Instead, many of our contemporaries say, "Christ, yes; the Church, no." They do not see the connection between Jesus and the Church. They do not recognize his presence in it. Yet, what is the Church? What does the Church desire to be, if not the one who manifests the face of the Lord in the midst of the world?
The Curé of Ars, that simple and most humble pastor, comes to mind. Called to give testimony about him, a farmer said, "I saw God in a man."
Also, there comes to mind Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and the immense crowd that followed her mortal remains on the day of her funeral. Christians, Hindus, and Moslems alike saw in her the fascination of Jesus.
These great witnesses of the presence of Christ are so precious, and we have to be grateful to the Lord for them. In our time, however, very complex and in need of salvation, it is urgent that within the entire Church Christ is seen, and that everyone in the Church radiates his presence.
Card. François-Xavier Van Thuan
Testimony of Hope
Pauline Books, Boston,2000, p. 139-40