NO SADNESS OF FAREWELL

No evil can happen to a good man. Plato

This day, the Reverend Father Bernard G. J. Hall, M.A., reluctantly but voluntarily flies to England. The grim details that led to his departure are available here. No one will be surprised to find the name of Anthony Cekada figuring prominently in this ugly narrative of shabby betrayal and spiteful vengeance.

Father Hall is everything that Tony, "One-Hand Dan," and the rector are not. First, he holds an advanced degree from St. Andrew's in Edinburgh, i.e., a genuine institution of higher education (and a world famous one at that). Second, he is a truly accomplished linguist, who really speaks French fluently, actually knows Latin grammar, and has seriously studied German, Italian, Russian, and Arabic, among other languages. Third, he is utterly without guile: he believes wholeheartedly that the clergy must be faithful stewards of the laity's offerings. Fourth, he is a stranger to luxury and self-promotion. Moreover, in spite of his exceptional natural gifts and admirable accomplishments (e.g., see his glorious website http://www.breviary.net/), he is the humblest of men, enduring with patient forbearance the vanity and condescension of puffed-up priests and petty prelates, who are his moral and intellectual inferiors by several orders of magnitude.

While on this Sunday Giudecca, hell's bosom, may screak and roar with demoniacal applause at Father's leaving, heaven will one day soon turn the triumph of the wicked into a bitter, lasting defeat. The cause for Father Hall's return to the United States now lies under the patronage of the Infant Jesus of Prague. Therefore, the Readers, along with the faithful in SW Ohio, are confident of his return within a few months.

Meanwhile, Father journeys to the land of his birth with the purpose of reviving the English Mission so wretchedly served by a pesthouse completer. Be assured, however, that Father's return to the U.S. will not leave our English brethren without the Mass. Already plans are being completed to continue staffing the mission after Father rejoins the American traditional Catholic community.

WE BEG YOUR PRAYERS FOR FATHER HALL'S SAFETY AND HIS SWIFT RETURN...AND, YES, REMEMBER, AS ALWAYS, TO...

STARVE THE BEAST -- DON'T SPARE THE RECTOR A DIME