After a fifteeen-month battle with brain cancer, Senator Edward Kennedy died today at the age of seventy-seven. As one of the most influential liberal senators of all time, he was often viewed as the archenemy of conservatives. On a personal level, though, Kennedy’s warmth and charm would often endear him to many of his natural adversaries.
The late Jerry Falwell, for example, was one of Kennedy’s key political opponents during the 1980s yet considered the Senator to be a close friend. The two controversial leaders, who first got to know each other during the Reagan era when Falwell was head of the Moral Majority, remained close until Falwell’s death in 2007.
During one of their first meetings in 1983, Kennedy delivered a speech called “Faith, Truth and Tolerance in America” at Falwell’s Liberty Baptist College (now Liberty University). In the speech (a five-minute clip is posted below) he spoke about his own faith and how it related to his role as a citizen and legislator. Here is a key section:
I have come here to discuss my beliefs about faith and country, tolerance and truth in America. I know we begin with certain disagreements; I strongly suspect that at the end of the evening some of our disagreements will remain. But I also hope that tonight and in the months and years ahead, we will always respect the right of others to differ, that we will never lose sight of our own fallibility, that we will view ourselves with a sense of perspective and a sense of humor. After all, in the New Testament, even the Disciples had to be taught to look first to the beam in their own eyes, and only then to the mote in their neighbor’s eyes.I am mindful of that counsel. I am an American and a Catholic; I love my country and treasure my faith. But I do not assume that my conception of patriotism or policy is invariably correct, or that my convictions about religion should command any greater respect than any other faith in this pluralistic society. I believe there surely is such a thing as truth, but who among us can claim a monopoly on it?”
“There are those who do, and their own words testify to their intolerance. For example, because the Moral Majority has worked with members of different denominations, one fundamentalist group has denounced Dr. Falwell for hastening the ecumenical church and for “yoking together with Roman Catholics, Mormons, and others.” I am relieved that Dr. Falwell does not regard that as a sin, and on this issue, he himself has become the target of narrow prejudice. When people agree on public policy, they ought to be able to work together, even while they worship in diverse ways. For truly we are all yoked together as Americans, and the yoke is the happy one of individual freedom and mutual respect.”
(Via: David Brody)
August 26th, 2009 | 12:31 pm
Requiescat in pace, leo senati.
August 26th, 2009 | 12:32 pm
I hope it is not intolerant to say I have always admired Jerry Falwell but I also have always believed that the Catholic Catechism has what Kennedy called “a monopoly on truth” , but I did not think the Kennedys, being pro choice, understood that the Catechism teaches pro-life positions, or they did understand it but rationalized their position by a “nobody’s perfect” mentality. I still have to admire his warmth, his Irish heritage, his family,his upbringing, and his years of service in trying to fight for his ideals, even if some things may have taken us further from the justice he sought for everyone.
August 26th, 2009 | 5:14 pm
“Monopoly” means exclusive ownership to which the Catholic Church makes no claim when it comes to Truth. I detested most of Sen. Kennedy’s ideas, policies and pronouncements but he was a persuasive speaker.
August 26th, 2009 | 5:26 pm
Apropos of Kennedy’s faith: Kathryn Jean Lopez at NRO says she often saw him at weekday Mass.
http://tinyurl.com/ngefkj
August 26th, 2009 | 6:10 pm
[...] UPDATES: Banned in Boston: No conservative perspectives in Beantown, today Michael Kelly: An old piece on Kennedy, I’d put off reading it for a few days, myself Roger L. Simon: Thinking of Kennedy via Europe Baseball Crank: Kennedy the Warhorse Catholic News Agency: A mixed Catholic Legacy Klavan: Bye, Ted Joe Carter: Kennedy’s thoughts on faith [...]
August 26th, 2009 | 6:38 pm
[...] Jerry Falwell and Ted Kennedy Were Close Friends by Joe Carter of First Thoughts [...]
August 26th, 2009 | 9:33 pm
[...] Check out Joe Carter’s post on Senator Kennedy. Sphere: Related [...]
August 27th, 2009 | 10:59 am
Thanks to Bill Dougherty for clarifying the definition of “monopoly” for me, and I realize the Catholic Church does not claim exclusive ownership to truth. So I guess I just think that the Catholic Church has Truth, and many other Churches do as well. I do not remember how Fr. Neuhaus used to put it, but I came to believe that the Catholic Church is closer to the whole Truth than others. That doesn’t mean I do not love and tolerate all other religions, after all, people choose their religions based on thinking they are right, do they not?
I have heard lots of people speak on the hypocricy of being Roman Catholic and Pro-Choice, but I do not think labeling people as a hypocrite is good because it could be judging. Although, we must make certain judgments to vote on elected officials, just not how they will be Judged by God.
God rest Sen. Kennedy’s soul in peace.
August 29th, 2009 | 8:07 pm
Apologetics has always seemed to me an odd word for defending the faith. As if we were apologizing for it. (I am a Catholic convert.) Apology is what I read in Sen. Kennedy’s words — words often heard over the years from politicians and professors. Monopoly is a word that doesn’t belong in the discussion. After all, the senator’s party claims loudly a monopoly on “tolerance.” As Flannery O’Connor famously put it, if it isn’t true then to hell with it. Which brings to mind my favorite Kennedy moment recorded on CSPAN. After Pres. Bush committed $24M to a D.C. voucher program, the senator shouted at the top of his lungs on the Senate floor: I’ll stop this if it’s the last thing I do!” That may be tolerance as narrowly defined in the urban hollers of K Street and the Upper West Side and Cambridge, but it is a world view without pity. And since empathy is indispensible these days, perhaps only someone like myself who grew up working poor and working class can appreciate that pitilessness on display those many years ago and now on the rise again in the Senate. RIP Senator. But may Our Gracious Lord help us in an America without pity.
Links
Blogs
Find Us
Contact