Below is a chain of emails that has affected me so strongly that I felt the need to post it here, mainly in the hopes that more people will stand up in anger over this. If you have read my blog, you will see that my views on religion are a little … eccentric. However, I do believe in Christ and the Trinity and I practice that belief through the Catholic Church. When I see what is displayed below, I cannot turn a blind eye. I am leaving out certain names in the below emails, but am leaving the titles in because I think attention needs to be called to the blatant disrespect.
This is an email sent by an old family friend in response to the LA Times article “Cardinal Mahony calls Kennedy a champion of the powerless“. He is a faithful Catholic (in fact, I know him from my Church growing up):
Cardinal Mahony,
Once again your eloquent words regarding Senator Edward Kennedy in the LA Times amaze me!
“a champion of “the voiceless, the powerless and the most needy of our citizens . “
As a devout Catholic, I might consider that these “voiceless and powerless” you speak of were the many unborn children that “Teddy”, time and time again chose to vote to terminate their existence . If my 16 years of Catholic education taught me anything, it was that abortion was immoral and sinful! Yet, once again you side with your good friend “Teddy” on the side of politics, fame and fortune rather than your own church doctrine you allegedly stand for .
You have once again proven what a sad representative you are to true Catholics nationwide . I pray you find the truth amongst the many gifts God has bestowed upon you . I pray you understand the responsibilities and the consequences of your words in such an important Catholic teaching . Lastly, I pray for your soul because I know God expects more from those he has given so much .
God Bless You!
This is the response sent by the Director of Media Relations for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (the DIRECTOR):
Subject: How dare you
How dare you insult the Holy Father! Some “devout Catholic” you are . I’m not going to stand by and let some yahoo defame the Bishop of Rome and the Archbishop of Los Angeles just because they acknowledged the good things that Sen . Kennedy did during his lifetime . Shame…SHAME…on you!!
Only a pea-brain would argue that Kennedy’s support for abortion not only completely eclipses any good he may have accomplished, but turns into demons those — including the two aforementioned church leaders — who would point out his good deeds .
In your mouth-breathing, senseless jabbering you obviously didn’t stop to read the entirety of Cardinal Mahony’s statement on Sen . Kennedy . Of all the bishops who made statements, Cardinal Mahony was the only one who also pointed out Kennedy’s inconsistency when it came to his support for abortion laws .
And only pea-brains lap up every carefully edited story published by the Los Angeles Times .
Shame on you for insulting the successors of the Apostles! Devout Catholic, pshahh!
I need to interject at this point and say, wow, what terrible writing, not to mention completely hateful. How did this guy get to be the Director of Media Relations for the Archdiocese? Is Cardinal Mahony aware that he employs people like this? This is a spokesperson for the Catholic Church of Los Angeles! How dare he respond in such a manner! So, I felt compelled to send a response:
I have been privy to a recent email sent by a long-time friend, Kevin Conway, to “info@la-archdiocese . org” and your, I must say, rather vitriolic response, both of which I have included below, just in case your memory has deserted you. I wish to address a number of points with regard to this exchange, not the least of which will involve your apparent disregard for the actual content of Kevin’s initial email.
When Kevin emailed Cardinal Mahony, he was doing his just duty as a member of the Catholic Church in speaking out against words the Cardinal made about the late Senator Kennedy, a man who was certainly no “champion of the voiceless.” Regardless of an individual Catholics’s views on abortion, gay marriage and other controversial issues, the Archbishop of Los Angeles, speaking as the Archbishop, is responsible for representing Catholic dogma to his diocese, and abortion, in any form, is considered amoral, sinful and murder in the Catholic Church’s eyes. Senator Kennedy was a champion of the pro-choice movement, and to deny that a fetus, an unborn child, is a member of the “voiceless” society is quite ludicrous. While I understand the need to speak on the occasion of a powerful man’s death, it was completely unwarranted and inappropriate for Cardinal Mahony to speak so lovingly about a man who throughout his political career denied basic Church teachings consistently and reprehensibly. You mention in your email that in his statement, Cardinal Mahony “pointed out Kennedy’s inconsistency when it came to his support for abortion laws,” and was the only bishop to do so out of all the bishops who made statements. So what? And could that have been any more of a mediocre statement? Was it actually necessary for Cardinal Mahoney to make any kind of a statement in the first place? At the very least, he could have spoken just to Senator Kennedy’s work with the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act.
Moving on to your email, I would like to point out that Kevin never made any mention of the Holy Father in his initial email, however, you thought fit to call forth the Bishop of Rome in defense of your baseless accusations. I would like to remind you that the Vatican has issued no official statement in response to Senator Kennedy’s death, a rather intelligent decision by the Vatican and the Bishop of Rome. You accused Kevin of calling the Bishop of Rome a “demon,” but you are the one who has defiled the Holy Father in your email through your hateful words. You call Kevin a “pea-brain” for taking in the “carefully edited story” from the LA Times, when, in fact, the only place to find this “statement” made by Cardinal Mahony is from that article. You are the Media Relations Director for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who on earth allowed you to have that position?
In his email, Kevin said that he would pray for the Cardinal, while in your email, you spewed hatred out of every sentence. Shame you, Mr. Tamberg, for defiling the Church’s relations in such a way. Are you even a Catholic? How dare you speak to a faithful member of the Church that way. As a practicing Catholic, I am appalled that a spokesperson for any aspect of the Archdiocese of LA would speak in such an immature, afactual and asinine manner. I am ashamed for members of the diocese for having such a spokesperson as you.
Shame, shame, shame on you for being so incredibly disrespectful.
I have posted this blog in the hopes that others will speak out against the Archdiocese. It is totally unacceptable for a person, speaking for the Church, to say such things, and frankly, Cardinal Mahony, as a representative of the Archdiocese, was in the wrong for saying such things about the late Senator. Your comments are welcome.
