Fr Stephen, a young priest, was on heavy medication. He told me doctors had put him on such a treatment after he collapsed one day and was rushed to the hospital. The attending doctors told the people who took him there, “His condition is serious. He should have received treatment long ago. Now, he will have to be on medication for years.”
What had happened?
As a young religious, he told his rector that he had sharp pains in one leg. The rector, who considered himself a psychologist, did not take it seriously, and told Stephen: “This is nothing. Your pain is more from psychological reasons.”
So, Stephen went on without treatment, until the day he collapsed and was taken to the emergency ward of a hospital.
This is where a principle St Francis de Sales gave for bishops and religious superiors comes in handy: “When in doubt, better to be extra kind than extra harsh.”
What did he mean?
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Fr Joe Mannath SDB
