As that most blest, inspiring but tested Kennedy Family brought Senator Kennedy’s body to its final resting place in the deepening shadows of August 29th, I truly longed to kneel beside the weeping child bent over his coffin, pouring out a grief undoubtedly born of the pains of heart-wrenching loss for his loving grandfather. But,  I would not only weep for a legislator who inspired and challenged me these twenty-five years, one who held long-evening sessions with lobbyists, ever strategizing for the passage of  health legislation as was his custom in the Clinton era.  No, I would weep for the incomparable loss to a nation and a people who came to know his deep concern for the multiple issues that touched their lives, a loss most poignantly felt for those who struggle with poverty, discrimination and legislative neglect.   

That parting vision of a weeping child all too well reminded me of my last interaction with Senator Kennedy.  It came through a summons to join him on a TV segment calling for the support of the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP).  Before the program began, we were jokingly sharing “bad back” stories when he confided to me that at day’s end, he would be off to home – “presumably Hyannisport” for a complete checkup. His concern was palpable, but he had not let it stand in the way of  this media plea to the nation, a plea motivated by his insatiable commitment to safeguard health care for those most likely to be neglected – impoverished children. And, today... I mourn for what I neglected to say.  

I followed his lead on many issues through my twenty-five years on the Hill as a lobbyist for NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, which out of the lens of Catholic social teaching focuses on legislation that affects people who are economically impoverished. He was for me the epitome of one who sought in his legislative decisions the welfare of all citizens. But, above that, he was blessedly the one who lived, breathed and labored to bring to reality in this nation’s life and laws the Gospel call of preferential option for those who are impoverished or disenfranchised. Hopefully, his life and legislative legacy will not only challenge Congress to open the way to affordable, quality health care for all, but also to evaluate its legislative agenda and decisions in the light of how they affect citizens at every level of the nation’s economy.

Catherine Pinkerton, CSJ, is a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph and a lobbyist for NETWORK, a National Catholic Social Justice Lobby