“And on a cruise ship there are no immortal souls?” the seasoned parish priest of Dobrepolje, Franc Škulj, bravely defended me before a church prelate who looked with a great deal of disapproval and skepticism at the small mission which, during the Christmas holidays of 2022, I carried out for the first time on one of the larger cruise ships that sail the vast oceans of the world.
It should be stated plainly that the prelate’s concern—since he did not know the background of my expedition—was, to some extent, justified. It is not exactly customary for a Catholic priest to spend the Christmas holidays—when the Slovenian clergy are especially buried in work for souls—under the scorching sun on the deck of a luxury cruise ship, surrounded by tourists who had, each in their own way, avoided Christmas at home. With no less clarity I will also write this: we cannot expect apostolic success if we remain seated in our rectories, cemented into the shackles of safe structures, closed off to souls and to a world that—without Christ in human hearts—will keep turning on indifferently. Just as clearly, however, it must be said that this does not mean a priest must, precisely at Christmas, go precisely on a cruise ship. At that time I was free of my usual pastoral obligations.
