Political Quotes

“When Father Trainor put his hand out--Senator Thurmond was introduced to Father Trainor a moment before the prayer--he looked at Senator Thurmond and said: ``Senator, you are an inspiration.'' And you are an inspiration, Strom. You are an inspiration to all of us and you are a darned good friend of mine and I'm glad you got to meet my buddy, Father Jim Trainor. My colleagues do not know this, but Father Trainor prays for us every Sunday in Wilmington. I think he prays particularly hard for me because he is always making an extra prayer--maybe the Irish part of him--praying for the politicians and public officials. I say to the majority leader, Senator Lott, I go to a church called Saint Joseph's on the Brandywine, an old church that was built by the Du Pont family for ``their Irish'' back at the turn of the century, the turn of the 19th century, the early 1800s. But my daughter and my wife like to go to Saint Patrick's Church, which is an inner-city church that, when I was a kid growing up, was in an Irish parish, and is now in the middle of the city and the parish is predominantly African American. It has become the haven for everyone in need in the city. Father Trainor has been there for about 25 years and has built and rebuilt that parish. There is a long series of steps to go up to the church. It is an old-fashioned church where the actual church altar is on the second floor and below are all the meeting rooms.”