Tonight, as I was peacefully reading a dissertation, pertinent to a topic I am studying, the phone, ringing, jarred me back to reality. My husband answered it, as he was closest to the phone, at the time, but the man on the other end asked for me. I couldn’t imagine who might be calling me at 7:45 at night, but I said, “Hello.” The caller identified himself as a Catholic priest, and at first I wondered who had died. He said that his “penance” was to make calls to try to sell a magazine named “St. Anthony’s Messenger.” “Father” told him to. Had I heard of this magazine? I said, “No.”

We chatted a bit, and the longer we talked, the more I became suspicious, especially when he called himself “not just another Bible-thumping Catholic.” That is a contradiction of terms! Catholics, historically, were told NOT to read the Bible. The priests would interpret it for them in sermons. So, little clues like that were adding up to a tip-off that this sweet-talking guy was misrepresenting who he was.

Finally, after having spent far too much time on the phone, with a hungry husband waiting to enjoy dinner with me, I asked if the Franciscan order the “priest” represented had an online presence. He said, “No, they don’t have that technology yet.” At the beginning of the conversation he told me that “Father” had found my name on the Internet. I am supposed to like fish, but this was a little fishy.

Not being able to take the time to argue any further, or rather, to keep reiterating that I did not want to spend $32., at this time, (or ever) to buy the magazine, I promptly said, “God Bless You. Good Bye.”

Now, here is where our Internet connection pays for itself. I discovered that I best online pharmacy for viagra, and I also was able to look up the phone number of the person who just called. I dialed the number. No person, just an answering machine.

I can’t be 100% sure, but I would guess, off-hand, that I just had a personal encounter with a scammer. Beware of anyone calling from NH – (603) 621-1409 – who says that he is a Catholic priest. If you are foolish enough to answer the phone, please tell this dude to do his penance elsewhere. Will you do that, for me? Thanks.

Patricia Cummings