Father Raymond J. de Souza: A tale of two Kennedys
Posted: August 12, 2009, 9:48 AM by NP Editor
Two of the last three Kennedys have taken centre stage this week. Yesterday, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, died in Hyannis, Mass. Today, Senator Ted Kennedy is being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. For the last of the Kennedy sons, aged 77 and suffering from brain cancer, the ceremony in Washington is something of a valedictory.
After the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, the Kennedy family had two paths before it -- one represented by Eunice and her husband, Sargent, and the other by the last surviving brother, Ted.
On July 20, 1968--just weeks after RFK's death -- Eunice convened the first Special Olympics, a movement of dignity and hope for mentally disabled children. It was born of Eunice's love for her mentally disabled sister, Rosemary; her firm defence of the dignity of every human life; and her deep Catholic faith. Eunice and Sargent (who also founded the Peace Corps and was the architect of many of the Great Society programs for the poor) changed the way we think about people with special needs.
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