His dialogue with Benítez had disturbed him profoundly. He was unable to get it out of his mind. Was it really possible that he had spent the past thirty years worshipping the Church rather than God? Because that, in essence, was the accusation Benítez had levelled against him. In his heart he could not escape the truth of it—the sin; the heresy. Was it any wonder he had found it so difficult to pray? It was an epiphany similar to that which had struck him in St. Peter’s while he was waiting to deliver his sermon.
