Why a Priest left his Church (AWAKE! FEBRUARY 2015)

by opusdei1972 7 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • opusdei1972
    opusdei1972

    These are my coments on some answers in the interview:


    Why did you start doubting the church?

    Three things troubled me. The church was involved in politics. Misconduct among the clergy and parishioners was tolerated. And certain Catholic teachings did not seem right. How, for example, could a God of love punish people forever after death? Also, does God really want us to repeat prayers hundreds of times with a rosary? *


    Ok, but Watchtower's teachings  seem not to be  right too. What about the blood ban and its flip flops?....on the other hand, Jesus taught  the teaching of a hell fire in the story of the rich and Lazarous, and the Church Fathers used it to prove that the soul can be punished after the death. So, Jesus was responsible for that teaching, doesn' it?

    What did you do?

    With tears streaming from my eyes, I prayed for guidance. I also purchased a copy of the Catholic Jerusalem Bible, which had recently been published in Italian, and began reading it. Then, one Sunday morning as I was hanging up my robes after Mass, two men came to the seminary. They introduced themselves to me as Jehovah’s Witnesses. We talked for more than an hour about the Bible and what  it says about the identifying marks of true religion.


    You were also deceived by two witnesses trained in the deluded Fred Franz theology.  You also knew nothing about the Bible, in which you may find more than 100 contradictions and many false prophecies.

    .....

    What did the other priests think of those visits?

    I invited them to join in our discussions, but none took Bible study seriously. I, however, enjoyed it. I was learning wonderful things, such as why God tolerates evil and suffering—something that had long puzzled me.


    Of course, most of the priests currently know that the Bible deceives many modern people. And about God tolerating evil, you seem to support the idea that we all have to suffer on account of an non-existent couple misled and tempted by a snake. Shame on you, because even Cardinal Pell (of Australia) admitted before Richard Dawkins that the story of Adam and Eve is a myth.

    Did your superiors try to dissuade you from studying the Bible?

    In 1975, I visited Rome several times to explain my views. My superiors tried to change my thinking, but none used the Bible. Finally, on January 9, 1976, I wrote to Rome stating that I no longer considered myself a Catholic. Two days later, I left the seminary and took a train to attend my first meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which turned out to be an assembly involving several congregations. Everything was so different from what I was accustomed to! Each Witness had a Bible and followed along with the speakers as they discussed various topics.


    Yes, no one used the Bible because no priest  can currently take it seriously. But,....ohhh, you mentioned the year 1975, how special was that year in Jehovah's calendar!!!. You omitted to mention the significance of it in this interview.


    What did your family think about all of this?

    Most of them bitterly opposed me. I found out, however, that one of my brothers was studying with the Witnesses in Lombardy, a region in northern Italy. I went to see him, and the Witnesses there helped me to find work and a place to live. Later that year, I was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.


    You firstly became a deluded priest, then you ended up in another and even  worse absurd cult.

    Do you have any regrets?

    Not at all! At last, I feel truly close to God, because what I know about him is based on the Bible, not philosophy or church tradition. And I can teach others with conviction and sincerity.


    Ok, you now know that Jehovah can kill babies without mercy (1 Samuel 15:3) and will destroy in Armaggedon all of those who do not believe in the flip flops of his paranoic faithful slave.

  • Simon
    Simon

    Isn't it strange how someone leaving a different religion is held up as "a good thing" but of course they have a completely different view of people who closely examine, question and leave their religion.

    I doubt the members of the Catholic church were all told that they couldn't speak to him ever again.

  • opusdei1972
    opusdei1972
    Yes Simon, he can speak with his former brothers in the priesthood at least, but he couldn't do that if he leaves the Watchtowerworld.
  • DATA-DOG
    DATA-DOG

    How could any all-knowing/all-loving God allow suffering so he could just fix it in his own sweet time??

    Gee thanks! You could have instantly erased the angel who became Satan from existence BEFORE he corrupted 1/3 of your family, thereby necessitating that you destroy them, but you didn't.

    You could have stopped them after they snuck a rebellion past your all-knowingness and boinked all the hot girls on Earth, thereby corrupting the entire planet with violent hybrids that you have to destroy later, but you didn't. 

    You could have made it possible for every man, woman, and child to instantly communicate with you, so that there can be a meaningful exchange in real-time, but you didn't. 

    You could have created a world without a myriad of diseases, parasites, predators and prey, but you didn't. 

    BTW, thanks for squelching that rebellion at the Tower of Bable. Good one.


    DD


  • eyeuse2badub
    eyeuse2badub

    Every time my still-in wife relates these stories to me, I counter with, "Honey, every religion has their own version of this very same story. JW's are not unique with these type of experiences."

    She quickly changes the subject but I know that she knows that it's true.

    just saying!

    eyeuse2badub

  • Iown Mylife
    Iown Mylife

    Is this supposed to have happened recently?  This story sounds identical to one they ran many years ago.  Well, why waste a good bunch of drivel!

    Marina

  • opusdei1972
    opusdei1972
    His conversion was around 1975. The same year in which one of the last Watchtower's prophecy failed. This guy was very fool.
  • Clambake
    Clambake

    I find it highly unlikely that a catholic priest with proper seminary training would find the Jehovah Witnesses very convincing with their copy and paste propaganda sessions. Actually I think most people with even a basic understanding of the scriptures can show the average Witness that their theology has more holes in it than a block of swiss cheese.

    I think Witness have more doubts about their faith talking to a real Christian than vise versa.

    p.s- Please save the atheist/agnostic comments, Richard Dawkins, Pagan Christ, sun god crap. I find you just as annoying  as the most uber witnesses.

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