Jul 10, 2009 10:50 pm US/Eastern
Obama Asks Pope To Pray For Ted Kennedy
VATICAN CITY (WBZ) ―
-
-
Pope Benedict XVI poses with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama during an audience on July 10, 2009, at The Vatican.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
-
-
Sen. Ted Kennedy goes sailing Thursday, July 9, 2009.
David G. Curran/SatelliteNewsService.com
President Barack Obama gave Pope Benedict XVI a personal letter from ailing Sen. Edward Kennedy Friday.
White House national security aide Denis McDonough said Obama and Benedict discussed Kennedy at the end of
a half-hour one-on-one meeting at the Vatican.
Obama asked the pope to pray for Kennedy, a member of one of the United States' most prominent Roman Catholic families and a political ally to Obama.
"You know Ted Kennedy has had differences of opinion with the Catholic Church on a number of issues, but he is still somebody who will turn to God in a time of crisis," said Ray Flynn, former ambassador to the Vatican. "No matter who you are you always turn to God."
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters aboard Air Force One that Obama phoned Kennedy after the meeting.
"The President just as we lifted off spoke with Senator Kennedy for about 10 minutes, telling him that he had delivered the letter on his behalf to the Pope today," Gibbs said.
Obama is now on his way to Ghana.
Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, was diagnosed a year ago with
terminal brain cancer.
His office confirmed to WBZ the letter was delivered to the pope, but Kennedy's staff refused to say anything more about it, calling the letter "personal."
Gibbs also had little to say about it.
"The contents of the letter were not known to anybody that I know of except Senator Kennedy," he said.
"I'm sure Ted Kennedy probably asked him to say a prayer for him. He (the Pope) certainly will," Flynn said. "He'll probably offer up a private mass and he'll probably even communicate with Ted Kennedy through some sort of personal note telling him he'll keep him in his prayers."
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments