Tony Waldron has died. Most of you who read my blog have never met him. He lived most of his life in and around Athenry in County Galway. In his early life he spent some time in England, but his work-life was mostly on the railways. And he was a hard and skillful worker. He was married to Marie, and they have four children.
Tony was my first cousin on my mother’s side.
The Truth of the Jesus Story is far richer than the children’s story it has become.
Tomorrow evening for the Vigil Mass, and again for the various Monday morning Christmas Masses, our churches will be full. Many of the people who come will not return for the rest of the year. They have left the practice of the faith behind them, for various reasons, but often in this modern, highly educated world, the Church’s version of the Christian message no longer makes sense to them.
The quote below, from Pope Francis speaking to the Curia, is taken from an article by Joshua McElwee, Vatican correspondent of the National Catholic Reporter. In it Francis is clearly having a go at Cardinal Muller, former head of the CDF. Muller being the man who sidelined myself, and who later, when he was let go by Francis, complained bitterly that he wasn’t given proper procedures. Which, of course, I found particularly ironic!
