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a
WhenCarloCarretto.,prophetic spiritualwriterof ourtime,returned Italy
to
from the Sahara desert, where livedfor manyyears
he among Bedouins,
the he
wrotea spiritual testimony, Sougftt
I andlFound, in whichhe chronicles his
journey towards, and struggles with, God.He ends bookwith a'loveletter'
the
addressed thevisible
to institutional church'the Catholic Church. This is a real
andhonest description of the Church- flawed divine,
yet the
mediating Pfesence
of Godwhile at the same time obstructing When I met this poem,I found it
it.
inspiringandthoughtof sharing it with the readers Flimkien.Muyb. it canbe of
of
help for thosewho havesufferedbecause the Church.Perhaps will help them
of it
realizethat the Churchhasa human element it alsohasGod'sblessing
but and
Borg
Bernadette
grace.
How muchI mustcriticize you,my siamming door of my soulin your
the
Church! face,
And yet,how muchI loveyou! And yet everynight I haveprayedthat
Youhave mademe suffer morethan I mightdiein your surearms.
anyone,
;t'
l
And yet I owemoreto you thanto
anyone.
No, I cannot freeof you,
be
For I amonewith you,
I should to see
like you destroyed, Evenif not completelyyou.
And yet I need yourpresence. Thentoo,where wouldI go?
You have given muchscandal,
me To build another Church?
And yetyou alone havemademe But I couldnot build onewithoutthe
understand holiness. same defects.
And again, I wereto build another
if
Neverin thisworld haveI seen an1'thing Church,
morecompromised, morefalse. It would notbe my Church,not Christ's
Yet neverhave I touchedanything Church.
morepure, No,I amold enough.
moregenerous more
or beautiful. I knowbetter.
Countless timesI havefelt like Csflo Csnetto