Father John

Father John

I was driving down the freeway listening to the radio when I heard the announcement that a Catholic priest was shot and killed along with two other men. This was back in February 1985 long before mass shootings became a frequent news item. It was not until later that day when my father called and said that it was Father John who was murdered.

Father John was my dad’s cousin and they were like brothers. John was a fun loving Irishman who happened to be a priest. Our family has fond memories of him either hosting a party or being the life of the party. One time he showed up at my dad’s birthday party driving his Cadillac dressed in priestly vestments caring a smoking incense censer that is used for Sunday mass. With a thick Irish brogue and a disarming smile, John was always larger than life.

On that fateful winter morning, after the children’s service, a deranged young man with a shotgun approached John killing him instantly; then turned on two other men and shot them. Later when he was apprehended, he told the police he was mad at Father John for allowing young girls to serve at the altar during mass.

Our family went to the funeral. It was heartbreaking to see those caskets lined up in the center aisle of the church. They were ordinary men who woke up one morning going about their daily routine not realizing this was the last day of their life on earth. Left behind were grieving families and friends struggling with the unanswerable question “why?”

Today, this kind of tragedy has become almost commonplace. We cringe when the media displays the inhumane consequences of a world gone mad. The question “why?” continues to be asked but without a satisfactory answer. We are left with emptiness in our heart and an unquenched anger toward humanity that values life so little.

The Bible gives God’s perspective when it says, “How painful it is to the Lord when one of his people dies!”

Rest in Peace Father John