Msgr. John J. Oliveira explains "The Last Rites." The History Channel's resident historian Steve M. Gillon has made a mountain out of a molehill with his new book asking when did JFK really die vs. when did he "officially," die. The differing accounts have to do with the request of Jacqueline Kennedy for a Catholic priest to administer what was then called, "The Last Rites." I think its fair to say that Gillon knows nothing about this Catholic sacrament or how silly the Catholic Church was with it's odd and inappropriate rigidity, to put the burden of finding a priest on a grieving family. Imagine fearing that JFK wouldn't get into heaven because they couldn't get a priest in time. That's what it was like before the reforms of Vatican II. Imagine the job Father Oscar Huber had to do to perform these rites under the circumstances he did and to try to comfort Mrs. Kennedy. He was clearly one of the unsung heroes of that terrible day.
FROM THE PULPIT: 'Last rites' misunderstood
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