When it comes to the issue of Senator Kennedy being given a Catholic burial, Bishop Morlino noted that he was glad that it was celebrated in “a subdued fashion.” The proclamation of “God’s Mercy was powerful, the prayer for forgiveness of his past sins was clearly offered, and all of this in a subdued way because of his long-standing and public holding of pro-abortion and other stances which have been a scandal in the literal sense,” Morlino wrote.
However, the Bishop of Madison said that he is afraid that “for not a few Catholics, the funeral rites for Senator Kennedy were a source of scandal — that is, quite literally, led them into sin.”
Summarizing the reactions of some Catholics and pro-life supporters, Bishop Morlino repeated some of the questions he heard: “'how on earth could Teddy Kennedy be buried from the Church?' There have also been expressions from some, that 'whatever happens in Church, Senator Kennedy will now face justice, which will lead him inside the gates of Hell.'”
But it is “sinful to enjoy the thought that someone might be in Hell,” Bishop Morlino warned, noting that this belief is an ancient Christian truth.
“The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit worked powerfully through history so that Hell could be avoided by the proper exercise of human freedom, and to take delight in the perceived foiling of God’s plan is wrong,” he added.
Any reaction that finds joy in a person's possible damnation is wrong because the Church believes and has taught from the beginning that “Jesus died precisely so that sins might be forgiven. His body was broken and His blood was shed so that sins might be forgiven, so that there might be mercy,” Morlino explained.
“The death of Senator Kennedy,” the bishop observed, “has called forth at least an apparent rejection of mercy on the part of not a few Catholics. On the cross of Christ, God’s justice came into conflict with God’s mercy. God’s justice was fully satisfied, but mercy triumphed in the conflict, according to the teaching of Pope Benedict.”
“Without denying any misdeeds on the part of Senator Kennedy, the Church, seeking to reflect the face of Christ, proclaimed God’s mercy for the whole world to see in a subdued but unmistakable way. It was more than appropriate,” Bishop Morlino concluded.