He is the Good Thief crucified on the right hand of the Son of Man with a cameo role in St Luke’s gospel, but the brief exchange he has with Jesus speaks volumes and reminds us yet again that it is the alienated who often come closest to Christ Fr Fitz narrowed his eyes. “Who?” he said. I told him again. “Never heard of him,” said the priest. I was 11 years old and beginning to wish I had chosen a more run-of-the-mill Confirmation saint. “Well, what did he do that brings you closer to Our Lord?” Fr Fitz asked. “He was a thief,” I replied unpromisingly. Fr Fitz, a man given to sudden vents of rage and 40 Senior Service a day, lit a fag and leant forward dangerously. “When they crucified Jesus,” I hurriedly explained. &ldquo