When I was a boy — I know, I know, that's how so many stories from septuagenarians begin, but I'm trying to make a point that will bring what we do on Thursday up to date.

Three months ago, I walked out of a local big box store with a bathroom scale, feeling like I was a pretty smart consumer. I had picked one out that I thought was a bargain.

"A clergy search process isn't like an academic or executive search; it's more like matchmaking."

Roughly 100 Catholics from the Oak Park and River Forest area gathered recently in McDonough Hall of St. Giles Parish to participate in "an evening of prayers and dialog on Eucharistic communities and the effects of clergy sexual abuse.