ShareThisThe last people we expect to indulge in gossip are priests. The faithful, after all, entrust the clergy with accounts of their faults, expecting only God to listen in.
In a new book, titled "Saints and Sinners," Father Michael Seed has been careful to avoid breaking confidences shared in the confessional. Nevertheless, he relates a variety of embarrassing tales about people he knows, most of them still living.
Over the years the Franciscan friar, 52, has earned the reputation as "priest to the stars" in his native Britain. Before Tony Blair became a Catholic, Father Michael was a frequent visitor to 10 Downing Street, where he celebrated Mass. As the unofficial envoy of the Catholic Church to the British parliament, he had the ear of princesses and prime ministers. He converted Princess Diana's mother and other members of the ruling classes to the Catholic faith.
When he compiled a book of prayers, he asked celebrities and politicians to send him their favorites. The book became a best-seller in Britain.
I was writing a book about prayer at about the same time and sought his permission to reprint a few from his book. He complied, then soon after asked a favor of me -- to introduce him to the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York for the purpose of appealing the sentence of a petty criminal. A couple of phone calls to Moynihan's office got Father Seed a hearing.
English columnist Giles Hattersley writes that "Seed can gossip with the best of them, wearing a wide-eyed, butter-wouldn't-melt expression throughout." According to Hattersley, Father Seed is more interested in politicians than in politics.
He delights in embarrassing episodes. He once introduced Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams as "Rowan Atkinson," the comic better known as Mr. Bean and Blackadder. He relishes telling how gay rights activists were ejected by mounted riot police when they interrupted services at London's Westminster Cathedral.
Before the protestors departed they released hundreds of helium-filled condoms in the cathedral, some of them 10 feet long. As they deflated, they settled on worshipers. According to Father Seed, the cardinal archbishop ordered staff to "get rid of the flying condoms," whereupon the young priests armed themselves with air rifles and successfully shot them down.
Father Seed's most scandalous story is second-hand and wildly inaccurate. It concerns a dinner on the royal yacht hosted by the queen for then-President and Mrs. Reagan. According to Seed, the president requested decaffeinated coffee. When the queen sent to see whether the kitchen had any, Reagan allegedly patted Her Majesty on the rump and said, "Thanks for taking care of that."
The actual incident was captured on film. It was Nancy Reagan who asked for decaff, and when it couldn't be located, the queen remarked, "Well, we do try." There is no record of the president patting the royal behind.
My wife reminds me that Billy Graham, who has counseled many presidents, never betrayed a confidence.
David Yount's latest book is "Celebrating the Single Life: Keys to Successful Living on Your Own" (Praeger). He answers readers at P.O. Box 2758, Woodbridge, VA 22195 and dyount31(at)verizon.net.
AMAZING GRACE
