Post T-Day Updates

Sorry for my hiatus during the Thanksgiving break. Here are some rumblings around the salad bar not related to consuming copious amounts of garlicky salsa:

• Why did it take almost three days between Fr. Tom Goekler's death in Guatemala last week and an official notice going out to the membership? In this age of instant communication, texting, IMing, Facebooking and Tweeting via Twitter, there has to be a better way to communicate. We still do not know if Tom's funeral actually took place yesterday in Guatemala as had been suggested but not yet confirmed. Personally I find it unsettling that the last three Maryknoll deaths (Sr. Anna Boland, Sr. Patty Startup and Fr. Tom Goekler) were all unexpected and all in their sleep. Going to bed may be hazardous to your health.

• The General Council is away in Paris for their quarterly "meeting." They say they chose that venue ostensibly to allow for an official thank you to the Paris Foreign Mission Society (with a sidetrip to Millhill in the U.K.) for the role they played in helping our Founders get Maryknoll started 99+ years ago. At least that's their story and they're sticking to it.

• One of my "Anonymous Sources" pointed out yet another egregious error in an official MK booklet. (The first being the misidentifying Mission Sunday on the Maryknoll calendar for 2010). Apparently whoever puts out the annual booklet of birthdays and death anniversaries still thinks Fr. Stephen Taluja is a seminarian. Oh well, cultivating a "Culture of Vocations" apparently still hasn't caught on.

• Some guys in the dining room are not too sure what the Wikileaks brouhaha is all about. Some here think Wikileaks is what happens when you get old.

• In a tip of the hat to my own journalistic restraint, I have been sitting on a story about the Walsh Building for three weeks now. I promised two sources I would wait until things became official and I know for a fact meetings and negotiations are going on even as we speak. I also know that people here already heard that something is in the works, but I shall wait till the deal is sealed before posting, as promised. Hopefully I will have something for you in a few days.