Kennedy leads panel discussion on health care
PROVIDENCE – After a couple of weeks of controversy with Bishop Thomas Tobin, Rhode Islanders will get to hear Representative Patrick Kennedy’s views on health care.
Kennedy is a member of a panel discussion at Brown University on Monday.
“Health Care Reform: What are the Politics” is scheduled at Andrews Hall from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, November 30.
Other members of the panel include Edward Wing, MD, Vincent Mor, PhD, and Brown University student Erin Kelly.
Reader Reactions
Amen Smitty. I was just keeping it simple for those who don’t get the basic argument anyway 
. If they can’t get this then the technicalities of excommunication is WAYYYY over their heads.
Actually, the bishop wasn’t telling Kennedy he couldn’t be a Catholic, he was telling him that he couldn’t be considered a Catholic ‘in good standing’ with the church. There IS a difference. The Catholic religion will not excommunicate a person—declaring that person is no longer a Catholic—until that person has really broken the basic doctrines of the church and absolutely refuses reconcilliation or repentance.
Patches Kennedy is on that road, but he hasn’t travelled to the end—yet.
Posted by ag-somerset on November 26, 2009 at 12:04 pm “JFK would put them in their place, as he did in 1960 and no Bishop would dare to take him on. Even the Pope backed off back then. Obviously, Patrick is no JFK in stature or eloquence.“
Wrong again ag-somerset. ^ Kennedy, John F. (2002-06-18). “Address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association”. American Rhetoric. http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkhoustonministers.html. Retrieved 2007-09-17. ^ “Kennedy also brought up the point of whether one-quarter of Americans were relegated to second-class citizenship just because they were Roman Catholic.“ Sounds to me that JFK was DEFENDING his fellow Catholics. He knew that anti-Catholics, even back then were not going to let him get elected, no matter how “good” a president he might have been. They support the Health Care Reform, just do not support tax-payers paying for abortions. I don’t want to hear about the “poor” not being able to afford abortions, those who want them now are finding the money at a rate of 1.5 million abortions a year.
As far as “antics”, that is a word associated with Patches. The bishop isn’t telling Patches that he can’t vote pro-abortion, he is telling him that he can’t be Catholic if he does. That is the Bishops right and duty to do. Exactly as Smitty said, he is enforcing the Church’s rules on Catholics, which Patches claims to be. Kennedy can’t even get that right. His attack on the church was WAY more then “telling them to trying to legislate”, but trying to explain that to you is pointless. I can see why you support this loser.
AG…..
I understand you convictions on this issue. I understand your honorable with them. You seem like a fair individual. Do you realize that the Democratic party has for years used the Catholic Church to support there own legislation. .It has played (by their invitation) a critical role involving a number of initiatives than spans many years that effect our most vulnerable people. Their work with legislators focused on low and moderate income people have made a tremendous difference on issues of poverty and economic justice. Healthcare has been one of the Catholic Churches basic goals for years.
Yes…The Catholic Church is just one of many groups who appose abortion rights. It is also one of the few who support Democratic efforts to overhaul healthcare. This is why the have been INVITED to the negotiating table. BY YOUR DEMOCRATS. The church has created much goodwill during the years working with democrats on issues like credits for the working poor, immigration, climate change , nutritional programs for children and the list goes on. The words that Patrick Kennedy spoke …asking how could the Catholic Church not want a bill like this to not go forward as if he has done more than this entity for health care is an abomination. It was twisted for your and his benefit and you fell for it. I can also assure you that this was not done out of him standing up for our rights on this issue. He has closed many doors to him by his foolish mistake in the democratic congress because The Catholic Church is more important to this democratic congress than Patrick Kennedy.
I as neither a republican or a democrat and have more against the Catholic Churches political agenda than you. But not on their issue on abortion. I’m not stating my opinion on abortion. I believe in my heart of hearts that they have a legal right and obligation to speak for what they believe as the murder of thousands of innocents. They have the right to influence Catholic individuals to not support what their faith dictates. They have a right to ensure the employment of those healthcare workers who will not by conscience assist
in an abortion procedure.
You analogy about JFK was over the top. Abortion wasn’t an issue until the late 60’s. If you want to get technical he was against abortion. He as president was entrusted with the laws of this nation. The laws of this nation at the time were that abortion was illegal and considered murder.
You have a great Thankgiving
My error—you’re right. This story IS about the health care/abortion issue—not the other.
I still maintain that Kennedy is a two faced opportunist, however.
I have been following this closely.
This started with the Council coming out against health care because of their “perception” that the language restricting funding of abortion was not strong enough.
Patrick told them they should stop trying to legislate and it all devolved from there.
In any event, enough of this today.
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.
ag-somerset, you better read the stories again. Kennedy said no such thing, he said he was banned by the bishop—then he spun the story to his advantage.
While I agree that the Catholic Church has no business influencing legislation, the prelates of the church are politicians—every single one of them. It’s almost a requirement.
Kennedy, on the other hand is a two faced opportunist who is getting worse since daddy died. This particular opportunity is being used by himself to HIS political advantage—by using the differences between himself and the church in the person of the bishop. Bishop Tobin, on the other hand, outside of his statement concerning the health care legislation, is simply enforcing the teachings of the church—and refuting the lies that Patches the addict is putting forth.
I just want the Bishops to stop trying to influence legislation. I also want the IRS to investigate their tax exemption as a result of this and other recent attempts to do so.
JFK would put them in their place, as he did in 1960 and no Bishop would dare to take him on. Even the Pope backed off back then. Obviously, Patrick is no JFK in stature or eloquence.
In my view, Kennedy sort of outed their influence games first by calling out the Conference for not supporting health care reform and then, after Tobin’s antics, letting people know he was asked not the take communion back in 2007.
If they want to lobby our Congress and not act as a tax exempt, non profit, that’s fine but they need to obey the rules and begin paying their fair share of taxes, as well.
Haven’t we heard enough baloney from this incompetent sack already? The bishop and the Catholic Church can say as they want to—NOT EVERYBODY IS CATHOLIC. Let them enforce their rules in their own faith first and leave others alone.
As far as Kennedy, we don’t need his muddying up the issues with his own failed life examples and his thoughts.
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