According to an article found here, a Catholic priest from India, Fr Davis Chiramel, donated his kidney to a Hindu man who had been ill for two years. Fr. Chiramel, 49 years old, is the priest of St Francis Xavier Church Vadanappilly, a parish in the southern state of Kerala.

The kidney recipient is an electrician and father of two sons. His kidneys failed two years ago, and he awaited death as he could not afford to pay for dialysis three times each week. And he certainly couldn’t afford a kidney transplant. So for the past two years, Catholics of the Vadanappilly parish have paid for his dialysis treatments. And on September 30, 2009, their priest, despite receiving advice to the contrary from many nay-sayers, donated his kidney.

The donation of Fr. Chiramel also helped to launch the Kidney Federation of India, an organization founded to encourage organ donation and to help to raise funds for kidney failure patients unable to afford to pay for treatment.

Within days of the publication of this story by a Catholic news organizations, the main-stream media published a story about a Canadian priest who had been accused of abuse. Fr. Chiramel’s story was nowhere to be found in those publications. The other story was prominently displayed.

The popular press delights in the sensational. They didn’t bother to report on the selfless acts of this sensational priest.

“I could not find a better way to celebrate the Year for Priests than this,” Fr. Chiramel said two days before the operation.

A Prayer for Priests
Gracious God, loving Father,
font of every gift and good,
make of priests for us we pray:

men of faith, men of love,
humble servants of your Word,
prophets of your Spirit’s grace;

men of hope, men of peace,
strong defenders of the truth,
heralds of your holy gospel;

men of prayer, men of praise,
guardians of our sacred rites,
of the scriptures and tradition;

men of changelessness and change,
men who follow you each day,
when and where your Spirit leads;

men of tenderness and strength,
comfort for the sick and weary,
shepherds leading home the lost;

men of counsel, men of wisdom,
gentle guides for the confused,
lights along the darkened path;

men of mercy, patient men,
understanding and consoling
of the grieving and abused;

men of justice and compassion,
reconciling and forgiving,
men of healing in your name;

men of sacrifice and honor,
single minded in your service,
set apart to do your will;

men of holiness and joy,
men anointed by your grace,
men ordained to serve as Christ.

Make us one with them in faith
and in Christ your only Son
in whose holy name we pray.

Amen.