Susan Boyle - Her Pastor Speaks

By now anyone with a TV, PC or radio has probably heard or heard of Susan Boyle, the 40-something Scottish singing sensation who surprised the world with her angelic voice. Miss Boyle, a competitor on Britain's Got Talent, the UK's version of America's Got Talent, is, in her words, "short and plump" and certainly bears little resemblance to the usual lineup of far less talented "beautiful people" who appear on these shows. But, Oh, can she sing!

The media, in its own insatiable way, is now digging into any and all aspects of her quiet life so they can feed the public's equally insatiable appetite for personal information on those it has raised to celebrity status. And so they interviewed her pastor, Father Basil Clark, who spoke about how, when he first heard her sing, he was "absolutely blown away by the quality of the singing and by that fantastic voice."

According to Fr. Clark, Miss Boyle has made several Legion of Mary pilgrimages to the Marian shrine in Knock, Ireland. She sings in her parish church, Our Lady of Lourdes, and also "enjoys karaoke in her local pub." He also revealed, perhaps unwisely, that she suffers from a learning disability. It's a disability, however, that has certainly not affected her voice or, apparently, her outlook on life. Until her mother died in 2007, Miss Boyle had been her full-time caregiver. Since then she spends much of her time visiting elderly shut-ins. She sounds like a pretty good celebrity role model to me.

Click here to read Amy Welborn's interesting take on the interview.