The Seminary
The seminary gave him tools: philosophy, epistemology, critical thinking. He excelled—his transcripts show marks of 17 and 18 (out of 20) in philosophy and epistemology. For eight years, his thirst for knowledge overshadowed his disdain for the strict and structured life he was living.
But it also showed him what he didn't want—a life constrained by institutional authority. Finally, Bert went to the lead priest and told him how he felt. The priest felt the same way. He told Bert that he should leave and seek a life in the secular community.
The Church had expected a priest. They got a philosopher who would spend the rest of his life questioning everything, including them.
Unitarianism
Unitarianism offered intellectual freedom, a tradition where questioning was welcomed rather than punished. It was a natural home for someone who believed in values but resisted dogma.
The Masonic Lodge
The Masonic Lodge provided brotherhood, ritual, and a framework for moral philosophy outside the Church. It offered community and structure for a man who had left one institution but still valued both.
Yoga
In the 1990s, yoga connected mind and body, opening him to Eastern philosophy. It was another way of seeking—not through doctrine, but through practice and presence.
Existentialism
Existentialism spoke to him. He read Sartre, Camus, Kierkegaard—philosophers who grappled with meaning in a world without easy answers.
He was an avid reader, devouring novels in any of the three languages he was fluent in: English, Portuguese, and Spanish.
The Sacred Music
Even Gregorian Chant stayed with him. You can leave the Church, but eight years of sacred music lives in your bones.
The Letter
In 1998, when his son Danny was preparing for Catholic Confirmation, Bert wrote him a letter. It is a remarkable document: a former seminarian, a man who left the Church, a seeker who explored Unitarianism and the Masonic Lodge and yoga and existentialism—writing to his teenage son about faith.
"I'm not exactly a pillar of Faith, but I do believe in values Jesus Christ died for: love, justice, peace."
"Hold on to your Faith, for if you lose it it's very hard to get it back. Always be true to yourself and your beliefs, standing firm in convictions but keeping open mind."
He wasn't lost. He was seeking.
The seminary had given him the tools to question everything—including the seminary itself. He never stopped using them.