“Dennis, it’s good to see you here,” the mayor said.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” I told him. “I knew Father Paul for more than twenty years.”
The mayor’s town in Western Belize was holding a memorial service for their old priest who had died three months ago. He had faithfully served his town until his death three months earlier.
“I met him about twenty years ago,” I said. “A very moral and upright man.”
“He certainly was,” the mayor said “Years ago, when he first came here, the town had a huge problem with adultery. It was so bad that Father Paul threatened to resign if he heard any more confessions about it.”
“How did you get him to stay?” I asked.
“Somebody came up with the idea that instead of saying anyone committed adultery they would say they have fallen. People got used to it and they tell me that everyone still uses it.”
A young man in a priest’s cassock approached our table. The mayor introduced me to Father Timoteo.
“The Father is finishing his first week here,” the mayor said to me. To the priest he asked, “What do you think of our town so far?”
“I am worried,” Father Timoteo said, “There is something physically wrong with the people here. They are constantly falling and someone could get injured.”
The mayor began to laugh and said, “Oh, Father, the reason. . . .”
“Why are you laughing?” the priest interrupted. “Your wife fell three times last week.”
Share
Read more
