Senator Ted Kennedy Will Not Become a Mormon Any Time Soon
August 28, 2009 by Patrick Madrid
Filed under Patrick's Blog
One of the interesting and exotic features of the Mormon Church is its temple ritual of baptism for the dead. No, they don’t baptize dead bodies. Rather, church members who possess “temple recommends” (a document which officially certifies them for up to one year as being worthy) are encouraged to visit any of the 130+ Mormon temples around the world and are themselves baptized on behalf of deceased persons, who may not have ever been Mormon in this life. (For additional info, see this Catholic Answers tract adapted from an article I wrote in 1989 about Mormonism’s baptism for the dead).
It’s not certain whether the late Sen. Ted Kennedy would be more palatable to conservative Utah Republicans if he were a Mormon, but it appears someone tried to make that happen.
Just one day after Kennedy died, someone apparently posted his name on an LDS Church database to have him placed on the list to be posthumously baptized.
That posting was uncovered by researcher Helen Radkey, who has been critical of the church practice.
But, alas, Kennedy won’t become a Mormon anytime soon. Whoever placed his name on the list was not authorized to do so, and the church’s database security system put a block on it.
According to church policy, a person is not eligible to be baptized posthumously until a year after death. It also is against the policy for anyone to place someone’s name on the list who is not related to that person.
The security system also is set up to catch the listing of famous people, like Ted Kennedy, who may be placed on the list as a hoax. (Source)
Senator Ted Kennedy Will Not Become a Mormon Any Time Soon
August 28, 2009 by Patrick Madrid
Filed under Patrick's Blog
One of the interesting and exotic features of the Mormon Church is its temple ritual of baptism for the dead. No, they don’t baptize dead bodies. Rather, church members who possess “temple recommends” (a document which officially certifies them for up to one year as being worthy) are encouraged to visit any of the 130+ Mormon temples around the world and are themselves baptized on behalf of deceased persons, who may not have ever been Mormon in this life. (For additional info, see this Catholic Answers tract adapted from an article I wrote in 1989 about Mormonism’s baptism for the dead).
It’s not certain whether the late Sen. Ted Kennedy would be more palatable to conservative Utah Republicans if he were a Mormon, but it appears someone tried to make that happen.
Just one day after Kennedy died, someone apparently posted his name on an LDS Church database to have him placed on the list to be posthumously baptized.
That posting was uncovered by researcher Helen Radkey, who has been critical of the church practice.
But, alas, Kennedy won’t become a Mormon anytime soon. Whoever placed his name on the list was not authorized to do so, and the church’s database security system put a block on it.
According to church policy, a person is not eligible to be baptized posthumously until a year after death. It also is against the policy for anyone to place someone’s name on the list who is not related to that person.
The security system also is set up to catch the listing of famous people, like Ted Kennedy, who may be placed on the list as a hoax. (Source)
Some Follow-Up Comments on Yesterday’s America Magazine Paroxysm
August 28, 2009 by Patrick Madrid
Filed under Patrick's Blog
Some Follow-Up Comments on Yesterday's America Magazine Paroxysm
August 28, 2009 by Patrick Madrid
Filed under Patrick's Blog
Cool Guys Don’t Look at Explosions
August 28, 2009 by Patrick Madrid
Filed under Patrick's Blog
And now for something completely different. Yesterday was a bit more hectic than usual. So here’s some levity to change the pace.
Cool Guys Don't Look at Explosions
August 28, 2009 by Patrick Madrid
Filed under Patrick's Blog
And now for something completely different. Yesterday was a bit more hectic than usual. So here’s some levity to change the pace.
The Spanish-Language Press Picks Up on the Kennedy-Fiedler-Madrid-Winters Kerfuffle
August 27, 2009 by Patrick Madrid
Filed under Patrick's Blog
TODOS LAMENTAN SU MUERTE PERO HAY DIVISIONES POR SU APOYO AL ABORTO
Polémica en los medios católicos estadounidenses sobre la valoración de la figura de Ted Kennedy tras su muerte
La muerte del senador Ted Kennedy ha provocado la proliferación de artículos y valoraciones sobre su persona en los medios de comunicación católicos de Estados Unidos. Mientras que algunos articulistas ensalzan su figura, otros recuerdan que su constante apoyo a la legislación en favor del aborto le incapacitan para poder ser considerado como un buen católico. En ese sentido, Patrick Madrid y Fr. John Zuhlsdorf no han dudado en criticar un artículo de la Hna Maureen Fiedler en el National Catholic Reporter. . . . (continue in Spanish)
N.B.: One mistake they made (easily forgivable) is that they call me an “ex-pastor protestante,” when, in fact, I am a cradle Catholic and have never been Protestant. Just for the record.
America Magazine Goes After Me for My Response to Sr. Maureen Fiedler
August 27, 2009 by Patrick Madrid
Filed under Patrick's Blog
Well, I feel as if I’ve finally “arrived.”
True, over the years, my name has been mentioned disparagingly a few times in the pages of America, but what appeared in its online edition today has reached a whole new level of invective (even by America’s standards of invective).
I responded yesterday to Sr. Maureen Fiedler’s obit piece on Senator Ted Kennedy in NCR (“He Made Me Proud to Be Catholic”), and my comments obviously hit a raw nerve among that community of disciples over at America, as evidenced by my being roundly chastised by one of their writers today.
Honestly, I don’t think my remarks were in any way untoward, but clearly, that interlocutor disagrees. In just six irrate paragraphs, he manages to brand me me a “boor,” a “loudmouth,” “ignorant of history,” “callous,” “inhumane,” “indecent,” and “hateful” — all the while insinuating that my comments on this issue (and those of other pro-life people) are simply a “rant.”
Kettle, meet Pot. Pot, meet Kettle.
Do Not Text While Driving PSA
August 26, 2009 by Patrick Madrid
Filed under Patrick's Blog
The further adventures of "Jaime Alberto Gonzales"
August 26, 2009 by Patrick Madrid
Filed under Patrick's Blog
Although you probably know him as Fr. Marcial Maciel, “Jaime Alberto Gonzales” was allegedly one of the aliases he went by during his assignations with young Mexican women (queue to 7:00 for that). More details are available here and here, and for those who understand Spanish, these CNN videos provide fuller details, straight from a lawyer who’s working this case. Start with this one:
