When Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated on the night of June 5, 1968 in Los Angeles, his aide Paul Schrade was also shot. In the first half, Schrade shared his first-person account of what happened that night, his quest to exonerate Sirhan Sirhan, and why he believes there was a second gunman. Schrade, now 97 years old, recounted how the night at the Ambassador Hotel, after RFK finished speaking, he was in the kitchen pantry just before RFK arrived. Though he didn't realize it in the moment, he was hit by a bullet in the head, and fell unconscious. He learned that Sirhan had fired two shots at RFK and missed, but one of the bullets hit him instead. Twelve shots in total were fired, eight by Sirhan, and four by the second gunman (who used different bullets), he reported. The LAPD, he asserted, knew there was a second shooter but deliberately covered up this information.
Schrade is convinced that the second gunman fired the fatal shots that killed Robert Kennedy. Sirhan says he doesn't remember the incident, and has not claimed there was a second gunman. While Schrade believes Sirhan was guilty of firing gunshots, he believes he has served his time (over 50 years) and should be given parole (RFK Jr. has also backed parole). Schrade has worked with Sirhan's brother Munir Sirhan and the Redemption Row Project to make that happen, but this past January, California Gov. Gavin Newsom denied his release even though the Parole Board had recommended it. For more, view CBS news coverage of the RFK assassination from 1968.
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Theologian and activist Matthew Fox, Ph.D., is known for creating the Cosmic Mass in 1991 - which replaced pews and readings with dancing, and DJs. In the latter half, he discussed creation spirituality, the problem of evil, and the reality of angels. Creation spirituality relates to the story of the universe, and how it evolved. He highlighted the sacred aspect of our creation that gets lost when focusing on religious concepts like "original sin." Fox said that in the last 500 years, humans have turned away from creation spirituality. He connected this change to the arrival of bubonic plague, in which humankind became fearful of death, and religion shifted to being "redemption centered."
Fox views evil as the opposite of sacred or the misdirection of love. As one Native American ceremonial leader told him, "In our tradition, fear is a door in the heart that lets evil spirits in." All seven of our chakras have doors that can let evil in, which might take the form of the seven deadly sins, Fox remarked. Angels are light beings who cannot help but love, and we can become more attuned to them when we get in touch with our intuition, he said. "They are around to assist us in so many ways," but we need to call on them, he explained. We have to have the humility to ask them for help, he added. He detailed a prayer where one calls for angels' assistance from the north, south, east, and west, and turns in those directions as they ask. You can also add the sky, Mother Earth, and the heart as additional directions, he noted.
News segment guests: Christian Wilde, Kevin Randle