Father Pius

Today I was visited by Father Pius, the Roman Catholic chaplin on 8 north here at club med. Since it is a Catholic hospital though there is an LCMS chaplin pastor Steve Sutterer.

I enjoy visiting with the RC chaplins because they are generally very scholarly men. In the case of Father Pius he is from Nigeria. I asked him about his country. There are tensions there, which he believes are in part because the common people get no benifit of the sale of oil from their country. Sadly this all too often case in many parts of the world, with a few awash in oil money and the people getting nothing.

We also discussed Pope Benedict. He noted that Benedict is a great writer, but not as charismatic as John Paul.

I want to make another point about foreign chaplins in general. Unlike some American clergy, these men get it. They understand the superficially of our earthly lives and the need to find meaning in Christ. While I, of course, have many disagreements with RC's, being that I am a confessional Lutheran, I respect these men. Most of all I respect them for being willing to be genuine.