The old priest was not comfortable with his parish members confessing to adultery. From his pulpit he addressed the issue with his flock and said that those who commit such a sin should merely mention they had “fallen”.
Many years passed and the town’s beloved priest died at a ripe old age. A new priest was assigned, and things seemed to be getting back to normal rather quickly.
A few weeks later, the new priest visited the mayor of the town. He told the mayor, “You have to do something about the sidewalks! When people come into the confessional, they keep talking about having fallen.”
Realizing that no one had told the new priest about the code word, the mayor started to laugh.
Before the mayor could explain, the priest shook an accusing finger at the mayor and said, “I don’t know what you’re laughing about. Your wife fell three times this week.”
