Father Bob Ogle: A Man of Letters

Gary Clarkson is a history lecturer at the University of Windsor and a
book reviewer for the Windsor Star.

Writing letters or epistles for edification is a venerable Christian
tradition, and Roman Catholic priest Ogle carries on that
heritage—although in a far less scholastic or weighty manner.

Taking as his subjects the countries and peoples he observed during a
tour of inspection of developing lands, he starts his journey in home
territory; central Saskatchewan. He stops in the French capital for
several weeks to immerse himself in the language.

As one might expect, this peregrinating priest spends much of his time
observing and commenting on India’s hungry masses and the slums of the
great Brazilian cities. He comes away from these encounters more
convinced than ever of the fragile interrelatedness of Earth’s people,
and of our increasingly precarious existence on a polluted plant.

Ogle’s musings vary from a consideration of some of his favorite
poems to Vatican II documents to an affectionate concern for family and
friends. He winds down his epistolary reflections with an admonition to
those who would repeat his trip to tropical places: “Never, never
forget your malaria pills. . . .” He also advises us never to lose
sight of Western norms of civilization, even though countries like India
blur these standards.

Readers may ask themselves if Ogle feels completely at home anywhere.
He replies that home is where he hangs his cap; and yet, finally, he
says that his native Saskatchewan—where “the horizon is always in
sight,” ironically prompting further explorations—is such a place.

Alternately meditative and morally jarring, Ogle’s writings further
demonstrate that the contemporary Christian Church has become a Third
World church in many surprising ways. Photos considerably enhance the
narrative.