A parish priest was being honored at a dinner on the
twenty-fifth anniversary of his arrival in that parish.
A leading local politician, who was a member of the
congregation, was chosen to make the presentation
and give a little speech at the dinner, but he was
delayed in traffic, so the priest decided to say his
own few words while they waited.

"You will understand," he said, "the seal of the
confessional, can never be broken. However, I got
my first impressions of the parish from the first
confession I heard here. I can only hint vaguely
about this, but when I came here twenty-five years
ago I thought I had been assigned to a terrible place.

The very first chap who entered my confessional told
me how he had stolen a television set, and when stopped
by the police, had almost murdered the officer. Further,
he told me he had embezzled money from his place of
business and had an affair with his boss's wife. I was
appalled. But as the days went on I knew that my people
were not all like that, and I had, indeed come to, a fine
parish full of understanding and loving people."

Just as the priest finished his talk, the politician arrived
full of apologies at being late. He immediately began to
make the presentation and give his talk. "I'll never forget
the first day our parish priest arrived in this parish,"
said the politician. "In fact, I had the honor of being the
first one to go to him in confession."