{"id":261,"date":"2009-08-29T21:34:00","date_gmt":"2009-08-29T21:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/08\/kennedys-letter-to-the-pope-i-know-that-i-have-been-an-imperfect-human-being-updated.html"},"modified":"2009-08-29T21:34:00","modified_gmt":"2009-08-29T21:34:00","slug":"kennedys-letter-to-the-pope-i-know-that-i-have-been-an-imperfect-human-being-updated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/08\/kennedys-letter-to-the-pope-i-know-that-i-have-been-an-imperfect-human-being-updated.html","title":{"rendered":"Kennedy’s letter to the pope: “I know that I have been an imperfect human being” — UPDATED"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anyone wondering what was in that letter that Ted Kennedy sent to the pope got a glimpse this afternoon, when Washington’s retired Cardinal Theodore McCarrick read an excerpt<\/a> at the graveside: <\/p>\n

McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington, read from a letter from Kennedy to Pope Benedict XVI, hand-delivered earlier this year by Obama.<\/p>\n

“I know that I have been an imperfect human being but with the help of my faith I have tried to right my path,” the dying senator wrote. He wrote the pontiff “with deep humility to ask that you pray for me as my own health declines.”<\/p>\n

The Vatican responded with a letter that said “his Holiness prays that in the days ahead you may be sustained in faith and hope.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The full text of McCarrick’s remarks can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

UPDATE:<\/b> A full text of the Kennedy letter, and the Pope’s reply, can be found here<\/a>. I have to say, having now read Kennedy’s letter in full, I’m not impressed. I’d like to give the man the benefit of the doubt, but honestly: it sounds too much like a campaign flyer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anyone wondering what was in that letter that Ted Kennedy sent to the pope got a glimpse this afternoon, when Washington’s retired Cardinal Theodore McCarrick read an excerpt at the graveside: McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington, read from a letter from Kennedy to Pope Benedict XVI, hand-delivered earlier this year by Obama. “I know that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bishops","category-politics-and-politicians"],"yoast_head":"\nKennedy's letter to the pope: "I know that I have been an imperfect human being" - UPDATED - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/08\/kennedys-letter-to-the-pope-i-know-that-i-have-been-an-imperfect-human-being-updated.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kennedy's letter to the pope: "I know that I have been an imperfect human being" - 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