TIA,

Why was the senator even given a Catholic burial? He should have been excommunicated a long time back.

N.R., India

TIA,

I would love to see you comment on the Pope's letter to Ted Kennedy. He said the senator "was constantly on the front lines in the battles on behalf of immigrants, arms control, and a minimum wage for the poor." Oh, and he mentioned that his abortion rights stance was "unfortunate." Unfortunate?? He calls killing babies just "unfortunate?"

I'm sorry but the Pope missed a great opportunity to be the Vicar of Christ.

     J.L.

TIA,

I have read in several commentaries by traditionalists that the marriage of Ted Kennedy with Virginia Joan Bennett in 1958 was never annulled. He married Victoria Anne Reggie in a civil ceremony at Kennedy's home in McLean in 1992.

If the first marriage was never annulled, then he was in a marriage not recognized by the Church. Yet both "wives" were present at the funeral, and Victoria was received by the Cardinal as his legitimate wife?

Can you tell me if his marriage was annulled? If so, on what grounds (he had three children with Joan).

Thanks for the work you do. I can always trust your site and commentaries.

     J.F.



TIA responds:

J.F.,

Thank you for your expression of trust, which we appreciate.

Regarding the facts of Edward Kennedy's marriages, this is what we found in a non-exhaustive search to answer your question.

He divorced his first wife, Joan, in 1981 according to the civil law. The marriage was later annulled by the Catholic Church, and he remarried in a civil ceremony in his home in McLean in 1992, as you said. This marriage was "blessed" by the Church in 1995.

Fr. Michael Venditti pretends that the annulment of his first marriage later was invalidated by the Roman Rota in the Vatican, but we believe he is making some confusion with the reversion of another annulment, that of Edward's nephew, Robert. Otherwise, the Church would be publicly admitting and promoting bigamy, which seems difficult to believe even in these bad post-conciliar times.

Although we found no official statement about the reason why the annulment of his first marriage was granted, according to some sources it was based on his dishonesty when he made the vow of conjugal fidelity; please check here and here.

We hope this will help you to see clearer in this shadowed picture.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

Dear Sir,

I read with interest the embalming of Pope John's body to make it look incorrupt. Whilst I cannot divulge too much, I know of a nun who was present when the body of the Pope was exhumed as part of a case for his canonization.

She reported back (not to me) that not only was his body corrupt but that it faced downwards. I cannot tell you what year that was but I have known about it for some time. So, even though those doctors may have performed that process, it wasn't good enough to hide the facts.

     Yours sincerely,

     D.P.

Dear TIA,

Thank you for your article about The Appeal of the Stones at San Juan Capistrano, by Mr. Hugh O'Reilly, a truly charming piece about the precious jewel and best preserved of the California Missions, despite the fact the Mission Church itself still lays in ruins. The ruins are a spectacular reminder of the effort and beauty that once was, and God's Will for that human effort and beauty.

The Basilica - just a short distance from the old Mission

A larger version of the Mission Church has been built on the same property a short distance from the Mission grounds and gardens, called the Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano. It is not an exact replica, which would have been nice, but a monument to those who built it rather than to the past. It was designed so that the Immemorial Mass could not be offered in it; however, that Mass has been allowed only recently even though the tabernacle is in an alcove adjacent to the altar.

Your article, The Juaneno Tribal Mass at the Mission San Juan Capistrano Basilica, demonstrates the natural effect of the modernized architecture of the so-called replica of the original Mission Church, for all its modern reasons. This article is correct in describing the once-Catholic Juaneno Indian and other local tribes (pagan and those who reverted to their pagan name) desires for Federal recognition so as to own and operate a gambling casino nearby. These tribes have renounced their Catholic ancestry in favor of political and worldly gain.

The Feastday of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha is observed here with pagan tribal rituals incorporated into the new mass. What an insult to her who fled those very ancestors who desired her death for converting to the Blackrobes' religion! This young Saint, who risked her life to be Catholic and who renounced her pagan past for the sake of her Faith, is today dishonored by those who call themselves Catholic (and Native American Indians) who embrace their pagan past (and present). They don't seem to realize the hypocrisy. Or do they, boldly?

For whatever it is worth, the Father Serra's Chapel in the old Mission buildings, restored by Father O'Sullivan and which houses the beautiful Golden Altar from Spain, has also been profaned by a Mass incorporating pagan rituals celebrated by a priest in full Aztec regalia. To the modern Church, nothing, not even the glorious ancient past and ancient ceremonies, is Sacred, but all is to be renovated, 'renewed,' destroyed, paganized.

Thank you for the articles about my favorite California Mission of San Juan Capistrano. Despite profanation and some shoddy redesigning, it still possesses the gracious bearing, beauty and peaceful refuge of the Sacred as illustrated so well in Mr. O'Reilly's article.

     In Maria,

     C.C.

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