No earthly reason why the clergy should be bad in English grammar

(THIS is a condensation of a 936-word essay that I wrote for this column in 2003 regarding the need to improve the English proficiency of the country’s Roman Catholic priests.I believe that the forthcoming visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines makes this essay even morerelevant reading today.)

A few Sundays ago, my two sons and I attended Holy Mass in one of those improvised worship halls put up inside Metro Manila malls. The priest, in his late thirties or early forties, read the opening lines of the Eucharist in pleasantly modulated English, his voice rippling the familiar words and phrases like the chords of a well-tuned piano. I thus settled down on my chair confident of hearing a well-delivered homily that could strengthen my resolve as a believer for the week ahead.