In 1960, I was a Roman Catholic chaplain in a nun’s convent in Navelgas, a tranquil village in Asturias, Spain.

After an early supper, I usually visited the village priest, an older man, who was companionable and friendly. One night, he showed me a pamphlet entitled “The Gift” (which retakes a passage of the autobiographical writings of the former Canadian priest Charles Chiniquy). I asked permission to borrow it, and read it.

The pamphlet created an intense desire to read the Bible. I wanted to know if there was a real difference between the Catholic and Protestant Bibles. Hiding my identity, I wrote to the address on the pamphlet, requesting a Bible or a New Testament.

I began to study the New Testament, especially Acts and Hebrews. As I did, a conviction grew that the Roman Catholic Church had deviated from the Bible, that its priesthood had usurped Christ’s place.