I don’t know about you, but I can barely keep up with all the news and reading material coming out of the Papal Visit to the US. No, I will admit it, I haven’t kept up at all. It will take days/weeks to process it all. I haven’t even had time to watch any of the EWTN coverage, but at least it is all here for when I get five minutes to scratch myself…
In the mean time, I note with just a touch of sadness the death of Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo at the relatively young age (for a curial official) of 72.
I have a strong memory (not necessarily a fond one) of the Cardinal addressing us at the opening of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family here in Melbourne. It was a hot, crowded room, and his speech went on for hours and hours in an heavily accented English that was impossible to understand. The overall effect was comparable to Chinese Water Torture. From where Cathy and I were sitting it was obvious that even the saintly Director (now Bishop-in-charge of WYD) had some difficulty maintaining an expression of polite interest on his face for the entire address…
God rest his soul!
But, oh Lord! that was truly the most appalling speech I’ve ever sat through!
Were you there too, David? I think it was before we met…
I most certainly was there. It is not the sort of experience that one dreams up. It had that sort of subtle horror of which nightmares are incapable…
No, it wasn’t before we met. I met you fairly early on after your arrival from “across the water”, at the Ringwood presbytery.
Was that when I was staying with Fr P.? That must have been in early 2003 then. Had you converted by that point?
I recall the same speech with a certain amount of sympathy for the man himself. He was obviously aware that he was struggling in a second language, with an audience which was far from the usual academic crowd. Remember him skipping about four double sided pages at one point, with a small apologetic grin to the dean?
My memory of this man extends to being presented to him and him immediately asking after my family. As soon as he heard of my wife and children he gave us all a formal and heartfelt blessing on the spot.
God rest his soul