Saturday, January 5, 2013

Frail and house bound but you can't have a visit from a priest

I don't know the name of the priest that I spoke to by phone at St Paul's church in Haywards Heath but the conversation took place after one email (sent 2 weeks ago) and a couple of phone messages.

I was phoning on behalf of an elderly relative, aged 89, who is house bound and on her own.

She would like to receive Holy Communion on a regular basis but, being an old school traditionalist, she does not wish to receive from an Extraordinary Minister.

I believe that she would also like to go to Confession; she is mentally sound but suffers from short term memory loss.

A stranger turning up on the doorstep would be received with some considerable concern and certainly would not be admitted. But that is really not the point. She needs a priest - full stop.

I finally got through to a priest at St Paul's this evening; I explained that I had emailed him (done so that the situation could be explained sensitively and at length).

"Oh, no problem" said the voice at the end of the phone. "I'll send a 'special minister' round".

"I'm sorry Father but she will only receive from a Priest" says I.

"She needs to grow up" was the retort.

I thought that I had misheard and so I asked him to repeat what he had said.

The reply came back loud and clear with an added sentence.

"She needs to get real. it's impossible"

Any ideas as to how I can achieve this simple and straightforward request will be most welcome.

My initial reaction is to get in touch with the SSPX..........they are for 'real'.

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