Today we took breakfast at the house of a woman who was elected to the state assembly. Her husband also is a politician. I don’t know how Fr. Vincent knows them but he calls her mother. We were to assist her daughter in the college application process. Daughter Abigail is to study in the US. I offered my assistance and was well received. Much of our time is being used up helping and guiding these identified numbers of University age students in the application process and the visa process, getting them letters of commendation, reading them and getting mad when the spelling was wrong and the reference to the applicant was misplaced.
There were loose webs of connection between these who were attempting to better themselves and the officials we went to visit. It is bit bizarre to be driving up to the gated, walled entrance to the home of the bishops, the arch bishop, a few ministers, a few politicians, then drinking and dining with them in their posh surroundings. Earlier today we went to make an appointment with a minister, who had schooled at Harvard and had studied in Europe only to come back and be a parish priest. He was an incredibly busy man. The waiting room next to his office was full of people waiting to see him. Fr. Vincent and I somehow simply walked into his office and waited till he was finished discussing a personal matter with one of his visitors. We were introduced and we chatted. I asked him about the manuscript I noticed sitting on his desk. He seemed happy to discuss it. Everyone else seemed to want something from him: money, letters of commendation, etc. Later, as we were leaving, the man walked through his courtyard in his robes to go to an appointment. We watched as the people went running after him. We were invited to breakfast with him the next morning, along with a student friend of Fr. Vincent and the lady politician of the previous morning. Later I was told, Immanuel, Fr. Vincent’s pastoral assistant was actually this man’s pastoral assistant but was on loan to Fr. Vincent.
Later we went to see archbishop. I chatted with him for almost an hour, because Fr. had disappeared downstairs with a good friend. Archbishop was good company. We talked about everything from politics to education and church issues and theology. He will likely be coming to the US for some medical treatment. He also just put in his retirement notice.
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