c.1997 The Boston Globe
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WASHINGTON—US Representative Joseph P. Kennedy II apologized Thursday for mistakes he made during his first marriage, in an attempt to address questions raised about his temperament and behavior in a book written by his former wife.
``I am terribly sorry for any of the mistakes I made in our relationship,'' Kennedy said at a news conference when asked about his treatment of his former wife, Sheila Rauch Kennedy. ``I have deep regrets about my relationship with Sheila and what happened to that relationship. There are certainly things I wish I never said, and I presume Sheila feels the same way.''
Mrs. Kennedy, in her new book, ``Shattered Faith,'' and in earlier interviews, said her former husband repeatedly told her she was ``a nobody'' as his interest turned to politics during his first congressional campaign in 1986. She described him as short-tempered and demanding.
Later, she said, he berated her for not cooperating with his attempt to obtain an annulment of their 12-year marriage. She began a promotion tour Thursday for the book, a stinging critique of the Roman Catholic Church's annulment practices.
Joseph Kennedy Thursday broke from his usual ``no comments'' about the annulment and his first marriage as a poll commissioned by WHDH-TV in Boston showed the issue may be inflicting political damage. This was the same finding in two other recent polls, one by the University of Massaschusetts' nonpartisan McCormack Institute and one by the Boston Herald.
Nearly one-third of 437 Massachusetts voters surveyed by Mason-Dixon Political Media Research in the WHDH poll said the annulment controversy made them less likely to vote for him for governor, if he runs next year, as is expected. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points.
Eighty-nine percent of those polled had heard or read about the
controversy concerning the annulment. Only 12 percent agreed with
the statement that male members of the Kennedy family had shown
proper respect to women, while 59 did not agree. In a head-to-ead
competition against Governor William F. Weld 
, Kennedy trailed 56
percent to 36 percent in the poll.
Kennedy said Thursday he sought the annulment so he and his wife, Beth, 40, who is also his secretary, could fully practice their religion. Divorced Roman Catholics and subsequent spouses cannot take communion or go to confession unless the previous marriage has been annuled.
``Getting an annulment is the only way, the only way, that I can go to communion with my children and my wife, and that is important to me,'' said Kennedy, a Democrat from Boston's Brighton district.
He filed for the annulment in 1993, two years after receiving a civil divorce and while he was preparing to marry Anne Elizabeth Kelly, known as Beth.
Sheila Kennedy opposed the annulment, which was granted last year by the Archdiocese of Boston. She has appealed to the Vatican. The couple have two sons, 16-year-old twins, Matthew and Joseph 3d.
``I was in a relationship that had, in so many ways, just deteriorated,'' said Kennedy, who uncharacteristically spoke slowly and somberly at the news conference. He said anyone who had gone through a difficult relationship could understand that ``you say things that you wish you never said.''
The controversy over the annulment seems to have caught Kennedy by surprise as he moves toward a probable campaign for governor.
``I just feel that this seeking of an annulment is effectively asking for a Catholic divorce,'' Kennedy said. ``I did not seek a divorce. I never felt this would have the impact that it has.''
Sheila Kennedy filed for divorce in September 1990, and it became final in January 1991. They share custody of their sons, who live with their mother in Cambridge, Mass.
``I'm very sorry for what happened to our marriage but I continue to be a strong believer in the Catholic Church,'' he said.
Although he has characterized himself as ``a cafeteria Catholic'' and acknowledged that he disagrees with the church on some major issues, such as abortion, birth control, divorce and the priesthood for women, he said his religion remained part of his ``core'' beliefs.
``There are going to be elements of church teaching that I have had disagreements with,'' he said. ``If my religion ends up creating some controversy, those are aspects of my religion that I accept. It's a religious issue for me. I have to do what I think is right.''
``I go to church every Sunday with my sons, and I can't go to communion with them. Beth can't go to communion. I haven't been to confession in 3 1/2 years. This is a very difficult thing for a Catholic who believes in the teachings of the Church,'' he said.
He declined to confirm his reported description of the annulment procedure as ``Catholic gobblygook'' in a conversation with his former wife.
``I'm not going to get into all of the private personal conversations with my ex-wife in a public format,'' he said.
He said he viewed the annulment procedure as an accommodation made by the Catholic Church so divorced Catholics can return as full practicing members of the faith. The Catholic Church grants nearly 60,000 annulment petitions each year in the United States.
``This is a way that the Catholic Church is trying to reach out to divorced Catholics that welcomes them back into the church,'' he said. ``Is it the cleanest process? Maybe not, but it is a significant step forward. I appreciate the fact that the church is trying to find a way to allow divorced Catholics back into the church.''
He said he regarded a gubernatorial campaign against Weld, who has sent mixed signals about whether he will seek a third four-year term, as ``a tough race. I don't think I've made it any easier on myself,'' he said.
``At a certain point, this issue no longer should be looked at through a political prism,'' he said. ``I have to look at this as a religious and a personal issue.''
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE THURSDAY AT 6:30 P.M. EASTERN
A new international study offers more reassuring news about oral contraceptives: they do not increase a woman's risk of heart attack.
Heart attack ``is extremely rare in younger (under 35 years) non-smoking women who use oral contraceptives,'' wrote lead researcher Neil Poulter of the University College London, in the United Kingdom. ``The risk is likely to be even lower if blood pressure is screened before, and presumably during, oral contraceptive use.''
The researchers studied 368 women ages 20 to 44 years who had heart attacks, and compared them with 941 women who were hospitalized for other reasons. Researchers from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America took part in the study.
``Very few cases of [heart attack] were identified among oral contraceptive users who had no such risk factors and who reported a blood pressure check before the current episode of oral contraceptive use,'' Poulter wrote.
Among women with known risk factors for heart attack—smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure—oral contraceptives seemed to cause a slight increase in risk, researchers reported this week in the international medical journal The Lancet.
The Lancet (1997;349:1202-1209)
The New York Times said in an editorial on Friday, April 25:
Chief Judge Judith Kaye's campaign to overhaul the tangled, inefficient workings of New York state's court system has found a ripe new target for reform in the Family Courts.
With jurisdiction over a range of family issues, including adoption, divorce, domestic violence, child custody and juvenile delinquency, Family Court's caseload has swelled enormously. In 1996 the courts handled about 700,000 cases. By the year 2000 that number is expected to surpass 800,000. Meanwhile, well-publicized incidents of domestic assault and child abuse have riveted attention on the need for earlier intervention by the justice system to protect children and spouses from violence.
Practical innovations announced last week by Judge Kaye will help make Family Court more accessible to its clients and better able to address the serious matters before it. One simple change will extend closing hours from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., beginning two nights a week this summer in Brooklyn. The plan also calls for installing video equipment in satellite offices so that people can obtain a court order of protection, for example, without having to travel to distant courthouses.
Another simple change will create one standardized form for uncontested divorces, replacing the dozens of different versions now in use around the state, thus helping to reduce processing times and administrative hassles for divorcing couples without a lawyer. Special drug courts will be created to address the substance abuse involved in cases of child abuse or neglect. The courts will give judges the information they need to make informed decisions, and require addicted parents to complete treatment as a condition of maintaining custody.
Disappointingly, Judge Kaye's reform package leaves untouched Family Court's practice of barring the press from most proceedings, preventing serious scrutiny of the day-to-day performance of Family Court judges and agencies that regularly deal with the court. Changing that closed culture should be next on Judge Kaye's agenda.
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