry and others who call themselves Catholics but practice otherwise.

I was shocked by the content of your article. In particular, your reference to Pro-Lifers who cause “division, destruction, hatred, vitriol, judgment and violence.” I thought I was reading a blog for Planned Parenthood. I am a life long pro-lifer who respects life from conception to natural death. To whom are you referring to specifically?
Ted Kennedy in his life did a lot for the underprivileged but at the same time he opposed the teachings of the Catholic church and publicly supported abortion legislation. His support for abortion has contributed to a genocide that is unparalelled in history.

In fact, so called “Catholics” in the US and Canada are as responsible as any other group for the level of abortions taking place. As far as I know he did not make any public statement to counter his support for abortion.

According to those knowledgeable in Canon law, Ted Kennedy met all the requirements for a Catholic funeral, I pray for his eternal soul and I know that he will face perfect justice and mercy as all of us will.
In summary, it should have been a private family affair and not one that gives such a scandal. It ignored the voices of the 50+ million unborn.
As a Catholic am I not supposed to speak out when I see scandal in God’s
Church? The leadership in the Church is giving mixed messages. My understanding is that being Catholic and pro-abortion are mutually exclusive. Am I mistaken?

Respectfully Yours.

Jesus taught us how to struggle against the world. He used words like ‘meek’ and ‘humble’ and suggested turning the other cheek. And, wonder of wonders, it worked. He was meek and humble to the end and he destroyed the power of death. The question to us is, “Do we really think Jesus’ strategy will work, or do we think it is too idealistic?”

As far as I can tell, if we engage the world with the logic of the world we will lose before we have begun. Violence of language and imagery, however truthful in the bare factual sense (i.e. ignoring the truth of how human persons can hear a message), do not convince anyone of the justice of our cause because we look like hypocrites from the start. If we use the language of war and the means of war, then war is what we will get. But as our beloved John Paul II taught us, the real truth about war is that no one wins.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where we cannot take a stand against someone’s actions. In doing so, we are accused of judging “them”, judging their “soul” or judging the “person”.

Love in Truth. True charity is speaking the truth, no matter how difficult it is for someone else to hear.

Pro-lifers are weary of being betrayed by our own. Yes there are emotions triggered as a result, but the core message is that our Church simply has to stop praising anti-Catholic Catholic politicians.

Sadly, this is the tenor of too many homilists at Catholic funeral Masses lately. The congregations are being told from the pulpit the deceased in the casket is in heaven, along with all the family members who have gone before him/her. As well, attendees at the funeral Mass are assured they will one day be reunited with the deceased in heaven. ‘Tis a grand and hopeful thought – but certainly not Catholic teaching. While it is obvious that some homilists are seeking to offer comfort to the grieving, the problem here is that to imply to congregations that we are ALL going to be reunited in heaven is heresy.

I cannot recall the last time I heard the words purgatory or the potential of hell from the pulpit.

It is regrettable the good Father made the statement quoted above. It seems to suggest he accepts this current hazy compassion theology which offers a Jesus who is mercy alone, forgetting he is mercy and justice. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Job 28, Psalm 111, Proverbs 9).