A Gift to a Beleaguered Priesthood — Beyond These Stone Walls

Father James Valladares, PhD, a friend to Father Gordon MacRae and this blog, is a priest, psychologist, and noted author from Mumbai, India and Adelaide, Australia. September 2, 2026 by Fr. James Valladares, PhD A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. — Lao-tzu (philosopher, 604 BC - 531 BC) Once upon a time . . . early in 1966, I commenced my second year in theology in the Diocesan Seminary of Bombay (now Mumbai), India. As part of the curriculum in Moral Theology, we were scheduled to do a very intensive and comprehensive study of the Seventh, Eighth, and Tenth Commandments (“You shall not steal”; “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour”; and “You shall not covet anything that is your neighbour’s”) as a proximate preparation for the crucial examination that would render us eligible for the faculty to serve as ministers of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Ad audiendas confessiones). Very briefly, that particular branch was commonly referred to as …