I was born in Vicenza, Italy, in 1917. At the age of eleven I entered the Franciscan College to study for the priesthood. After my ordination I became the pastor of a small mountain parish in Castagnara. In 1954 I was transferred to a larger parish in the city of Chieti. Then Bishop Piasentini invited me to teach at the seminary in Chioggia and also assigned me to a church there.
Roman Catholic Christians
I thought that in the end I had found the right place for my ministry. I taught seminary, was pastor of a good parish, and had won the favor of the bishop. I organized a very good Task Force. I worked day and night for my people with great zeal, but very soon I began to understand that all my activities and teaching the catechism and Roman dogmas could not change people's lives. They came to church every Sunday, to the sacraments and even to the confessional, but they refused to follow the teachings of the Evangemess of Christ. How could he keep giving the sacraments to people who did not want to renounce their sin? They pretended to be Christians but were doing the opposite of what Christ tells us to do in his Gospel. Most of my people, who did not want to sacrifice for Christ and change their sinful life, began to oppose me and many of them said, "What nonsense it teaches us. Why do we have to change our way of life if we already do what? What the Roman Catholic Church asks of us? We receive communion, we take our children to the priest for baptism and confirmation. We were married by the priest, we do not eat meat on Good Friday and we go to mass every Sunday. What more does our new pastor of us? We are Christians because we belong to the Roman church. "
Only Christ
Someone accused the bishop of me. He called me at his home and told me that I should resign my position as teacher and pastor because I did not follow the teachings and instructions of the Mother Roman Catholic Church. He said that I was teaching people to come to Christ and depend on Him instead of telling them to depend on the saints of the Roman church, the sacraments and the priests who had the same power as Christ to forgive sins. I tried in vain to convince my bishop that I was not teaching heresy but only the Gospel. That they could not be forgiven of their sins unless they repented before God because there is only one Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus. The bishop was very irritated and removed me from my position as pastor and teacher. I told him that I would appeal to Rome, to the Pope, and he suggested that I do so.
God's grace in the silent room
I left for Rome a few days after preparing my argument, and went to the Vatican to present my case to Pope Pius XII. For several days I received no reply. Then they informed me that the Pope did not have time to attend to my case, and that I had to appeal to the Sacred Congregation. At that point I understood that I had been left alone, that even the one who calls himself the Vicar of Christ and the Holy Father had abandoned me. In short, he was helpless. I began to understand the difference between the Gospel and a church organization. The Gospel is for the people, but the organization of the Roman Catholic Church is not intended for the benefit of the individual but that of its political and social leaders.
I left Rome and went back to my people, but when I arrived I had no church and no place to teach. I did not give up definitively, but put my trust in the Lord. I stayed in the city among my people. A friend gave me a room, and there, in the quiet of that room, after so many trials and tribulations with the bishop and in Rome, I began to read the Gospel in search of comfort. I have never read a book with such interest before. To my surprise, I found the answer to many doubts I had about the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Very soon, by the grace of God, I began to understand that most of the dogmas and teachings that I as a priest had urged my people to believe were not in the Gospel but were made by man, even against the Holy Bible.
Why seventeen years to discover the truth?
It may come as a surprise that it took me so long to discover the truth. But you must remember that a candidate for the priesthood enters seminary as a child and is an adult when he completes his preparation. That is why it is not easy to decide against the Roman Catholic Church. Do you think all priests believe what they teach? Many of them don't, but they remain in the priesthood because they are afraid to leave. For my part, I could not continue serving two masters: the Pope and Christ.
The work is Christ's, not ours
I have chosen Christ and accepted him as my personal Savior. "He saved us, not by works of righteousness that we had done, but by his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and by the renewal in the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3: 5). Now I preach the true Gospel freely and without restrictions in the same town where I was a priest. The persecutions are many, but the Lord is powerful. Several people have been converted.
My dear priests, if you are reading this, do not oppose the truth, but look for it in the Gospel and preach the truth of the Bible. They must not adapt the Gospel to their teachings; but be you changed according to the Scriptures. If you do not return to the truths of the Gospel, there will be no hope or joy for you, but only darkness, suffering, and sin. As Christ said to the "religious men" of his day: "That is why I told you that you will die in your sins, because if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins." (John 8:24)
"Though my father and mother leave me, yet the Lord will gather me. Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me in a straight path because of my enemies. Do not hand me over to the will of my enemies; for they have risen up. false witnesses against me, and those who breathe cruelty. " (Psalms 27: 10-12).
Bruno Bottesin
[Source: https://www.conocereislaverdad.org/testi_nomeoponialaverdad.htm]
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