Letters to the Editor

For our letter writing policy, click here

Tribute to Father Clarence Waldon

On behalf of the African Catholic Ministry, I would like to pay special tribute to our beloved brother and most valued member, Father Clarence Waldon.

We thank him for providing the opportunity for the growth of the African culture here at Holy Angels and throughout the archdiocese.

He has invited us several times to add an African touch to events in terms of dance, drumming and singing. He was with us at the beginning of our ministry, and has continued to support us by coming to our meetings as much as his responsibilities and health would allow.

He had the African Catholic Ministry so much at heart that he called it “his ministry.” He wished for it to grow and be a viable ministry in our archdiocese. In fact, he let us know at our first meeting that Holy Angels Church was there for us if we ever needed a place to meet, to practice or to host events. Our first event was hosted there on June 5, 2005, and Father Waldon was very much a part of it.

Father Waldon has been so welcoming to us Africans and to all the immigrants from other lands that we always feel at home here at Holy Angels. He has been with us in times of joy and sorrow. He has come to our homes and shared our authentic meals with us. We always knew that we had a priest brother we could call upon for spiritual direction anytime.

We, people of African descent, believe that those who pass on are not gone forever; their spirits are here with us to watch over us, to encourage us and to steer us in the right direction. We believe that Father Waldon is here with us smiling and wishing us to move on.

As Christians, we believe that death is not an end; it is a beginning of a new life. New life that is so good that there is no more mourning, crying or working. New life that is full of joy, love and everlasting peace.

Goodbye, our dear brother! May you enjoy that everlasting peace!

-Sally Stovall, Indianapolis

Likes World Youth Day coverage

In this thankless world that we sometimes live in, I want to thank you so much for the coverage of the World Youth Day in Europe.

For us folks that live in a rural area and who worked hard for our sponsor and for two teens to have many fundraisers for them to go, it is wonderful for us here to watch the journey unfold.

Several of us here at Sacred Heart Parish in Remington, Ind. are so excited about getting on The Criterion’s website ( CriterionOnline.com) to see what is going on and we have even seen our loved ones in the photos. What a thrill! We have kept our parish informed of their trip.

Again, thank you ever so much!

-Susie Sigo, Remington, Ind.