A parish
priest was being honored at a dinner on the twenty-fifth anniversary of
his arrival in that parish. A leading local politician, who was a member
of the congregation, was chosen to make the presentation and give a
little speech at the dinner, but he was delayed in traffic, so the
priest decided to say his own few words while they waited.
"You will understand," he
said, "the seal of the confessional, can never be broken. However, I got
my first impressions of the parish from the very first confession I
heard here. I can only hint vaguely about this, but when I came here
twenty-five years ago I thought I had been assigned
to a terrible place.
The very first chap who
entered my confessional told me how he had stolen a television set, and
when stopped by the police, had almost murdered the officer. Further, he
told me he had stolen money from his parents, embezzled money from his
place of business, had an affair with his boss's wife, taken illegal
drugs, and given VD to his cousin.
I was appalled, but as the
days went on I came to realize that my people were not all like that and
I had, indeed, come to a fine parish full of understanding and loving
people."
Just as the priest finished
his talk, the politician arrived full of apologies at being late. He
immediately began to make the presentation and give his talk...
"I'll never forget the first
day our parish priest arrived in this parish," said the politician. "In
fact, I had the honor of being the first one to go to him in
confession."
