Got a call from Father Jeffrey Grob yesterday. He's the Catholic priest from Chicago who testified in the Gerald Robinson trial on the occult aspects of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl's murder. He was the assistant to the exorcist of the archdiocese at the time of the trial in 2006.
I had called Father Grob a week earlier for an article I was working on about Bob Larson, the minister who will be starring in a reality TV show called The Real Exorcist. Father Grob returned my call too late to be included in the article but we had a good conversation nonetheless.
I asked him if he got any negative comments for testifying against Father Robinson, and he said no, quite the contrary. Many people, including priests, commended him for telling the truth about some of the horrible things that had been going on with Robinson. They were glad he exposed the occult crimes for what they were, instead of letting them be covered up.
He also said he read "Sin, Shame & Secrets" and felt that it was very well written. He liked the Bob Larson article as well, calling it "a very good read."
Father Grob said he and Bob Larson "come from very different traditions" and that while he does not think exorcisms are suitable for reality TV, he supports Larson's idea that the program may help people by showing that demon possession is real.
By the way, got a complaint letter from someone blasting the Larson article, saying I should've included comments from "mainline" ministers. I pointed out that Rev. Roger Miller, who is quoted in the article, is from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. I think that qualifies.
Sometimes people get mad at me because articles don't say what they want them to say.
I never mind getting criticized by a reader who has a reasonable argument or points out a legitimate error.
What I find tiresome, though, is when people attack me because they have such strong emotions on a particular subject that they can't see straight, and they are irate because I am not promoting their agenda.
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Watched the World Series last night... the Rays couldn't get a break, every close pitch was a ball for Tampa Bay's Scott Kazmir and a strike for the Phillies' Cole Hamels. Replays showed several really poor calls by the home plate umpire.
The weather was absolutely horrible and the Rays were down 2-1, playing in rain and 39-degree temperatures, at the halfway mark, so it would have been an official game if the umps called it on account of weather. That would have been the end of the series and the Phils would've won.
Thankfully for all concerned, the Rays scored a run in the top of the 6th, tying it up 2-2. The game was quickly suspended and the teams wi'll resume where they left off. That tie really took the pressure off the umps and MLB officials.
It would have been a tough way to lose the series if the game was called before 9 innings.
Tampa Bay still faces tremendous odds but at least they survived another day.
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Sylvania, Ohio
October 28, 2008