Catholics vs Kennedies: New York Times

At last one of the pillars of Americanism is falling.

Hanging front and center inside the classroom of the grade school I attended were pictures of two men: Pope Paul VI, and John F. Kennedy, the first Roman Catholic president. Each was revered almost without question, although we were taught that one could never tell the other what to do in their separate realms.

My experience was not unique. And so it was jarring to many Catholics to hear last month of a bishop in Providence, R.I., advising a Kennedy to refrain from receiving communion because of a public policy position the congressman had advocated in Washington.

History has always been a strong subject in Catholic education, but Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence seems to have forgotten much of his, or at least failed to learn the lessons as they applied to American democracy.


http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/catholics-vs-kennedys/

Bishop says Kennedy is 'erratic' and a Liar

Bishop Tobin is not only calling Kennedy a liar, but is saying he's mentally imbalanced as well. He's careful not to suggest that this reflects on his fitness for office and leaves that up to the voters, however.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. –– Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Tobin on Monday said Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy has shown “increasingly erratic and unpredictable behavior” during their escalating dispute, but said he was “not at all” referring to the congressman’s well-publicized mental-health issues.

Kennedy
The bishop also said he was not suggesting that Kennedy was unfit for office. He said he was “not familiar” or only “generally familiar” with mental-health and drug-addiction problems Kennedy has openly acknowledged and sought treatment for — most recently four weeks of addiction treatment at a medical facility in June.

“His fitness for office is nothing that I would ever comment on,” said Bishop Tobin. “I think that’s up to the voters to make that decision. But I am concerned about his statements and his reactions to some of these recent events. No, I’m concerned about him and I’m praying for him. As I said before, my door is always open, and I hope we can bring a good reconciliation to all this.”


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Cuomo warns Bishops not to hurt Democrat's political Standing

NewsOK

NY's Cuomo no stranger to church-state friction


ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo said Sunday that church leaders should be cautious about pressuring Catholic politicians over issues such as abortion because people might not vote for someone they think is guided by religion
Cuomo's comments came as Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy sparred with a bishop over his public stance on moral issues including abortion. Kennedy said Bishop Thomas Tobin has asked him not to receive communion.

In a 1984 speech, Cuomo, a Catholic and Democrat who supported abortion rights and was at the time a leading potential presidential candidate, delivered a speech at the University of Notre Dame explaining that Catholic lawmakers shouldn't be pressured by church leaders to work for anti-abortion legislation.

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Kennedy gets Huffy with Bishop Tobin

Like an adolescent with a drug problem confronted by his parents, Patrick Kennedy says, "he won't even dignifiy that with an answer", referring to Bishop Tobin's stern lecture earlier this week. Considering the Kennedy clan's support for homo-perversion in US Schools, his hostillity becomes more understandable and his claims to be Catholic in good standing very dubious indeed. The family has in the past also put its loyalty to the United States on the shelf for some political support from the Soviet Union. What a family.

Providence, RI (LifeNews.com) -- Rep. Patrick Kennedy is swinging back at his Catholic bishop, who rebuked him for comments he made saying the Catholic Church is not pro-life because it opposes the health care bills over abortion funding. Bishop Thomas Tobin also criticized Kennedy for canceling a meeting to discuss the situation.

When Kennedy canceled, Bishop Tobin decided to write a letter for the local Catholic newspaper saying Kennedy's pro-abortion stance puts him at odds with the Catholic Church.

Kennedy said he was "not going to dignify with an answer" Tobin's assessment that Kennedy could not be a good Catholic and still support abortion.

In remarks to the Providence Journal newspaper, he called those comments "unfortunate," and said, "I'm not going to engage [in] this anymore."

He also said he found it "very disconcerting" that Bishop Tobin would not meet with him to have a private discussion of his pro-abortion views and Catholic faith, even though it appears Kennedy is the one to have postponed their planned meeting.

Kennedy tells the newspaper that he canceled the meeting because Tobin would not promise to keep any discussion of his views private.

"I had initially agreed to a meeting with him [Thursday], provided we would not debate this in public in terms of my personal faith, but unfortunately, he hasn't kept to that agreement, and that's very disconcerting to me," the congressman claimed.

Michael Guilfoyle, spokesman for the diocese, told the Journal that the meeting was postponed "by mutual agreement," but said Bishop Tobin would still welcome Kennedy.

"The bishop's schedule is still free on Thursday if the congressman would like to have that personal and pastoral meeting," he said.

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