Mrs. Kennedy disagreed with the Archdiocese tribunal's decision that her marriage to Joseph Kennedy II was null and void, and so she appealed to the Vatican. Ten years later, the Vatican, agreeing with Mrs. Kennedy, reversed the decision of the Archdiocesan tribunal, acknowledging that her marriage to Mr. Kennedy was indeed a valid one. Meanwhile, Mr. Kennedy has remarried. Whether this reversal on the part of the Vatican makes Mr. Kennedy and his current wife ineligible to receive the Sacraments isn't known, at least to me. Mrs. Kennedy, the first one I mean, seems to think it does. In a nutshell, her solution to the problem is to...well, to be honest I'm not sure what her solution is. And at this point I don't care to comment on the many errors in Mrs. Kennedy's column.
Because that's not my point.
What saddened me, far more than the Kennedy situation, was a letter I read regarding it in today's Globe. I reprint it here in its entirety:
July 24, 2007
FOR AGGRIEVED Catholics like Sheila Rauch Kennedy ("The 'loose canon' in the Catholic Church," Op-ed, July 19) and the millions of divorced Catholics with whom she empathizes, there is a much simpler solution than a protracted appeal to the Vatican. They may simply choose to ignore irrelevant dogma in their personal lives. It works every time.
DAVID WILDNAUER
Walpole
Mr. Wildnauer may be practicing a rather dubious attempt at sarcasm. Nevertheless, this is nothing short of pitiful.
Because the thing is, far too many Catholics do ignore—if Al Gore will forgive me—the inconvenient truths. It doesn't work, it won't work, and it will never work.
Eternity, after all, is a very, very long time.
