Senator Kennedy Honored As Master Legislator, 'Giving Heart'

By Cindy Saine
Washington
29 August 2009

The honor guard carries the casket from the church after Roman Catholic Funeral Mass for Sen. Edward Kennedy at Our Lady of Perpetual Hope Basilica in Boston

The influential and beloved U.S. Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy has been honored at a Roman Catholic funeral mass in Boston, Massachusetts. U.S. President Barack Obama delivered a eulogy for his mentor and friend, praising Kennedy for both his towering public accomplishments and for his private kindness towards his family, friends and countless people he met.

The Kennedys are sometimes jokingly refered to as "America's royal family", and Edward Kennedy's funeral drew many of Washington's elite. President Obama was joined by former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, with their spouses, and more than 60 current and former senators.

The music was also of the highest caliber, with tenor Placido Domingo singing "Panis Angelicus," accompanied by cellist Yo-Yo Ma during the sacrament of Holy Communion.

President Obama pointed out that Edward Kennedy began life as the youngest of nine children, and said much was expected of him after two of his brothers, former President John F. Kennedy, and Senator Robert Kennedy were slain. But the president said Kennedy surpassed the expectations because of who he became.

"Today we say goodbye to the youngest child of Rose and Joseph Kennedy. The world will long remember their son Edward as the heir to a weighty legacy; a champion for those who had none; the soul of the Democratic Party; and the lion of the U.S. Senate - a man who [whose name] graces nearly 1,000 laws, and who penned more than 300 himself," he said.

US President Barack Obama applauds as he prepares to speak at Senator Kennedy's funeral in Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Boston, 29 Aug 2009

The man known as one of the most effective legislators in Senate history died of brain cancer Tuesday at the age of 77. His liberal positions often caused him to clash with conservative lawmakers, but he was also known for his ability to compromise to get laws passed. Born into a wealthy Irish-Catholic family, Edward Kennedy had a passion for helping the poor, disabled and disadvantaged, as President Obama remembered. 

"Ted Kennedy's life's work was not to champion the causes of those with wealth or power or special connections. It was to give a voice to those who were not heard, to add a rung to the ladder of opportunity, to make real the dream of our founding," he said.

Senator Kennedy planned many aspects of the funeral, and chose to hold it at "Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica", an inner-city church known for its outreach to the poor. Some 1,500 people attended the two-hour ceremony under the soaring white dome of the basilica, as rain poured down outside.

Ten of Kennedy's children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews offered prayers for some of Kennedy's beloved causes, including health care as a right for all Americans.

Perhaps the most moving tributes came from Senator Kennedy's two sons. His oldest son, Ted Kennedy, Jr. told a story of an incident that happened shortly after he lost his leg to cancer at age 12, when his father helped him up an icy, snow-covered hill, telling him "There is nothing that you cannot do."  

His other son, Congressman Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, fondly remembered how even when he was small, his father included him in his beloved sailboat races off of Cape Cod.

President Obama also referred to Kennedy's love of sailing, saying he has gone home to rejoin those loved ones he had lost. 

"At last he is with them once more, leaving those of us who grieve his passing with the memories he gave, the good he did, the dream he kept alive, and a single, enduring image - the image of a man on a boat; white mane tousled; smiling broadly as he sails into the wind, ready for what storms may come, carrying on toward some new and wondrous place just beyond the horizon," he said.

Senator Kennedy's funeral follows several days of memorials during which Kennedy's fellow Democrats , along with Republicans, united in paying him tribute.