(For some considerable time I have been uneasy about the rapid canonisation of Pope John Paul II. I suppose I should say that I believe that the older custom of leaving a considerable period of years before a person would be declared a saint was much more wise. But particularly in relation to Pope John Paul, while he was clearly a good man, there are too many questions that may come back to haunt the Church, and discredit the canonisation.
The local supermarket is a good place to meet people. Almost every time I go there I find myself having a chat with someone in one of the aisles. Yesterday, as I stood in the queue for the express check-out with my few gluten free items, I heard a voice behind me:
“Have you heard anything from the Vatican recently?”
I looked around to see a woman who occasionally attends our church in the monastery, and with whom I have had many chats over the years.
The latest of my Reform Talks took place last evening (Wednesday) at the Stillorgan Park Hotel. On a very bad night about 130 people came, and from my point of view it was a very satisfying evening. After my talk there was, as usual, a very lively discussion.
A friend of mine, who is part of the reform movement in the US, recently asked me the following question: “What do people care about when you talk?
