Circular No 663 Extra

Newsletter for alumni of The Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.

Caracas, 22 of July 2014 No. 663 extra

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Dear Friends,

Final exchanges regarding the lost, not wanted, misplaced, misunderstood letter to Cardinal Felix. A rather long Circular, but Nigel’s efforts need to be acknowledged.

All efforts need to be recognized; otherwise they fall in the oblivion.

And as expressed by Nigel Boos, I would hope that this matter may now be put to rest.

So I have taken note and here is the last circular on the subject, hope that the next information will be from Cardinal Felix accepting the honour.

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Nigel Boos

Jul 7

Joe,

To say that I am surprised by your email would be an understatement.

Not only is your information unfounded and inaccurate.  It is also extremely rude and hurtful to me, and certainly beneath your dignity.

In the first place, I would remind you that the idea of inviting Cardinal Felix to accept an Honorary position as a member of the ASAA was a cause which was proposed by myself, seconded by two other Old Boys and supported by 29 respondents out of 30.  This was never something forced on anyone, but all the Old Boys were given an opportunity to express themselves.  Their comments are included below.

In the second place, I would point out that it was I who, at your suggestion, had drafted a letter to Cardinal Felix and submitted it to you to be placed on the ASAA letterhead, since I do not have access to such.

In the third place, I would also point out that I have never demanded anything from you. I have, on the contrary, suggested politely and continually, that a letter of such importance should be signed by the President of our Association - i.e. yourself, rather than by me, since I do not nor have ever held any official position within the ASAA.

In the fourth place, you have never objected, until most recently by your email of July 4th, to signing and mailing the signed letter, and therefore, your sudden outburst is rather unexpected and surprising.

In the fifth place, I have never presumed to "have command over you", as you suggest.  I have, however, been following up regularly, to determine whether the letter which had been drafted by me, and accepted and signed by you had as yet been mailed to Cardinal Felix.  My emails in that connection have been very cordial, respectful and to the point, and I do not understand your comment that my "entire conduct, tone and demeanour in this matter (and others) offensive and an unacceptable persecution."  If you had mailed the letter, such "persecution" would never have occurred.

Perhaps you might also explain what "others" you might be referring to?

I am very disappointed that you have adopted such a belligerent attitude towards me and my efforts on behalf of the ASAA.  I believe that the Old Boys of the Abbey School, as a group, were in favour of inviting Cardinal Felix to accept an Honorary position as a member of our Association, as evidenced by their votes.  I believe too, that any invitation of this sort must necessarily come from the highest level within the Association, i.e. yourself. 

Finally, I must document the fact that I have always regarded you with respect and as one Old Boy of MSB towards another, with fondness and affection.  I have greeted your occasional / annual visits with your wife to Canada for the past few years with small get-togethers at one location or another, and it has always appeared to me that such friendship and cordiality was reciprocated.

I see now, however, that I have been quite mistaken.

With every good wish for the future.  My regards to Sun.

Nigel

P.S. For those who wish to understand the development of this matter, and to remind you of the facts, the following detailed chronology of events is offered:

P.P.S. I have copied this email to all the Old Boys who were in any way involved in this matter and to Ladislao Kertesz.  This is merely to let everyone know the complete story about our request for a letter to Cardinal Felix to be sent to him, and of its current status.

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1.         January 12, 2014 - Archbishop Kelvin Felix was named a Cardinal of the Catholic Church.  I brought this to the attention of the Old Boys.

“Dominican archbishop Kelvin Felix named Catholic Cardinal

Dominica News Online - Sunday, January 12th, 2014 at 10:07 AM

Kelvin Felix was archbishop of Castries, St. Lucia

Dominican-born retired archbishop of the archdiocese of Castries, Kelvin Felix, has been named a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.

The announcement was made by Pope Francis at the Vatican on Sunday.

In making the announcement, the pope said the new Cardinals “represent the deep ecclesiastical relationship between the Church of Rome and the other Churches throughout the world.”

Felix is among 19 Catholic prelates from around the world who were elevated to the office by the pope.

A Vatican spokesman said on Sunday that the pope’s decision to select men from some of the world’s poorest nations reflects Francis’ attention to the destitute as a central mission of the Church.

Usually called “princes of the Church,” Cardinals are senior officials who make up the College of Cardinals, whose primary responsibility is to elect a new pope at the appropriate time.

However, they just don’t hang around until the pope dies or abdicates office.  They are normally given many high ranking responsibilities in the Vatican ranging from heading commissions and congregations to leading archdioceses around the globe, among others.

Since he is over 80, Felix will be among three of the named Cardinals who will not be eligible to vote for a new pope.

Kelvin Felix was born in Dominica on February 15, 1933.

He was ordained a priest on April 8, 1956 at the age of 23.

On July 17, 1981 he was appointed archbishop of Castries and ordained archbishop on April 5, 1981.

He retired on February 15, 2008.

Felix has a long career in the Catholic Church.

He was named Principal of the Roman Catholic High School, St. Mary’s Academy in Dominica, from 1972–1975 and Associate General Secretary of the Caribbean Conference of Churches from 1975–1981.  He served as President of the Antilles Episcopal Conference from 1991–1997 and President of the Caribbean Conference of Churches from 1981–1986.

As archbishop, he oversaw the dioceses of Castries in St. Lucia, St. George’s in Grenada, Roseau in Dominica and St. John’s-Basseterre in Antigua and St. Kitts.

He has also served on various Vatican committees, including the Pontifical Council for Family Life, the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, and the Synodal Council for America.

Archbishop Felix was attacked and grabbed on the neck by a man with a knife, immediately after he finished an evening sermon at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Castries in April 2006.  He was not seriously injured.

Since his retirement as archbishop, Felix moved back to Dominica where he has been helping out in various parishes.

The ceremony to officially install him as a Cardinal will be held at the Vatican on February 22.”

First of all, I offer my sincere congratulations to Archbishop Felix, and I wish him every blessing in his new role as Cardinal, effective Feb 22. This appointment is the first such for the Caribbean and certainly the first such for our alma mater, the Abbey School of M.S.B.  You see, Kelvin Felix is also an Old Boy of MSB (Graduated 1953).

We, Old Boys of the Mount have every reason to be proud for Archbishop Felix, and proud for the people of St. Lucia, where he is the Archbishop Emeritus of Castries, although he now lives in Dominica, acc. to the report above.

Praise God for this honour which has now been bestowed on Archbishop Felix.  May God guide him in his work for the glory of his name.

Nigel Boos

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2.         January 13, 2014 – Deacon Peter Gittens wrote:

“Nigel,

Cardinal Elect Felix is alive and well and living in Dominica.  He never was an alumnus of the Abbey School.  I think you have confused him with Fr. Vincent Compton who died about 3 years ago.  Vincent attended the Abbey School but long before our time.  If still alive he would be in his 80s now. Kelvin Felix is 80 years old.

All the best.

Peter.”

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3.         January 13, 2014 - Anthony Lucky, Cornell de Freitas and Hugh Henderson wrote to me, extending their congratulations to Cardinal-designate Felix and expressing their happiness at his appointment.

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4.         January 13, 2014 - Neil Charles expressed his concern that Cardinal-designate Felix could not have attended school at the Abbey School.  I offered to check into it.

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5.         January 14, 2014 - I wrote to Hans Hermans, Hugh Henderson, Malcolm Boyack and Alain Devaux, on the assumption that one or other of these older students might be able to confirm whether Kelvin Felix actually had attended any classes at the Abbey School.  I also submitted a photograph of the 1953 Football Team, asking for confirmation that it was actually Kelvin Felix who was in that picture.

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6.         January 14, 2014 - Hans Hermans responded, saying that “Kelvin was in the seminary when I was there also. Since he is 5 years older than I, he would already have finished high school by the time I got there. So, I don’t know if he attended or did not attend the Abbey School.

Sorry.”

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7.         January 19, 2014 - Ken Austin wrote, identifying most of the team members, and identifying Kelvin Felix, in the back row.  Further, and in what was probably the most telling statement made during this entire discussion, Ken stated: "In the photograph of the football team which includes Hans Hermans and Kelvin Felix, the individual on the extreme left is another seminarian, John Mendes who went on to be a bishop of the Archdiocese of Port-of-Spain.  This strengthens my statement in my previous email that the students and seminarians considered themselves one.  Perhaps this was also because Father Bernard, the Principal of the School was also the Rector of the seminary and in fact was generally referred to by students as Father Rector"

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8.         January 20, 2014 - Glen McKoy wrote, saying, "If Sir Felix, played for our football team he must be a student of the school.  I will ask Sir Anthony & Sir Pud.  These guys must know a little more than us”.

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9.         January 20, 2014 - Peter Gittens wrote again.  He said, "Nigel, I e-mailed Archbishop Felix about a week ago, but still no reply.  I can understand how overwhelmed he must been with so many congratulatory messages, so I was not expecting an immediate response.  I will be attending the Consistory in Rome as part of the St. Lucia delegation, and I'll get my answer then.

Yes, meanwhile, let's consider him an "old boy".  I've enjoyed the conversation. Peter."

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10.       February 9, 2014 - I proposed a motion, that Cardinal-designate Kelvin Felix should be regarded as an Honorary Old Boy of MSB. Hans Hermans immediately seconded the motion, and I wrote to all of the Old Boys asking for a vote to be submitted and forwarded to me by February 28th.

The actual email stated:

"Thank you, Hans.

OK, everyone. I've proposed a motion and it has been seconded by Hans Hermans ss well as by one other OB. I forgot who it was, and I simply don't have the time nor patience to continue digging. But in the meantime, Deacon Peter Gittens has also agreed that the good Cardinal-elect be regarded as an OB of the Abbey School. I therefore have no problem in asking for your vote to honour him as an Old Boy of MSB as well'

I'm therefore asking all of you who receive this email to kindly vote on the motion, and let me have your responses by Feb 28, after which time voting will close.

The Proposal is: That Cardinal-elect Kelvin Felix be honoured as an Honorary Old Boy of the Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, in light of his association with the school during his time at Mt. St. Benedict as a seminarian.

I look forward to hearing from you guys.

Thanks."

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11.       Within the next few days, 29 votes and comments were submitted. Here they are:

Don Mitchell:                         I am happy to vote: AYE.

Harry Guildner:                      Yes

Roger Maingot:                      You have my vote

Robert Dumas:                       It will be an honor to be have Cardinal-elect Kelvin Felix be honored as an Honorary Old Boy of the Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict.

Michael Howard:                   How does one vote, especially YES

George Laquis:                       Agreed

Roger Henderson:                  OK with me.  You have my vote

Gordon Thavenot:                  I would definitely support that proposal

Phillip Nassief:                       I am in agreement that the Cardinal-elect be regarded as an OB of the Abbey School and I fully support your proposal.

Bernard Johnson:                   This sounds like a great idea, this is indeed a great honour for the Caribbean.

Anthony Cintra:                     I vote in favour of honouring Cardinal elect Felix

Garnet Diaz:                           My vote is definitely a YEAH

Chris Knowles:                      You have my vote

Chris Date:                             Delighted to be associated with this Honour being bestowed. I am in favour.

Ian de Verteuil:                      I am definitely in favour of your motion as stated

Cornel de Freitas:                   I do so agree wholeheartedly, that Cardinal-elect Kevin Felix be so honoured, and may he be Blessed with many graces...

Salvador Coscarart:                Yes, of course, he is an Abbey Old Boy

Brian Costelloe:                     Agreed

John Abraham:                       I vote on the motion to honour Cardinal-elect as an Honorary OB of MSB.

Lincoln Henry:                       I support your proposal

Jaime Elias Benazar Andrade: I´m with you and the other Old Boys to honour Cardinal Kelvin Felix as an Honorary Old Boy of the Abbey School.

Ronald Torry:                         I support

Norman Smith:                       Aye!

Richard Anderson:                 My vote’s YES!

Bernard Tappin:                     I vote in favour.

Steven Anderson:                   It is my honour to vote in favour and support of your Proposal, but I might respectfully suggest that it would be us who would be honoured.

Attila Gyuris:                         If you are asking for my vote, I say yes, it would be an honor to have such a high ranking church authority to be counted among us. 

Jon Golding:                          I missed this circular but please add my name to the Yes votes. Great Photo!

Peter Gittens:                         Sorry, but I inadvertently failed to register my vote which would have been a YES also; sorry again.

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12.       February 22, 2014 - In the meantime, Archbishop Felix was formally inducted in Rome, into the College of Cardinals.

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13.       March 6, 2014 -Bernard Tappin became involved, and sent me the following email: "I am forwarding a request from the Catholic News re the honour for Cardinal Felix, as I am of the opinion that you are the best person to handle this matter.  I sent your e-mail and photo of the MSB football team to the Catholic News last week as I thought it would good of the local church to know of this connection between the Seminary and the Abbey School."

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14.       March 7, 2014 - I wrote to Bernard Tappin: "Thank you Bernard.  This was very thoughtful of you, indeed. I would think that the ASAA Management Team should be the correct authorities to answer the questions asked.  Maybe I should simply refer this request to Joe Berment, who, I believe, is still our substantive President.”

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15.       March 7, 2014 - Bernard wrote: "Excellent idea.  Can you send the e-mail from the Catholic News to Joe?  Many thanks. Bernard."

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16.       March 8, 2014 - I responded to Bernard: "I've already copied the email to him, last night.  But I'll do so again."

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17.       March 10, 2014 - I wrote to Bernard Tappin and yourself, as follows: "Bernard and Joe, May I suggest that a simple letter could be sent to Cardinal Felix, and that there is no need for any sort of ceremony at all.  After all, we are a totally unfunded association and this should merely be a note to file, acknowledging that Cardinal Felix is to be regarded as an Old Boy of the Abbey School.  I'd be happy to put together a document to this effect, should you so wish.  However, I know that you are both quite capable of penning a simple letter to the Cardinal.  At your service.   Nigel”

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18.       March 10, 2014 - You wrote to Bernard Tappin, and copied the following email to me:  

Dear Bernard,

Your interest in honouring Cardinal Felix (if he is indeed an old boy, former teacher or has some other credible link with the Abbey School, which he would be willing to acknowledge) is commendable and I am certain has the support of the existing members of the ASAA committee.

If memory serves, Nigel is one of the few who had requested a copy of the bylaws of the association, which he should share with you.  Participation in the management of the association is entirely voluntary and the directors meet as the circumstances require:  Given the personal circumstances of some of our members, we haven't held regular meetings for quite a while.  I am only a presiding officer over formal meetings and have no authority to instruct anyone.  We have no CEO, secretariat, regular income or source of funding.  Initiatives of the kind that you propose normally involve several hours work.  We have overdue priorities that we have already declared, most importantly organizing a trip to Venezuela and acting to support the reunion initiative being spearheaded by Don Mitchell.  It would be best that you, Nigel and others who are interested take this up as a private initiative. I can assure you that we will support you with our endorsement.

Possibly, you may have an interest in holding office and serving on the committee, thus assisting the association to become more active and better serve the alumni. 

Yours sincerely,

Joseph Berment-McDowald

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19.       I wrote to you, stating: 

"Dear Joe,

I have never requested nor received a copy of the by-laws of the ASAA, nor do I possess one. I therefore cannot share anything of the sort with Bernard.

Your response to the question of whether or not Cardinal Felix ever was a member of the Abbey school student body has come as a bit of a surprise, in light of the fact that not only have substantial emails to this effect been in circulation for the past 2 months, but also, a formal motion to acknowledge his membership of the group has been submitted, seconded and voted upon with an open vote available to all the Old Boys of the School. Twenty nine responses in favour of the motion have been recorded, and have been reported to the entire membership. 

For you to now suggest that Cardinal Felix should be willing to acknowledge some credible link with the Abbey School is, in my opinion, unfortunate and unnecessary. Dr. Ken Austin had cleared up the issue of Cardinal Felix' relationship with the Abbey School in no uncertain manner, in his email of January 19th, when he explained:

“In the photograph of the football team which includes Hans Hermans and Kelvin Felix ,the individual on the extreme left is another seminarian, John Mendes who went on to be a bishop of the Archdiocese of Port-of-Spain. This strengthens my statement in my previous email that the students and seminarians considered themselves one. Perhaps this was also because Father Bernard, the Principal of the School was also the Rector of the seminary and in fact was generally referred to by students as Father Rector.”

The votes are in!  It has been agreed that we should acknowledge that Cardinal Felix is a member, albeit an early one, of the Old Boys of Mt. St. Benedict.  I have respectfully passed the baton to you, as President, and requested that you issue a formal letter to His Eminence re. the matter.  Unfortunately, again, you have refused to handle the matter and returned it to Bernard Tappin or myself to do so.

I have therefore done as you suggested, and I've prepared a simple letter for Cardinal Felix.  I am not, however, authorized to speak on behalf of the ASAA membership, but you are, as President.  I am therefore forwarding my draft letter to you for your approval, amendment and signature.  This email is being copied to all who have voted in favour of the referenced motion, to keep everyone abreast of the status of this matter.

With due respect.

Nigel"

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21.       March 10, 2014 - You wrote to me, quite correctly, and reminded me in your note that you had indeed forwarded to me the by-laws of the ASAA.  To be honest, I had completely overlooked this fact, busy as I had been with domestic and other affairs.

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22.       March 10, 2014 - Chris Date expressed his opinion as follows: "Dear Joe, This is a wonderful opportunity for the Abbey School at Mount St Benedict to be associated with a great and unique honour bestowed on someone who was certainly involved with the School.  It requires your endorsement and we would all greatly appreciate this.  I, for one, only have a very tenuous claim to be involved but am happy to share in the reflected glow.  Another old boy, Chris Date."

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23.       March 10, 2014 - I prepared a draft letter, as you had suggested, and forwarded it to you for your approval and signature, as President of the ASAA.

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24.       March 11, 2014 - Attila Gyuris wrote, expressing his opinion on the draft letter which I'd prepared:  "Nigel, Excellently drafted letter.  Hope he finds the time to sign it and send it on.  Attila Gyuris"

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25.       March 17, 2014 - You wrote to me, with carbon copies to the Old Boys, saying:  "Gentlemen, Sorry for the delay.  There are some aspects of Windows 8 and the new Yahoo email which bedevil me.   Attached are the updated letter and picture. Sincerely, Joseph Berment-McDowald”

The following letter was attached, bearing the letterhead and logo of the ASAA:

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26.       March 17, 2014 - I received a suggestion from Chris Date, and passed it on to you, in an email which stated:  

“Chris Date has raised an interesting point.  He suggests that wording of the last paragraph, such as the following, might be more appropriate and acceptable:

"As a result of your involvement with us, we wish to invite you to accept an honorary membership in our Abbey School Alumni Association.  As a member we shall be pleased to include you in the general informational circulars and emails which from time to time emanate from our busy pens.  We shall, naturally, need to obtain from you an acceptable email address, with which we can communicate with you from time to time."

I have no problem with such wording and I agree with Chris, in that it does seem more polite to invite Cardinal Felix, rather than impose a membership on him.  If you have already sent off your letter, then, of course, nothing more can be done and we should leave matters as they now stand.  However, if you have not as yet mailed your letter, you might wish to amend it as suggested.

I leave the final rendering to yourself.

Regards,

Nigel

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27.       April 6, 2014 - Bernard Tappin wrote to advise me that "The Catholic News had published an article by Lara Pickford-Gordon re our honorary membership of Cardinal Felix, along with photograph.  This can be read on the Catholic News web site, which I just googled.  Bernard."

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28.       April 6, 2014 - I immediately sent Bernard an email, which I copied to you: "Thank you, Bernard.  Joe, would you kindly confirm that the proposed letter to Cardinal Felix has actually been sent to him?  With respect, Nigel"

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29.       April 6, 2014 - You responded, appropriately:  "Nigel, No I haven't sent it because:

1 When I completed it initially I presumed that one of you (who were the sponsors of the idea) would have made arrangements to get it on to Cardinal Felix - - the document which I sent is a printable PDF format equally good for hard or soft copy.  See my last email with the attachment.

2 . When I got your further thoughts on the issue, it occurred to me that the document would be improved with the revision although there is, in my view, an unnecessary repetition somewhere in there.

I am having a hard a difficult move in/out together with renovations at our new place of residence and have absolutely no time.

The choices are: 

1 . You may want to send the original document on as it is.

2 . I can try my best to complete it by this Friday:  Hopefully by then the move would be over.

Sincerely,

Joe"

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30.       April 7, 2014 - I responded as follows:

“Joe,

Thanks for your response.  I would prefer if the letter were mailed directly from Trinidad to Cardinal Felix, and I also believe that it should come directly from you, as President of the ASAA.  I certainly do not believe that a document such as this should be emailed.  I am disappointed that it has taken so long to leave your hands but I can understand that moving house is a stressful and time-consuming job, and that you have been otherwise occupied.

I can imagine the Cardinal's surprise at reading the report in the Catholic News that we have invited him to join us as an Honorary Member, when in fact, we have not as yet done so.  Please do whatever you can to send the revised letter to him ASAP. 

Kindly confirm when the letter has finally been mailed.

Nigel”

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31.       April 7, 2014 -  You seemed agreeable to the idea, and responded, "Will do Nigel."

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32.       April 14, 2014 - I asked again:  "Joe, Would you please confirm whether the signed letter to Cardinal Felix has as yet been mailed to him?  Thank you.  Nigel”

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33.       April 14, 2014 - You replied: “Nigel, I haven't gotten to bed as yet.  I have been up since 9 am on Sunday after about 4 hours sleep, which has been typical of the last two weeks and I haven't been to work since then.  I will try to complete it tomorrow.  Sincerely, Joe"

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34.       April 21, 2014 - I again asked: "Joe, Would you please advise me as to the current status of the letter signed by you and intended to be mailed to Cardinal Felix?  Thanks.   Nigel"

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35.       April 22, 2014 - You again replied:  "Nigel, I am very sorry.  I am having a very, very difficult time and haven't been able to keep my promise.  I will attend to this matter with urgency, in a few days.  You can still send it from your end.  If you want, I will send you the Word file.  Sincerely, Joe"

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36.       April 22, 2014 - I responded:  "Thank you for keeping me in the picture, Joe.  As I've said before, I believe it is important that you, as President of the ASAA, should be the one to forward the letter to Cardinal Felix.  Please let me know when it has been mailed.  Nigel"

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37.       April 28, 2014 - Another photograph was discovered  -  sent in by Jon Golding.  It was a photograph of the Abbey School Choir of about 1954.  In the course of discussing the identities of the choir members, Peter Gittens wrote to Cardinal Felix:  "Your Eminence, In the photo below are you the cello player (no 32) seated in the front row?  I was sent this and asked to identify no 32.  I think it is you, but I would like to be sure so that I can pass this info to the Abbey School Old Boys Assoc., please.  Thanks and best wishes, Peter.”

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38.       May 8, 2014 - I again asked:  "Joe, Have you yet mailed our letter to Cardinal Felix, on behalf of the ASAA?  Please confirm the current status of this matter.  Thank you.  Nigel"

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39.       May 9, 2014 - Cardinal Felix wrote to Peter Gittens:  "Dear Peter, Thanks very much for sending this info concerning the Abbey School Choir.  You are quite correct in thinking that I was the cello player.  This brings us back to the early fifties.  Hoping that you and your wife are fine and that the children and grands are all doing well.  Yours humbly in Christ + Kelvin E Felix.”

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40.       May 9, 2014 - Peter sent me a note:  "There you have it.  The confirmation of the cello player.   Peter"

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41.       May 11, 2014 - I wrote to Peter:  "Thank you, Peter.  You've helped us to solve another little question, and I appreciate your help.  This is merely another little indication of the involvement which Cardinal Felix has had with the Abbey School, and is another argument, should one be needed, to invite him to join us as a member of the Abbey School Alumni Association.  Regards.”

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42.       May 25, 2014 - I again asked:  "Joe, I would really appreciate a response to my last email of May 8th.  Would you please let me know whether the signed letter to Cardinal Felix has yet been mailed to him?  This is extremely embarrassing now, to think that a letter which was prepared and has been in your possession since early April has not as yet been mailed out.  I have asked you a number of times since April 6th whether this has yet been done, and you have been busy, apparently, with home renovations.  Perhaps, by now, these have ended and you can devote a little time to handling this matter?  Thank you in advance for your kind attention.  Nigel"

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43.       June 16, 2014 - I again asked: "Joe, I have heard nothing from you since my last email of May 25th, regarding the letter to Cardinal Felix.  Would you please let me know the status of this letter.  I believe that the time has long gone for this matter to have been settled, and I am concerned at the length of time it has taken to bring it to a conclusion.  Nigel"

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44.       July 4, 2014 - You finally wrote to say:

"Dear Nigel, 

The letter which you demanded, be written in support of a cause that you promoted so vigorously was written months ago and delivered to by email. 

You subsequently demanded even more, namely that I myself enquire of Cardinal Felix's address, print the letter and mail it myself.  I don't see why you yourself can't do the same.

You have no authority to command over me and I find your entire conduct, tone and demeanour in this matter (and others) offensive and an unacceptable form of persecution.

The ASAA and its directors cannot be beholden to your dictates nor do we have an obligation to accept the causes which you are determined to prosecute as our own.

Yours sincerely,

Joseph Berment-McDowald"

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On 2014-07-04, at 9:59 AM, Joe wrote:

Dear Nigel,

The letter which you demanded (I'd say that I requested it, rather than 'demanded' it - see my notes above) be written in support of a cause that you promoted so vigorously was written (i.e written by me, not by you) months ago and delivered to (i.e. delivered to you) by email. 

You subsequently demanded (I'd say 'requested') even more, ("more?" -  more than what? You had done absolutely nothing about this to that date. This was my first request of you) namely that I myself enquire of Cardinal Felix's address, print the letter (now, that takes some doing, eh?) and mail it myself (that too is sooooo difficult).  I don't see why you yourself can't do the same.  (I have explained this more than once - such a letter should meet protocol, and should be signed by the President of the ASAA, rather than by myself, a mere member.  What's so difficult to understand?)

You have no authority to command over me and I find your entire conduct, tone and demeanour in this matter (and others) (please explain 'others'.  Is it that I objected to your objectionable comments about Fr. Odo, in discussing the man after his death?) offensive and an unacceptable form of persecution.

The ASAA and its directors cannot be beholden to your dictates nor do we have an obligation to accept the causes which you are determined to prosecute as our own.  (This cause was properly proposed, seconded and voted upon by the membership. It seems only natural that the ASAA Presidency should accept the opinion of its membership. This has nothing at all to do with me as such, but rather with the opinions of the members of the ASAA.)

Yours sincerely,

Joseph Berment-McDowald

(Red was Nigel Boos’ answer to the original letter which is in blue, EDITOR)

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Nigel Boos

 Jul 11

Joe,

In our previous correspondence, you had expressed agreement to the change to the draft letter to Cardinal Felix as suggested by Chris Date:

"It does seem more polite to invite Cardinal Felix, rather than impose a membership on him"

You replied that, "When I got your further thoughts on the issue, it occurred to me that the document would be improved with the revision although there is, in my view, an unnecessary repetition somewhere in there."

Since, however, it has proven difficult for you to amend the original draft and to print it on ASAA letterhead, I am re-submitting to you an amended draft for your signature and mailing to the Cardinal, in keeping with the expressed vote of 29 members of the ASAA.

I would hope that this matter may now be put to rest.

Regards,

Nigel

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Photos:

6003 East St. George Sports Event p18

10RR0001RICHRO,  Richard Rogers

13JC0002JCA, Jerry Campbell

13MA0001MAZ, Michael Azar