With all the talk of scandal surrounding the Kennedy funeral, I think it is a shame that media outlets, especially Catholic media outlets, haven’t made a bigger deal about the historic first that is playing out in the Catholic diocese of Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
This past weekend, I was a speaker at a pro-life, pro-family event at a parish here in Toronto. We were blessed to have been joined by our Archbishop, Thomas Collins. Now, just so you’re not under any illusions, our Archbishop is no revisionist; this past year, he invited the good bishop from Denver to come and speak in our diocese about politics. Following the excellent talk that Bishop Collins gave on building a culture of life (with much reference to the imperative of subsidiarity, I was pleased to note), the first question from the audience concerned the Kennedy funeral.
Asked for his take, Bishop Collins carefully spelled out that both sides in this debate were pursuing genuine Catholic values, but that it was inevitable that the details of the funeral itself would have to be left to the prudential judgment of those in charge. He highlighted the difficulties involved in these decisions and then concluded: though one might, in good faith, disagree with how the details were handled, it was a scandal that many in the Church attacked a manifestly pro-life bishop on such a matter of prudential judgment. Further, he took the opportunity to emphasize that Brett Salkeld (though I wasn’t addressed by name) and Thomas Collins and Edward Kennedy all need the prayers of the faithful when they go to meet their maker.
I was elated. This, to me, has been the crux of the issue. The too frequent suggestion, both crass and uncharitable, that those in charge of the Church is Boston were more interested in currying the favor of the wealthy and influential than in saving the lives of unborn children morphed any legitimate disagreement about the funeral into another public yelling match that did serious damage to the witness of the Church. Score one for Bishop Collins!
How tragic, though, that even in Canada, the Kennedy funeral takes top billing (there is also some elation now over the news that Rick Santorum is considering a presidential run) while the news from Antigonish has been ignored.
So what happened in Antigonish? The diocese has made an offer of $13 million dollars to the survivors of sexual abuse dating back to 1950. More importantly, they are the first diocese to do so without first fighting the law suit brought against them. (At least, that is what I have seen reported.) No hiding behind statues of limitations, no excuses, just “We are so very sorry. We want to do whatever we can to help.”
This should be standard Catholic practice. Those who think that funerals for pro-choice politicians send the wrong message to those outside the Church about our convictions about the sanctity of life might be right and they might be wrong. What is undeniable is that fighting victims of sex-abuse in court makes the Church’s convictions about sexual morality, including her teachings about abortion, virtually risible to non-Catholics. There are scandals and then there are SCANDALS.
May the example of the diocese of Antigonish have many echoes in the years to come. The witness of the Church depends on it.
Brett Salkeld is a doctoral student in theology at Regis College in Toronto. He is a father of two (so far) and husband of one.
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