Vatican: Ted Was Dead To Us Already

It was reported that Ted Kennedy wrote his succession-related letter to Patrick, Murray and DeLeo on a day in early July when he was writing a number of other letters, including one to the Pope. Whatever was in that letter -- delivered personally by President Obama a week later -- apparently was not enough to sway the heart of Benedict XVI, who, we learn today from Time online, is giving a pretty blatant cold shoulder to the deceased Senator.

Benedict, Time reports, "has not commented or issued an official communique in response to Kennedy's death."

One Vatican official is quoted, anonymously and dismissively, "Why would he even write a letter to the Pope? The Kennedys have always been defiantly in opposition to the Roman Catholic magisterium.... Here in Rome Ted Kennedy is nobody."

The article strongly implies that this is almost entirely about one issue. Message received: one's political stand on abortion trumps all else. Far be it from me to say what's right or wrong for the Pope to do. I can only wonder how this will sit with millions of American Catholics -- including Hispanics, the one growing segment of the church in this country -- who revere Ted.