The obituary of the Most Rev Eamonn Casey reminds me of how upset and disappointed my mother was when she told me that the parish priest had left Staplefield, West Sussex. As a practising Catholic throughout her 86 years, Mum knew the qualities she sought in a parish priest and was not afraid to move beyond the boundaries of her local parish to find them. At Our Lady of Fatima, Father Eamonn offered humanity, humility and an ability to relate to ordinary people. After his retirement in 2006, she and a friend wrote to him in Ireland expressing their sorrow over his departure and thanking him for his work in West Sussex. I hope that letter reached him.
