Catholics From Italy

"Death must be accepted but never provoked."

"A Church that limits itself to repeating words of wisdom, to giving advice on good social behavior, perhaps adapting, in certain fields, to a generic and "inclusive" language, or simply echoing recommendations of the state and the WHO, perhaps it will be heard. At least in appearance, it will enter the circle of politically correct. But in the end, it will be confused with other agencies of thought and customs and will lose its attractive force and its ability to be a creative minority."

"The martyrdom of priests is the result of their conscious choice to share the fate of the flock to the point of extreme sacrifice, when the efforts of mediation between the population and the occupiers, long pursued, lost all chance of success."

"In the Italian church there is a wealth of initiatives, aggregates, experiences whose action is not flashy but is of great value... a sensitivity to be revived and promoted. The ecumenism of charity is what is to be promoted especially in the ecclesial community of our time."

"The most beautiful note, harmony, symphony of the pentagram is that of charity, because it's everywhere and always touches the chords of each heart, of whoever makes them feel it and whoever hears it."

"There is a lack of fundamental ethical formation, therefore, we must be concerned with forming the conscience of Europeans before coming to this sort of voting, otherwise, there will be a gradual disintegration of the legacy of values that have characterized life for almost 2,000 years."

"We need to be careful and instead of looking for justifications not to become involved we need to ask ourselves: "what is the Lord asking me to do in this situation?" And then simply, obey."

"When I see that while Hitler and Mussolini persecuted men because of their race, and invented the appalling anti-Jewish legislation that we know, and I see at the same time the Russians made up of 160 races seeking the fusion of these races by overcoming the differences existing between Asia and Europe, this attempt, this effort towards the unification of human consortium, let me say: this is Christian, this is eminently universalistic in the sense of Catholicism."

"It is true that the functioning of economic democracy demands disinterestedness, just as that of political democracy supposes the virtue of character. The work of renewal will fail if in all categories, in all centres, there do not arise selfless men, ready to toil and sacrifice for the common good."

"There is in Italy a fourth Party, which may not have many voters, but which is capable of paralysing and rendering futile all our efforts, by organising the sabotage of loans and the flight of capital, price increases or scandal campaigns. Experience has convinced me that Italy cannot be governed today without attracting into the new formation of government, in one form or another, representatives of this fourth party, of the party of those who have the money and economic strength."

"Communism as implemented in the USSR is at the antipodes of Nazism: communism is imbued with Christian brotherhood and is therefore anti-racist par excellence, while Nazism and Fascism are essentially and primarily racist. Thus two irreconcilable and opposite phenomena Communism and Nazism."

"I take the floor in this world assembly and I feel that everything, except your personal courtesy, is against me: it is above all my qualification as a former enemy, which makes me feel like an accused person, that I have arrived here after the most influential among you have already formulated their conclusions in a long and laborious elaboration.[... ] I have the duty before the conscience of my country and to defend the vitality of my people to speak as an Italian, but I feel the responsibility and the right to speak also as an anti-fascist democrat, as a representative of the new Republic that, harmonising in itself the humanitarian aspirations of Giuseppe Mazzini ([an Italian 33rd degree Scottish Rite Freemason]), the universalist conceptions of Christianity and the internationalist hopes of the workers, is all directed towards that lasting and reconstructive peace that you seek and towards that cooperation between peoples that you have the task of establishing."

"There are many who only make a small excursion into politics, as amateurs, and others who regard it, and it is for them, as an accessory of secondary importance. But for me, ever since I was a boy, it was my career, my mission."

"The truth must be told whatever the cost."

"Healing entire populations of the consequences of war and armed conflicts, especially the people that have been most affected and victimized, is the best investment in building up true security and a durable peace."

"Faced especially with the Chinese, I judged it appropriate in no way to accredit the suspicion that the Catholic religion seemed to be placed under the protection and, even worse, as a political instrument at the service of European nations. I wanted, from my first acts, to claim my freedom of action in the field of religious interests, by refusing to be accompanied before the local civil authorities by representatives of foreign nations."

"In a country that is still being plagued by civil unrest and where the government is weak, the Catholic Church has a great moral authority due to its social commitment, especially in the sectors of healthcare and education."

"The Pope [Pius VII] is a good man, but ignorant and fanatical."

"(to General Étienne Radet during the pope's arrest on the orders of Napolean Bonaparte) Assuredly, my son, those orders will not bring divine orders upon you."

"Nous voulons bien aller jusqu'aux portes de l'enfer; mais nous entendons neus arrêter là."

"In almost every article, two basic requirements are referred to: compliance with Brazilian laws and equal treatment with other confessions. So no privilege, no discrimination. Indeed, one may well say that with this agreement the Church further promotes religious freedom and facilitates legal relations with the State for other religious institutions."

"Seeing so many people in St. Peter's Square waiting for the announcement was truly moving. There was anticipation, so much joy, so much desire. I had a lump in my throat. I wondered what I would have done if I had been in the new Pope's place, and I thought I would have done as in the film by Nanni Moretti: I would have stepped out onto the balcony, and after seeing so many people, I would have closed it and said, “I can't do it”. [...] I knew about FantaPapa because I talked about it with my grandchildren, and we exchanged words of esteem."

"Journalist: Welby was denied a funeral. If a person died by assisted suicide, would you celebrate their funeral? Cardinal Zuppi: Yes. However, I must clarify one point: the Church does not allow euthanasia, but calls for the application of palliative care. We remain at the side of our loved ones until the very end, doing everything possible to relieve their physical and spiritual suffering, without any form of aggressive treatment, but always defending the dignity of the person. The complexity of the situation requires intelligence, mercy and love in order to understand the events of life."

"Political love frees us from the distortion of ideologies and restores to us the most noble value, which is to seek what unites us and resolve what divides us."

"There is a deep harmony. Pope Francis manages to reach so many people, he touches their hearts, warms them, makes them feel loved, makes them feel that the Church is close to them, a Church that listens to you, that cares about your problems. The Pope has a great pastoral vision and proclaims the eternal truths in today's language and categories. Above all, he helps us understand that the social and the spiritual are intimately united. And woe betide anyone who divides them."

"Those who come from afar seem like enemies, but only because no one has ever spoken to them. Don't believe those who tell you not to talk to them: you just have to find the right way to talk to them. ... Sometimes it seems that selfishness is convenient, but it only hurts us. Love is always convenient, love always wins. We must learn to do works of mercy, not works of selfishness."

"If Pope Leo XIV was chosen in such a short time,“ the IEC president added, ”it means that there was a convergence, a coming together. And I think it is a great value. A unity like this, at a time like this, I think it is a beautiful indication and also a great responsibility."

"Welcoming someone has no expiry date or time limit, as long as you ‘stay on the straight and narrow’. If you are a child, you are a child. If you are a brother, you are a brother, this is always your home. Then I may disagree, I may disagree completely. There has been a lot of discussion within the Church about the Zan bill. For example: is surrogacy a problem? Yes, it is a problem. But if you ask me to baptise a child born in this way, I will say: of course! I will do it. I have done it."

"A cardinal must be an example, must be a man who unites... "the hinge," from which cardinal is derived. It consists of being precisely the instrument that holds other objects together. So, all the more reason I feel the importance of being a witness of unity and of believing so greatly in the communion that unites those who are different."

"If everyone finds a home in the church, then they will also understand or rediscover the rules in this house. Nobody can make the one of the many cheap feel-good providers or one of the many counselling services."

"Declaration of the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith, Fiducia supplicans is placed within the horizon of mercy, of the Church's loving gaze on all of God's children, without, however, departing from the teachings of the Magisterium. God wants everyone to be saved. It is therefore the Church's task to be interested in each and every person. We cannot forget that all the baptized," he added, "enjoy the full dignity of 'children of God' and, as such, are our brothers and sisters. There is no questioning of the meaning of the Sacrament of Marriage. We are open to dialogue, but we will not let others tell us what the content of charitable action or mission is, which are never partisan, because the only part of the Church is Christ and the defense of the person, of life, from beginning to end."

"On abortion, the 194 Law was painful, but it seems to me to guarantee, for some too little, for some too much and it has an important secular translation, so much so that no one is going to question it. Granted that we have to get out of the Oriazi and Curiazi scheme, the deterrent part, about avoiding a woman's suffering, the consultories, can be applied more."

"Blessed is the Bishop who for the sake of the Gospel is not afraid to go against the current, who makes his face hard like that of Christ heading to Jerusalem without letting himself be held by misunderstandings and obstacles because he knows that the kingdom of God advances in the contradiction of the world."

"The most important thing is not what we do in the Eucharist, but what we are through the Eucharist."

"Le ministre tout-puissant, qui avait pris à la reine mère sa régence, au roi sa royauté, n’avait pu prendre à la nature un bon estomac."

"Un vrai soldat ne porte pas d'armes ouvragées trop délicatement. De même un artiste accompli n'utilise pas d'outils trop jolis ni trop élaborés — à moins qu'il n'ait l'excuse de l'extrême jeunesse. Quant au véritable érudit, il ne passe pas son temps en divertissements futiles, ni à briller dans les salons."

"Fourbe il a vécu, fourbe il a voulu mourir."

"Ce fantôme de Richelieu, c’était Mazarin."

"Il se mettra en chemin un peu tard, mais il ira plus loin qu'un autre."

"Sire, je vous dois tout, mais je crois m'acquitter en quelque manière en vous donnant Colbert."

"Il faut quitter tout cela!"

"Est-il heureux?"

"Ils chantent, ils payeront."

"Le temps et moi."

"Ah! sainte Vierge, ayez pitié de moi et recevez mon âme."

"The Word of God has not penetrated deeply enough in the heart and mind of many of our Christians: they still have not managed to completely change their mentality: their culture has not been purified by the Word of God. Very often they are incapable of finding a solution to their problems and still turn, rather too easily, to the old customs."

"A name is not just a sound, it has a profound meaning. The problem is they do not think about what they are doing."

"I think I can say that living in the Divine Will is to walk precisely in this direction: to enter into intimacy with the Lord Jesus in the shadow of God's presence, allowing Jesus to accompany us and living our life with Him in every aspect. And so, it is not a question of doing the Divine Will in the sense of a purely material execution, as servants, but of living in It as children and letting ourselves be embraced by the love of God."

"The instruments are not political, they are the Christian virtues, in the first place fraternal charity. This is the principle which I have always tried to follow in my work in Russia, the attempt to increase a mutual understanding and respect that are born from the common Christian vocation."

"If Christians in Portugal keep their love for Our Lady strong, I believe that it will also keep their faith alive, which will bring them directly to Jesus."