Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s Faith

“Robert was the Kennedy who took his Catholicism most seriously. He attended Mass regularly, and prayed with his family before meals and bed,” said Jerald Podair, a history and American studies professor at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Podair said his Catholicism was not limited to his personal life but also showed up in his politics. As he put it, Kennedy viewed his faith “as a summons to heal the world, making it a more equal and just place. It was Kennedy’s firmly believed Catholic view that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.”

Peter Edelman, a Georgetown University law professor who was a legislative aide to Kennedy from 1964 to 1968, described Kennedy as “assiduous in his practice of his Catholicism” and said his “values and work were certainly based significantly in his faith.”

As U.S. Senator, Kennedy became passionate about the problems of America’s poorest and most powerless people. He led fact finding missions to Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, and Native American reservations. After witnessing hungry children on his Mississippi tour Kennedy passionately exclaimed to his children: “Do you know how lucky you are? Do you know how lucky you are? You have a great responsibility. Do something for these children. Do something for our country.”

Poverty and racial justice were major themes of Robert Kennedy’s campaign both in Nebraska and nationwide. No presidential candidate in modern history made poverty a higher priority than Kennedy did in 1968. Steve Bell of ABC News observed: “In Nebraska, we (the press) suddenly began to realize that Robert Kennedy had a near obsession about the plight of the poor. Kennedy kept hammering away about the poor, when there was more chance for political loss than gain.”

Robert Kennedy was a devout and genuine Catholic who lived his faith. His career and beliefs truly reflected the teachings of Jesus Christ. We could all learn something from him.