Cardinals

"It would make no sense whatsoever to say, "Well, we shouldn’t honor Catholics who present the antithesis of our Catholic doctrine, but there’s really no problem whatsoever provided the person’s not a Catholic," that evades common sense."

"(About the 2003 invasion of Iraq) Saddam Hussein was a Sunni, and the Sunni Islamic minority – a significant minority – effectively held power. The Shiites did not; on the contrary, they had been oppressed, especially in the centre and south. So when Saddam's regime fell, the first thing that happened was that the Shiites took power. As a result, between the allies who were advancing and bringing down the regime and the others who did not know how they would react, anarchy reigned. Every day there were attacks, not military ones, but by those seeking to seize power or take advantage of the situation to steal. It was a period of huge fires and casualties: just because someone was driving by, they would steal their car... There was chaos, no one knew who was in charge, the military and the police had disappeared, there was no authority of any kind to control the situation. Everyone remembers the looting of the ministries, except for one that was immediately guarded: the oil ministry. I remember well how one of the most terrible things was the looting of the museums, where thousands of works of art disappeared. Even the American military took them away, and in fact they were later found in their backpacks. The burning of the immense Library of Baghdad was also terrible. For two or three days, ash rained down on the city. It was an unacceptable destruction: to attack the libraries was to attack history, the life of a people, not to mention the fact that all of humanity was deprived of priceless treasures."

"After the great times of John Paul II, who gave us a vision of a universal Church capable of breaking down walls, and after Benedict XVI, who spoke to us about God in a profound and accessible way, Pope Francis has offered a synthesis of these two visions. I believe that we cannot fail to continue along this line. However, each Pope interprets Peter's mandate in his own original way, listening to his brothers gathered in the Conclave, who bring with them the experiences of their Churches and cultures. [...] The new pontiff will have to strengthen the unity of the Church. He will have to intensify ecumenical relations and interreligious dialogue. And then there is the methodology: the Church has walked on a path of synodality, collegiality and appreciation of episcopal conferences. I believe that this path must be consolidated. The new pope is called to walk among his people, but keeping in mind the realities of those who are ahead, those who are behind, and those who are on the right and on the left."

"(About the 2025 papal conclave) The future nominations? You do that in the media and newspapers. We are not yet at the decision stage, we are still discussing. [Pope Francis] He was a free man who loved people and humanised the Church without desacralising it."

"If we base coexistence on human rights, then we all have the same rights. The Middle East belongs to everyone because of its ancient culture and civilization. We are indebted to it. Also, from the Christian point of view, here took place Jesus’ life, that of the prophets, of the primitive Church that had great vitality for centuries. The Christian presence, even in its multiform expressions, is important. The logic of making these communities disappear is like making life disappear and preparing a desert, an impoverished environment. For millennia, the presence of so many religious, ethnic and cultural expressions has enriched this region. Of course, it is not like persecution never got the better of civil coexistence there in the past — far from it! But we ask ourselves: Must we continue with that logic? Have we learned nothing from history and from the suffering of millions of people? Is it still necessary to resort to the logic of oppression? Why should the riches of that region make envy, jealousy, oppression prevail instead of development, sharing and peaceful coexistence?"

"The Eucharist, especially in this difficult period, cannot be left on the margins of our lives but must be returned, with even more strength, to the center of Christian life."

"I think that the need is, above all, for systematic and solid catechesis for the people, that is, to preach the Gospel, as St. Paul said, in season and out of season, to instruct the people regarding the importance of the family and the value of the family, regarding the nature of Christian morality that Our Lord Jesus Christ left to us and really, to form their consciences from childhood."

"While I am pleased to recall the long and dedicated service that closely bound your priestly and episcopal ministry to the Apostolic See, I would like in particular to express to you my deep appreciation for the great dignity and solemn sobriety with which you carried out your role as Camerlengo of Holy Roman Church, at the moment of the devout death of the late Pope John Paul II, on the occasion of the extraordinary demonstration of faith during the funeral of the beloved Pontiff, during the entire period of the Vacancy of the Apostolic See and in carrying out the tasks of the Conclave for the election of the new Pope. As your high office as Camerlengo and your other important offices in the various Dicasteries of the Roman Curia come to an end, I am sure that the memory of all the good you have done will be a comfort to you and a cause of thanksgiving and praise to the Lord."

"We cannot call up an army of peace but we can call up a spiritual army to implore peace, so that the fact that one day of peace is better than years of war will penetrate peoples’ consciences."

"A person without hope is doomed to failure, and one of the great gifts God has given us is the gift of faith, which tells us about his love for us and our love for him. Because of that faith, there is this great hope. Jesus validated this by his resurrection. No matter how difficult life can be, there is the ultimate hope for salvation and peace in the Resurrection."

"The world in which we live is dominated by a shallow secular vision of the human person, and of the purpose of life, a vision which is contrary to divine revelation, to reason, and to the profound heritage of Christian faith. It is disappointing when Catholic trustees allow that secular vision to replace the fullness of faith articulated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We are called to be guided by the Holy Spirit, not by the deceptive spirit of the age."

"A chapter in the history of the Church has come to a close. When it comes to his pontificate, opinions vary. There is unanimous appreciation for Francis' commitment to migrants, the poor and overcoming divisions between the centre and the periphery; on the other hand, however, he has been somewhat ambiguous at times, for example when he spoke to Eugenio Scalfari about resurrection. With Pope Benedict XVI, we had perfect theological clarity, but everyone has their own charisma and abilities, and I think Pope Francis had more of these in the social sphere."

"To teach contrary to the apostolic faith would automatically deprive the pope of his office. We must all pray and work courageously to spare the Church such an ordeal."

"The Word became Flesh, and we are beings of flesh and blood and soul. We are living in the reality of the material world – also created by God – and therefore we need this corporal visible mediation by the sacraments within the community of the believers."

"In the face of growing confusion about the doctrine of the Faith, many bishops, priests, religious and laypeople of the Catholic Church have requested that I make a public testimony about the truth of revelation. It is the shepherds' very own task to guide those entrusted to them on the path of salvation. This can only succeed if they know this way and follow it themselves."

"In reality, "Body and Blood of Christ" do not mean the material components of the man Jesus during His lifetime or in His transfigured corporeality. Rather, body and blood here mean the presence of Christ in the sign of the medium of bread and wine, which [presence] is made communicable in the here and now of sense-bound human perception."

"It must be emphatically emphasized that hundreds of thousands of priests and religious people faithfully and selflessly serve God and men. To put them under general suspicion is just as offensive as unjustified, considering the tiny percentage of abusers. On the other hand, it equally is an excessively narrow view of reality to look only at the Catholic Church."

"The present crisis can only be overcome if, above all, the bishops understand it as a call and an incentive to a new spiritual awakening, drawing on the roots of our Faith. Is it not it astounding that the "conventional" seminars of so-called traditionalist communities, especially in France but not only there, have no shortage of seminarians? So why not adopt this model for success?"

"This is not a stupid power game like in the film Conclave. I only hope that the cardinals will not be influenced by reading the headlines. Francis has always been well regarded by the media and so there is a risk that someone will say: We must go on like this. The Pope must be orthodox. The question is not between conservatism and progressivism, but between orthodoxy and heresy. A heretical pope, who changed direction every day depending on what the media said, would be catastrophic."

"The Mass, mortification, and the Rosary are the most powerful tools we can use against the devil. It is with these three weapons that we can crush the head of the devil. We see the prophecy of Fatima revealing itself today. If the people do not turn towards Christ, darkness and error will consume the world. If we trust in God and turn towards him, we should have no fear."

"My last act of protest will be to do just that, to now disappear with everyone knowing why. I put this in my last will and testament — that my bones shall not be placed in the cathedral, I do not want to be buried with such men. I will be buried in a simple cemetery with what remains of the faithful people of God."

"It is a right and a duty to fight for one's life and for one's faith. So, I think we have to be careful because our fundamental attitude is surely always one of trust, harmony and dialogue, but sometimes, we have to pray for the conversion of our enemies. But we cannot trust them because there is no foundation for any trust. If we trust them, then we put ourselves in danger ― put our faith in danger."

"The Vatican lost everything, and got nothing. I cannot understand why they would do such thing. I’m sure that the Pope has the good intention to gain some space, some breathing space, and maybe one day you can get something better. Okay. But Parolin, the Secretary of State, he knows very well who the Communists are: there’s no way to bargain with the Communists, you get nothing."

"Always remember that the love of Christ is without end. The love of the world will always betray you. Be inspired daily by the cross. It is in the cross that we find the true love of God."

"Ever since I was 10 years old, I knew that I was called to be a priest. My father was always involved in the local parish. He would often serve Mass and would spend his entire day assisting the priest in his daily ministry. Seeing the beauty of the Church militant which had been alive and well at the time, but also through the grace of the Holy Spirit, I knew that God had ordained for me to become a priest for the salvation of souls"

"The synod that will begin tomorrow conceals an agenda that is more political and human than ecclesial and divine. The will is to profoundly change the hierarchical constitution of the Church is clear, with a further consequence a weakening of teaching on morality as well as discipline in the Church."

"Cardinal Burke emphasized the real importance of the Catechism published in 1912: it is not simply a religious and historical aid to be celebrated, and urged by the public, he stated that the Pius X remains to this day a firm and indispensable point of reference."

"Nothing has changed in the Islamic agenda from prior times in which our ancestors in the faith have had to fight to save Christianity. And why? Because they saw that Islam was attacking sacred truths, including the sacred places of our redemption. To say that we worship the same God as stated in Nostra Aetate, which is not a dogmatic document, I think is highly questionable … How can the God that we know, a God fundamentally of love, St. John says `God is love,’ be the same God that commands and demands of Muslims to slaughter infidels and to establish their rule by violence."

"The Remnant Interview of Cardinal Raymond Burke, Corrispondenza Romana (January 13, 2017)"

"(On the Amoris Laetitia) So certainly, without the clarification of these questions, there is a potential of scandal. With regard to the question of heresy, one has to be very attentive to material heresy and to formal heresy. In other words, material heresy: are there actual statements in the text which are materially heretical? Are they contradictory to the Catholic Faith? Formal heresy: did the person—namely the person of the pope who wrote the document—intend to proclaim heretical teachings? And the last thing, I don’t believe myself at all. And I think with regard to the first question, the language and so forth is confusing and it’s difficult to say that these confusing statements are materially heretical. But they need to be clarified, and to refuse to clarify them could lead people into error, into radical thinking with regard to some very serious questions."

"This situation leads me to reflect more and more on the message of Our Lady of Fatima, who warns us against the evil—one even more serious than the very serious evils suffered because of the propagation of atheistic Communism—of apostasy from the faith in the Church. Paragraph 675 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that ‘Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers,’ and that ‘the persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the ‘mystery of iniquity’ in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth.’ In such a situation, the bishops and the cardinals have the duty to proclaim true doctrine. At the same time, they have the duty to lead the faithful to make reparation for offenses against Christ and for the wounds inflicted on His Mystical Body, the Church, when the faith and discipline are not preserved correctly and promoted by her pastors. If the Pope does not perform his duty for the good of all souls, it is not only possible but also necessary to criticize the Pope. This criticism must follow Christ’s teaching about fraternal correction in the Gospel (Mt. 18:15-18). First, the lay person or the pastor must express his criticism privately, which will allow the Pope to correct himself. But if the Pope refuses to correct his seriously defective way of teaching or acting, the criticism must be made public, because the common good in the Church and in the world is at stake. Some have denounced those who have addressed their criticism to the Pope publicly, as though it were a display of rebellion or disobedience, but asking him—with due respect for his office—to correct confusion or error is not an act of disobedience but rather an act of obedience to Christ and therefore to His Vicar on earth."

"The idea of a one-world government is fundamentally the same phenomenon that was displayed by the builders of the Tower of Babel who presumed to exercise the power of God on earth to unite heaven with earth, which is simply incorrect. What we truly need is a religious conversion, in other words, a strong teaching and practice of faith in God and obedience to the order with which He has created us."

"The Catholic Church is a church that has one faith, one sacramental system, and one discipline throughout the whole world, and therefore we’ve never thought that each part of the world would define the Church according to particular cultures."

"our Lord Jesus Christ who alone is our Savior is not at the root and center of synodality."

"Cardinal Burke: “Synodality contradicts the true identity of the Church” (October 8, 2023)"

"Please join me in thanking Our Lord for the election of Pope Leo XIV, Successor of St. Peter, as Shepherd of the Church throughout the world.The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse has a particularly strong bond with the Roman Pontiff, especially through its affiliation with the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major. I urge all pilgrims and friends of the Shrine to pray fervently for Pope Leo XIV that Our Lord, through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Peter the Apostle and Pope St. Leo the Great, may grant him abundant wisdom, strength and courage to do all that Our Lord asks of him in these tumultuous times. May God bless Pope Leo and grant him many years."

"With respect to clothing, in addition to the material aspect, there is a moral aspect, since clothes have the purpose of defending, concealing and protecting the mystery of sexuality and life. And there is a metaphorical aspect, which I myself witness by wearing the cardinal's red, since the garment refers to the investiture, that is, to the social function of who wears it and to the symbolic representation that follows. [...] Even the simplest vestments can testify to an excess of luxury, to the futility and uselessness of luxury. But just as the sacredness of the liturgical function appears in the ecclesiastical vestments, so in luxury haute couture a symbolic function appears that transcends the mere function of covering oneself."

"Faith, like love, does not take up only a few hours of existence, but is its soul, its constant breathing."

"The soul that reduces prayer to the minimum remains asphyxiated; if it excludes all invocation, it is slowly strangled."

"Prayer is also an art, an exercise of beauty, of song, of inner liberation. It is ascesis and ascent, it is a rigorous effort, but also a gentle and free flight of the soul toward God."

"It is evident that freemasonry has acquired some Christian even liturgical models. We must not forget, in fact, that in the seventeenth century, many English lodges recruited some members and masters among the Anglican clergy, so much so that one of the first and fundamental masonic “constitution” was compiled by the Presbyterian pastor James Anderson, who died in 1739. It stated, among other, that an adept “will not be a stupid atheist nor an unreligious libertine”, also if the proposed credo, in the end, was the most undefined, “the one of a religion all men agree with”."

"Peace! Following my long-term service, it became clear to me that peace is to be built in peaceful times, rather than in the times of war."

"The remarks attributed to John Podesta, who is Mrs. Clinton’s chief of staff, are just extraordinarily patronizing and insulting to Catholics. What he would say is offensive. And if it had been said about the Jewish community, if it had been said about the Islamic community, within 10 minutes there would have been an apology."

"What’s wrong is that we’ve forgotten about God. Our identity comes from the Lord, it’s given to us, it’s not something we pick and choose."

"Interviewer: Speaking about lives and protecting people, there's a movement within the United States, even in terms of legislature, working to on the one hand let states decide that they will not force religious structures to provide abortions, and setting limits on late-term abortions."

"The people of Ukraine have a proud, vibrant culture that even though some of it is shared with its neighbouring countries, including Russia, it's independent, autonomous, historic, deeply ingrained, and it cannot be crushed or taken over by any other culture. Even if that culture says "you're the same as us, we're absorbing you, drop it."

"(About pope Francis' s death) I use this word like you Italians do, as a compliment. He was a peasant, which is a man of the people, a man of the Earth."

"I've already gotten, you know, dozens and dozens of texts and phone calls of sympathy, probably a majority of my Jewish friends, were most of them from the Jewish community, who felt extraordinary touched."

"Every year, of course, our opponents who are well-oiled, and very popular, and who have access to a lot of prestigious support, every year, they say this is over, and the pro-lifers are the extremists. It’s becoming more and more clear that the real extremists are the pro-abortionists. They are the ones that will not allow any dialogue at all. They are the ones who will not allow absolutely any consideration of any restriction on the abortion license, even something as hideous and nauseating as partial-birth abortion. Absolutely not. We do not talk about it. We will not consider it. This is the kind of dug-in, close-minded extremist party, namely the pro-abortionists."

"Baptized persons have the duty to believe not only with their heart but also with their intellect."