BISHOPS--COMMENTARY

Barbara and I had the pleasure of hosting Bishop Weigand and Bishop Soto on separate occasions when we served as caretakers at the Carmelite Monastery in Georgetown. Bishop Weigand shared his experience in accepting an organ donation from a fellow Catholic and his renewed energy after the operation. Bishop Soto shared the challenges ahead as he assumed leadership of the Sacramento Diocese. I was impressed about his knowledge of parishes and priests in the short time since he was installed. Both Bishops were very unassuming and welcomed Barbara and me to dine with them and the priests who joined them for meals.

In 2006 while in Rome we attended the Epiphany Mass and an audience a few days later by Pope Benedict XVI. He was very friendly with all the people, smiling and reaching down to greet a child a few feet away from us.

During that same trip we visited the Curia and met Cardinal Arinze, Prefect of Divine Worship, when he dropped in on our tour of the Curia. I was impressed with his candid demeanor. He answered questions at random giving detailed answers spending more time than we had expected. When we told him we had to run to our next event, the Scavi tour, he humbly apologized for taking so much of our time then shook hands with each of us as we left.