Please do pray for the repose of the soul of Father Paul Mankowski, S.J., one of the stalwart, orthodox and beleaguered members of Saint Ignatius’ order – he was, to the core, one of the (many) ‘good ones’ – by that, we mean no judgement, only fidelity to the Church’s teachings. I had read some of his articles over the years, without knowing much about him – but, as this reflection in the Catholic Herald from a friend makes clear, he may well have been a saint, even if we must be careful canonizing before the time. But he does seem not only to have taken his vows seriously – he once confessed all his possessions could fit into a suitcase – but he strove for perfection in all aspects of his life – superbly educated, erudite, cultured, generous, handsome and athletic, but giving all to God in a life of celibacy and apostolic work. He pulled no punches in his defence of orthodoxy and the Church’s teaching, and di, in fact, train as a boxer in his younger days. Young priests could learn much from him – he could say with Saint Paul, be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Requiescat in pace.
