Below are words about a friend of nearly twenty five years. He suffered immensely at the hands of local Roman Catholic priests and bishops. They hanged him inside the halls of power because influential priests and powerful bishops refused him total transparency, the greater fullness of factual truths and basic fairness, respect and justice. These influential priests and bishops imposed their damning indifference upon this trusting Catholic. For more than fifteen years they watched him twist in the wind. They ceased talking with him. None of these characters would give him the Sacrament of the Sick, visit him, pray with him or advocate on his behalf. No! They had not the time of day for this suffering servant.
These wretched ordained men were very consistent in their years of indifference toward this fragile and suffering Catholic. Human indifference has always been a far more damning evil than even hatred. With hatred one must recognize the existence of the person they choose to hate. Human indifference is far worse. These influential ordained men and Catholic leaders tragically, yet consistently, imposed upon him their personal expressions of their human indifference. These supposed “men of God” did not care. This became abundantly clear via the consistency of their shared indifference over the passing of those fifteen years.
Even as his alcoholism enveloped his entire life, he still cried out in his years of suffering, and prayed for these wretched ordained human beings. He came to know human suffering all too well. Suffering is all too often forced and bestowed upon the already humbled and painful hearts of vulnerable and trusting men and women. They often are estranged from family and friends and sadly, from Church. They realize they are surrounded by lay and ordained spiritual malaise. Yet in the midst of sheer human indifference, my dear alcoholic friend retained his great faith, his steel- like fidelity to the Gospel, and sheer trust.
He died too soon and both our one holy catholic and apostolic Church, and his family and friends lost a true friend and a blessed Catholic… a fragile, even broken treasure; a modern suffering disciple who was faithful to his last hour. When he died, he died alone…with cold fatal human indifference permeating the air. In a split second, he fell to the floor, took his last breath, and entered into the Kingdom of God. He is no more. Humanity is poorer. The Church bells still ring. Masses are celebrated. And the Church goes on…