As most people are by now aware, Senator Ted Kennedy has died. As seems to happen with the death of any prominent person, there are a number of posts back an forth concerning the man's life. The mainstream media has begun pouring out its grief--some real, some not--at the man's passing; one can see him being considered as a sort of saint in their eyes. I fully expect there to be much ballyhooing about his life as a great liberal Catholic (the media tends to ignore conservative Catholics unless they can be portrayed as nutjobs), as indeed has already begun to occur in such papers America (a Jesuit-run magazine). Father Zuhlsdorf (of What Does the prayer Really Say) has already taken this article to task quite nicely, but it is worth noting a few things about the late Senator.

First, the man was a sinner--as are we all. It is well-known that he once had a drinking problem, and that that drinking problem caused the death of a young call-girl in the murky depths of the Chappaquiddick river. Oops, I should not speak so ill of the dead--Ms Kopechne was not a call girl, but rather a campaign staff member for the Robert Kennedy Campaign, and any the rumors about "immoral conduct" on her end are probably not justified. Secondly, there was his unflinching support of the right-to-life issues--until, of course, it became politically expedient to jettison the pro-life label. He not only jettisoned it, but embraced the pro-choice (indeed, pro-abortion) role in the senate.

In short, the man was no hero, and certainly he was no saint. This is, however, why we must pray for his soul. He was a fallen man--like all men--and he certainly erred morally on these issues. The problem is not that he erred, but rather that he persisted. "Errare est humanum sed perseverare est diabolicum," as Seneca the Younger once said. We can only hope that this persistence really was from ignorance--even if only stubborn ignorance--and not something more diabolical; and add our prayers on the behalf of his soul, that if he finds himself in purgatory it will be a brief stay. In the meantime, may his body be laid to rest.