I came across people - religious and lay, who made my heart glad and who showed me new and better paths. I have come across others that make me angry because they touched, deep inside of me, some of the old wounds, and concerns. I still struggle, and argue, and I don't take things for granted. As I look around, I see the God of my childhood steady and strong at the core of my being, but I now see my Church through the eyes of an adult, with all that entails - responsibility as well as concerns. I see now a Church that is engaged in a deep and difficult dialogue with itself, but unlike many other people, I consider that to be a positive and not negative thing.
All growth is in some way painful.
I love the fact that there are a hundred ways of being Catholic, and still true to the Church's teachings. I love our explicit commitment to social justice, and the fact that in a world that is becoming increasingly reactionary and at the same time, dismissive of human life, the Church is at the forefront of human rights. I also love the fact that I belong to a Church that can apologize as individuals and as an institution for the actions that were perpetrated in its name, and under its organizations in the past. I said that I don't take things for granted, and I hope that I don't. It would be wrong for me to claim that everything is now smooth and comfortable.