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The Lion as Catholic
What did Ted Kennedy’s memoir say about his Catholicism?
True Compass: A Memoir
By Edward M. Kennedy
(Twelve, 532 pages, $35)
“The state and city of my birth are extensions of myself and my family,” Sen. Ted Kennedy writes in his memoir, True Compass. I think this sentence is an error: one of remarkably few editorial lapses in a book that was rushed to market just days after the legendary senator’s death. Presumably he intended to say that the Kennedy family is an extension of Boston society, not that Boston is an extension of the Kennedy family.
Yet in an odd way, the text as it stands is accurate. The Kennedy political dynasty dominated Boston so thoroughly, for so long, that shifts in the political sympathies of the Kennedy family have produced changes in the Massachusetts political landscape.
Old Joseph P. Kennedy, the founder of the dynasty, was a very conservative Democrat: an isolationist before World War II, a supporter of Sen. Joseph McCarthy thereafter. His views roughly matched prevailing public opinions in Boston, where Democrats had gained firm control of the political system but ethnic Irish and Italian Catholics retained strong conservative instincts.
By today’s standards, certainly, John F. Kennedy was a conservative president. As James Piereson has pointed out in his perceptive book Camelot and the Cultural Revolution, the JFK of liberal myth is not the man who, during his tenure in the White House, enthusiastically slashed taxes, boldly confronted the Soviet Union in Cuba and Berlin, and initiated an undeclared war in southeast Asia. The “Camelot legacy” bears scant resemblance to JFK’s actual career. Piereson shows how the political left transformed the image of JFK after his death, converting a conservative Democrat into a liberal icon. But he may underestimate how much Ted Kennedy influenced that process. For 40 years the youngest of the Kennedy clan was the guardian of the Camelot legacy, and unlike his brothers Ted was never linked to any conservative cause.
At his death last summer, Ted Kennedy was hailed as the “liberal lion of the U.S. Senate.” His friends cited his long record of legislative accomplishment, which cannot be denied. Rather than arguing about the merits of the bills he sponsored, his critics were more likely to point to the character flaws that were exposed at Harvard, at Chappaquiddick, and at Palm Beach.
Actually Kennedy is quite forthright when he addresses those missteps in his memoir. In a chapter unflinchingly titled “The Harvard Screwup”—a reference to the episode in which he was tossed out of school for cheating on an exam—Ted recalls his father’s scolding:
“There are people who can mess up in life and not get caught,” he advised me at one point, “but you’re not one of them, Teddy.”
Old Joe was right. Teddy didn’t get away with it; he overcame it. The tragedy at Chappaquiddick left a permanent stain on his reputation, and although he does not bare the details in this book, he does acknowledge his wrongdoing. His drinking and womanizing later in life were well known; he acknowledges those failings as well. Neither his colleagues in Washington nor his constituents in Massachusetts were under the impression that Ted was an angel. He was accepted for what he was: a flawed man who was an effective legislator.
Because they concentrated so heavily on the misbehavior that he never denied, most of Kennedy’s conservative critics failed to realize the real political masterstroke that he never discussed. Over the course of his political career, Kennedy steered steadily leftward without endangering his popular support in Massachusetts; he brought his constituency along with him. Still more remarkably, he became more and more open in his conflicts with the Catholic Church—eventually becoming the most influential opponent of Catholicism on key public issues—while remaining the most visible Catholic legislator in Washington.
Throughout his public life, and especially at his death, Ted Kennedy was identified as a devout Catholic. He was, after all, the standard-bearer for the most famous Catholic family in America. His brother had been the country’s first Catholic president; his father was so close to Boston’s Cardinal Cushing that he referred to him as “Richard” (which is curious, really, since everyone else in Boston called him “Dick”); he himself had received his First Communion from Pope Pius XII.
How did Kennedy manage to maintain the public perception that he was a loyal Catholic, even while he worked to shatter the solidarity that once characterized the Catholic voting bloc? How did he keep alive the traditional presumption that ethnic Catholics belonged in the Democratic Party, even as the Democratic Party began to marginalize anyone who upheld Catholic moral teachings? That question is never addressed in True Compass. In his memoir, as in his public career, Ted Kennedy deflects attention from his most remarkable—albeit ultimately destructive—achievement.
IN MOST RESPECTS True Compass is a typical political memoir, marred only by the usual defects of the genre. The author guides us through the historic events to which he was an eyewitness— and in Ted Kennedy’s case there are quite a few, ranging over an extraordinarily long career of political involvement, from the Court of St. James before World War II through the Obama inauguration. But these events are always seen from the author’s peculiar perspective. History always seems to bear out his arguments. Like the hero in a spy novel, he turns up at the critical time in countless instances, and his speeches are depicted as the turning points of political battles.
Predictably, the author also has a few scores to settle. Ted Kennedy is fairly gentle in his treatment of his family’s Republican foes, tossing only a few barbs at Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. But he is caustic in his portrayal of the Democrats whom he and his brothers sought to unseat. He is completely negative in his treatment of Eugene McCarthy. (“I believe he’d felt himself more Catholic, more liberal, and more intellectual than John Kennedy,” Ted writes. If McCarthy thought that way, he was right on all three points.) True Compass suggests that President Jimmy Carter was hostile because of an unreasonable fear that Ted would challenge him for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1980. But of course Ted did just that.
Against those flaws—which, again, are typical of a political memoir—one must weigh the strengths of this book. Kennedy is moving in his description of the fierce loyalty that united his family. He provides a convincing explanation of how Joseph P. Kennedy instilled such exceptional vigor and drive in his children. His devotion to his second wife, Vicki, comes through clearly in these pages, as does his tremendous love for the sea and especially for sailing. On the other hand, the late senator’s Catholic faith remains an elusive quality. He identifies strongly with Catholicism, but it is never clear what it is, exactly, to which he feels so attached. He writes of the Church, but not of the sacraments; he speaks of his faith, but not of God.
About the Author
Philip F. Lawler is the editor of Catholic World News (cwnews.com) and the author of The Faithful Departed: The Collapse of Boston’s Catholic Culture (Encounter).
Letter to the Editor View all comments (56) | Leave a comment
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Appleby| 2.8.10 @ 6:32AM
Ted Kennedy was a *devout Catholic* in the same way Michael Corleone, and millions of Cosa Nostra/Mafiosi were. I supect he was very surprised when he reached the Judgment Seat to find that Gods definition was considerably different from his own.
Melvin| 2.8.10 @ 8:10AM
AMEN Brother.
We can still say amen in a public forum can't we? I don't want Janet sending the IRS agents to come get me eager to try out their new shotguns they just bought last week.
Alan Brooks| 2.8.10 @ 8:44PM
Ted is still outside the Pearly Gates, while dogs sniff his luggage for coke.
Richard Baker| 2.8.10 @ 7:04AM
If he admits to his egregious failings then why did he continue and become known by them? I forgot, he was a Kennedy.
Alan Brooks| 2.8.10 @ 10:45PM
REPORTER: "Mr. Kennedy, you have been accused of being ruthless."
RFK: "Tell me who has called me ruthless and I will destroy him."
La Realidad| 2.8.10 @ 10:54AM
You nailed that one on the head Mr. Lawler especially in that last paragraph. This man was the stereotype and most visible "Cafeteria Catholic" in the American public. We all have our misgivings but continuing to live them out without repentance is mindboggling.
Popular culture has changed the faith of millions and not vice versa. It's going to take more than a generation and a lot of prayers to reverse this trend.
Copyleft| 2.9.10 @ 1:16PM
Such "cafeteria" style picking and choosing is Catholicism's only hope of survival. If the church insisted on preserving all the outrageous, immoral, and vicious elements of its faith intact, the next generation of Americans would abandon it completely.
And rightly so. Ted's generation did the right thing--focus on the good elements of Catholicism (such as the message in Matthew) and throw out the garbage.
Ranger| 2.9.10 @ 9:04PM
Copyleft, if one can pick and choose which elements of faith to believe, one is treating salvation much like a visit to Baskin Robbins - as an ice cream flavor. If one doesn't accept the message of Catholicism, one should not be a Catholic. But then, the left is so much more erudite and discerning than the rest of us. You might want to check into the 6th chapter of the Gospel of John.
Copyleft| 2.12.10 @ 4:02PM
I agree, Ranger; "compromising Catholics" are just one step toward the far more moral and ethical position of abandoning Catholicism entirely.
But any progress is better than no progress at all!
Alan Brooks| 2.12.10 @ 7:10PM
You may be confusing social progress with
economic and technoscientific progress.
Nick| 2.8.10 @ 11:07AM
Mr. Lawler,
Thanks for reading "The Swimmer's" tripe, so we don't have to.
Teddy was a CINO - Catholic In Name Only. I hope and pray that he repented before he died. But, his claim to be Roman Catholic needs to be rebutted, even after his death.
This is one of the worst failings of the bishops during the past 40+ years. Not publicly rebuking public figures who try to wear Catholic clothing, while publicly promoting evil. The proverbial "wolves in sheep clothing" Christ warned us about.
For Teddy, San Fran Nan, Biden, Kerry, etc., the Catholic Church is just another club they use to network to scam votes. And they feel entitled to do so, because their mommies had them baptized when they were one month old.
They believe this was a lifetime membership card that cannot be revoked. In a sense, they are right. Baptism marks the soul for eternity. But, free-will allows us to reject God, and His Church anytime.
kingsmill| 2.8.10 @ 11:23AM
Excellent piece. Phil Lawler's struggles against "cultural" Catholicism at the Boston Pilot and elsewhere are much appreciated.
The rapid abandonment of Roman Catholicism,(from the 1940's to the present) by Irish Americans needs to be documented in a scholarly work.
A similar phenomenon has been unfolding in Ireland itself.
There seems to be a tendency to make an idol of a cultural artifact called Catholicism. An artifact that can be exploited and shaped at the whim of the "believer". The history of Ireland in the 20th century shows that a great part of public piety was the product of political forces having to do with opposition to British dominance. Catholicism was used as a weapon and a means of solidarity. Upon removal of British imperialism, public Catholicism quickly faded.
Likewise in the USA, the material success of Irish Catholics, insured a great diminution in Catholic practice.
The Kennedys were/are trailblazers in this decadence.
Seawolfman| 2.9.10 @ 10:32AM
Very good piece on the Late Sen. Kennedy. How such a public sinner rated such a public and Quite Catholic funeral, with his emminence, Cardinal O'Malley, attending, confirms the suspicion: we remain leaderless as a people and without courageous rudder guidance as Roman Catholics.
Hopefully we're done with the Kennedy's, and Bishops with real balls will emerge.
Pingback| 2.8.10 @ 11:54AM
Twitter Trackbacks for The American Spectator : The Lion as Catholic [spectator.org] links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Darragh| 2.8.10 @ 12:14PM
I do think Kennedy was sincere in his pursuit of greater social good regarding some issues. However, as this piece intimates, he also did great harm-- his lack of moral courage taking away the rights of the unborn, along with negatively affecting many other issues. Had he stood up for his beliefs, others would have followed.
As a middle aged Irish Catholic, I believe that what seems like a decline in American Irish Catholicism is attributable to laziness, naivete, conformity and a similar lack of moral courage, the courage that Christ asks of us. Many are content to go along with the "recovering Catholic" line and/or explorations of individualistic spirituality that have nothing to do with their history or culture.
I further believe the day will come in my lifetime when Catholics are imprisoned for their faith. Maybe our challenging cultural milieu is not so terrible--to know how precious faith is. Despite everything--the community with God and others that I see in my small parish gives me comfort far beyond the emptiness I see in our culture.
milo| 2.8.10 @ 2:12PM
Up until the end the Princes of the Church in Boston reaffirmed "The Coward of the Commons" as a Catholic by their silent affirmation.
Tim| 2.8.10 @ 2:28PM
'By their fruits ye shall know them."
Ted bore a lot of rotten fruit.
Rick| 2.8.10 @ 4:04PM
It says in the Good Book "Not to judge, lest thee be judged." Well, I won't judge that's the right of a much higher authority. I will say that Ted Kennedy was a detractor of the American way of life.
Ed N| 2.8.10 @ 5:30PM
I was opposed to almost everything he did in life but I do not wish damnation on anyone. To hear the screams of the aborted for all eternity is not something I would wish on even Teddy.
Let us pray that he understood the Truth as he exhaled for the final time and his final thoughts were "oh my God, I am truly sorry for having offended thee..."
Alan Brooks| 2.8.10 @ 10:44PM
Ted was no role model, unless you simply cannot resist booze & coke.
Carl G. Pyper| 2.8.10 @ 5:35PM
In response to the above:
1. Kennedy, E.M.'s singular pursuit of any "greater social good" was his own social status/compulsive-obcessive self indulgence.
2. "The Coward of the Commons" is one of several monikers that suit E.M.'s debasement of society.
3. The only resemblance E.M.K. has to a lion (or any other cat), is that cats are lazy (there are eight of them around me right now to prove the point). Otherwise, lions and all other cats perform usefully in nature...in addition to being creatures that are attractive to humans. "Boar Hog of the Senate" is appropriate for this conniving pig of humanity.
Alan Brooks| 2.12.10 @ 7:07PM
But lions are predatory and randy.
Ken| 2.8.10 @ 5:48PM
Good piece, although I don't think there is any reason for a Catholic to make up a prayer before and after meals.
Using the "standard Catholic formula" works for monks and saints -- and in this case, senators guilty of public scandal. Whatever serious faults, not creating a protestant-ad-libbed grace was not one of them for Kennedy.
Mark| 2.8.10 @ 10:26PM
I think it stands to reason that since Fat Teddy joined the prayer group for political reasons his calling himself a Catholic was probably no more than a political move as well.
Pingback| 2.9.10 @ 2:39AM
Left Coast Rebel: Morgan Freeman on Black History Month | Morgan Freeman Celebrity Mo links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Tony in Central PA| 2.9.10 @ 12:30PM
A well written review, even though I haven't and don't intend to read the book. There have been many of these works of autobiographical revisionism over the years by public figures as death approaches. I'm more impressed by those who leave quietly.
Alan Brooks| 2.14.10 @ 5:16PM
Ted's family was spectacular-- which sells books by the truckload.
The saga is over now; Joe Jr. killed in his plane 66 years ago; JFK and RFK both assassinated in the '60s. And of course Ted died last summer.
GAME OVER.
Pingback| 2.19.10 @ 11:07PM
The Singular Pursuit of God links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Louis T Luca Jr| 2.21.10 @ 1:48PM
I agree with one of the comments of Kennedy
totally following the real catholic faith. If he had done that, abortion would have suffered a setback, But he continued to fight against the
Catholic Faith and with no certain knowledge of
his 'repentance' I pray he did with conviction.
People go through life thinking that the applause
of the world is all there is in life.Will they have a rude awakening.
Puma x Alexander McQueen | 8.12.11 @ 11:33PM
is good