The story, as told to me was true. Fr. Curtis died in Nov. or Dec. 2004 and was a still a member of the Missionary Society of Saint Paul the Apostle, what you call a Paulist, when he died.
"I'll believe John Wayne's daughter..."
Apparently there is no correlation between the ability to post a GIF and the ability to tell the truth. I knew an eye witness to the conversion, Fr. Robert Curtis, and know him to be a man of truth and God. The same cannot be said of you.
6,903 posted on 08/05/2010 5:55:36 AM PDT by Natural Law (Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus)
Give it up. Your story is inconsistent from start to finish.
You have him a witness at the Baptism performed by Archbishop McGraph while all recorded accounts have Fr. "Bob" Curtis performing the Baptism.
According to the published material no person other than FR. "Bob" Curtis could have been your "eyewitness".
(Father "Bob" Curtis) "John Wayne was received into the Catholic Church the day before he died.Mr. Wayne was conscious at the time. We are not releasing any further information on the matter which is private between priest and penitent."
Did he violate this "privacy" between priest and penitent?
Further; two other Priests contradict you concerning the "till death" membership of Father "Bob" Curtis as a Paulist.
ROBERT PHILIP CURTIS
Father Bob Curtis died in Los Angeles on November 17, his home for the last 33 years. Information and memories about him have been received from many �54s - all of whom describe a most talented and dedicated man.
Bob came to Dartmouth from the Capitol Page School in Silver Springs , MD. His freshman Greenbook bio reflects a mover and shaker kind of guy with involvements in politics, dramatics, academics and newspaper reporting. He roomed with DICK FRANKLIN and shared the second floor of Hitchcock with eighteen other �54s. The many lines under his name in the Aegis reflect a whirlwind of a student leader - president of Phi Kappa Psi, the Undergraduate Council, the Intrafraternity Council, DCAC, manager of freshman basketball and AFROTC. He was able to keep a balance between the �let it all hang out� aspect of college life and the responsibilities of those who have accepted positions of leadership.
Father George Fitzgerald and Dick Franklin have supplied most of the background which follows.
After graduation, Bob served as an Air Force navigator with planes refueling other planes, based out of Omaha . After discharge, he followed his driving desire to emerge himself in show business. He enrolled in the Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and managed to land a few small commercial spots. As was the custom, he moved to Los Angeles to develop a career in acting. As was the case with most such young people, he had contact and exposure to many Hollywood �types� but never caught hold sufficiently to move ahead. After attending a retreat at Manresa in southern California , he sought direction in becoming a Catholic. Fitz sent him to the Paulists Fathers in Westwood and he received his instruction from Fr. Bud Keiser, the founder of Paulists Productions. He was received into the church in Los Angeles , then a few years later decided to pursue the priesthood, joining the Paulists (The Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle). According to Father Fitz: �Bob was impressed with the ministry of the Paulists in Communications and Television. The Paulists are a distinctly American community, small, but well-known because of its national character .. all over the US with important work, providing campus ministry at non-religious universities.� The rumors of the various Hollywood people who were counseled by Bob range from John Wayne to Cary Grant to .... His enthusiasm, his initial involvements in acting and his being a believer in the causes of the Paulists made him a perfect person for his chosen role.
Bob fell ill some 20 years ago and eventually left the Paulists, �freelancing�.** Dick Franklin had occasional telephone contact with him and once, when I tried to interest him in a reunion his rejoinder was: �I would rather remember all my Dartmouth friends as they were back then and glory in the joy of those times.�
** Color added by Old Reggie
A man who moved in many more directions than most of us, his memory is a fine one. A memorial book will be placed in Baker Library in his memory.
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In Memoriam - Robert Phillip Curtis
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