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Vol. 1,
No. 4
October-December 2009
Ted
Kennedy's
Letter
to
the
Pope
by
Mike
Halsey
President
Free
Grace
Seminary
Prior
to
his
death,
Senator
Ted
Kennedy
wrote
the
following
letter
to
the
Pope.
The
contents
of
the
letter
reveal
the
mind
of a
man
who
knows
his
time
is
short,
one
who
realizes
that
all
the
doctors
money
can
buy
have
done
all
they
know
to
do.
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“Most Holy Father, I asked President Obama to personally hand-deliver this letter to you. As a man of deep faith himself, he understands how important my Roman Catholic faith is to me, and I am so deeply grateful to him.
"I hope this letter finds you in good health. I pray that you have all of God's blessings as you lead our church and inspire our world during these challenging times. I am writing with deep humility to ask that you pray for me as my own health declines. I was diagnosed with brain cancer more than a year ago and, although I continue treatment, the disease is taking its toll on me. I am 77 years old and preparing for the next passage of life.
"I have been blessed to be part of a wonderful family. And both of my parents, particularly my mother, kept our Catholic faith at the center of our lives. That gift of faith has sustained and nurtured and provided solace to me in the darkest hours. I know that I have been an imperfect human being, but with the help of my faith, I have tried to right my path.
"I want you to know, Your Holiness, that in my nearly 50 years of elective office, I have done my best to champion the rights of the poor and open doors of economic opportunity. I have worked to welcome the immigrant, to fight discrimination and expand access to health care and education. I have opposed the death penalty and fought to end war. Those are the issues that have motivated me and have been the focus of my work as a United States senator.
"I also want you to know that even though I am ill, I'm committed to doing everything I can to achieve access to health care for everyone in my country. This has been the political cause of my life. I believe in a conscience protection for Catholics in the health field and I'll 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.
"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 of my faith. I continue to pray for God's blessings on you and on our church and would be most thankful for your prayers for me.” |
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The
letter
is
an
epistle
of
works.
It’s
filled
with
“I
have
done
my
best,”
“I
have
worked,”
I
have
fought,”
“I
have
opposed,”
“I
have
always
tried,”
and
“I
am
committed
to
doing,”
If
ever
there
was
a
Romans
10:3
Kodak
moment,
that
letter
is
it:
“Since
they
did
not
know
the
righteousness
that
comes
from
God
and
sought
to
establish
their
own,
they
did
not
submit
to
God's
righteousness.”
The
letter
is a
417
word
brag-amony,
brimming
with
“I.”
When
God
looks
at
all
the
“I-have-done-this”
and
I-have-done-that,”
He
sees
“filthy
rags”
and
“rubbish.”
(So
wrote
Isaiah
and
Paul.)
The
Lion
of
the
Senate
thought
his
roar
of
good
works
counted,
but
they’re
nothing.
Recognizing
his
“imperfections,”
the
senator
writes,
“I
have
tried
to
right
my
path.”
(“Imperfections?”
We
human
beings
find
it
hard
to
let
the
word
“sin”
find
a
home
on
our
tongues.)
That’s
a
telling
statement.
It’s
like
saying,
“I
try,
therefore,
I am
my
own
atonement.”
He
believes
that
his
attempts
are
enough
to
satisfy
God.
A
holy
God
is
not
satisfied
with
the
old
college
try.
He
was
raised
that
way,
“that
way”
being
the
way
of
works--trying,
doing,
and
fighting
for.
Give
him
the
benefit
of
any
doubts:
perhaps
he
did
give
up
some
“imperfections,”
but,
so
what?
Doesn’t
count.
He
did
throw
himself
into
social
activism
and
fighting
for
the
poor
and
the
immigrant
(with
other
people’s
money)
but
so
what?
Doesn’t
count.
But
the
truth
was
always
standing
near
and
calling
out
to
him.
“Christ
died
for
your
sins,
Ted
(I
John
2:2).
Christ
rose
from
the
dead.
I
Cor.
15)
Christ
promises
you
everlasting
life
when
you
trust
the
Son
of
God
alone
for
it.
That
good
news
was
in
all
the
Bibles
Kennedy
ever
owned.
It
was
in
every
library
from
which
he
ever
checked
out
a
book.
It
was
in
book
stores
he
patronized.
That
good
news
was
in
most
every
hotel
room
in
which
he
spent
the
night.
(The
Gideons
have
done
their
good
work
well.)
It
was
proclaimed
in
some
(not
all
or
many)
of
the
churches
in
the
cities
and
towns
he
visited.
Free
grace
was
present
and
accounted
for;
he
is
without
excuse.
(
Rom.
1)
His
letter
should
have
been
packed
full
of
“Jesus
did
this”
and
“Christ
did
that.”
Nowhere
do
we
read
of
his
knowing
he
has
eternal
life
based
only
on
what
Jesus
did
for
him.
It’s
a
letter
written
by a
man
glutted
with
himself,
a
person
overflowing
with
pride
at
what
he
tried
to
do,
what
he
did,
what
he
was
committed
to
doing,
and
what
he
fought
for.
His
letter
could
have
been
written
by
millions
of
Catholics
and
Protestants
because
he
reflects
a
common
American
and
worldwide
belief:
I am
my
own
atonement.
It
was
a
letter
written
in
spiritual
darkness.
When
he
died,
should
we
not
have
wept
for
him?
Should
we
not
re-commit
ourselves
to
reaching
such
letter
writers
whom
we
know? |