The Messenger - August 2007 - Editorial - Stolen Identity
By John Looby, S.J. - 30 August 2007
Just one year ago I had my identity stolen. It was startling how simply it was done. I was travelling in the States at the time and was about to fly from one city to another. For convenience I was using a computer case to carry a change of clothes and some papers, like my plane tickets and my passport. Through inadvertence a door was not locked, and in matter of five minutes a thief entered, took what he imagined was a computer, and stole my passport. And so I came to lose my identity.
Today that is a really serious matter, especially in the United States where they are particularly sensitive to the terrorist threat to aeroplanes, and I, an unidentified alien without any papers, was attempting to fly in a plane. Suddenly I was transformed from being someone moving confidently to the departure lounge to someone who probably would not be allowed to fly, or leave the United States, or even re-enter Ireland. It was not even impossible that I could be arrested.
In the event I was able to establish my identity; I continued my journey, and with a temporary passport later returned safely to Ireland. It was quite traumatic while it lasted but not as unusual as I had imagined. Some 38,730 Irish passports were stolen or mislaid last year of which mine was only one.
In my confusion I was treated most kindly and helpfully, but I did not quickly regain my composure. The sense of being in control of my life was gone. My confidence, my sense of competence, of being capable of organizing my affairs, was in tatters. But I should not have been surprised. Such reversals are part of the human condition. It is a reminder that ‘this is not as good as it gets’. I wonder if Christ chuckled when he told the parable of the guy who thought he had it made? ‘My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come, take it easy, have a good time’ (Lk.12:13-32). That very night he died and all that he depended on was gone.
The ‘firm foundations’ of our lives can suddenly disappear: we might lose our job, or discover we have a terminal disease, or have a car crash - any loss of identity. Maybe in that time of vulnerability and weakness we can be more alert to the words of Christ. We should not worry about what is outside of our control. ‘There is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom’ No fear of the loss of that identity!
John Looby, S.J.