Catholics From Italy

"Evangelization will not be fruitful, unless we involve the local Christians."

"The migration phenomenon presents the Church both at departure and arrival with challenges and opportunities. The challenge is in offering in the name of Christ respect, welcome, assistance and protection to the new comer. Opportunity lies in human and Christian wealth which the new comer brings along and in the possibility of evangelizing the new comer."

"Missionaries, also from the human viewpoint, have been excellent people... but neither brilliance nor prudence, nor courage have made them great in our eyes and the eyes of God. They have been great, they have saved many souls, they have founded Churches, mainly because they were holy men, that is, spiritual men. This is the secret, the soul of their zeal, their perseverance and their success; this is the solemn teaching they have handed down to us and which I love to remind you of."

"The missionary zeal that consumed the Blessed Paolo Manna, and from which sprang the Pontifical Missionary Union, still continues today to inflame, excite, renew, rethink and reform the service that this work is called to offer to the whole Church."

"Everyone has access to the congregation. Anyone who is baptized has a right to turn to the Holy See, and we make no distinction between left and right, big or small. It is important that every Christian know there is an authority to whom he can turn, obviously, we must discern what we hear."

"Being mutally open to one another allows us to understand and appreciate one another, because authentic love, inspired by God, cannot fail to generate in the hearts of all of us the desire for mutual help, despite the differences that can characterize us."

"The central nucleus of a nativity scene calls for a child in swaddling clothes to be placed in a manger, and this must be respected. The most important part of the crib cannot be represented by a boat. I'm not saying a crib cannot be enriched by other elements, and certainly, a boat is a symbol that reminds us of the need for hospitality, but don't forget that Jesus is the saviour of all problems, not just one."

"I greet your Pastor, Bishop Ernesto Vecchi, and I thank him for the words which he addressed to me, and especially for the service that he renders to the Church of Terni-Narni-Amelia. It is a service he is offering at a time of his life when he has the right to rest, and rather than resting he continues to work: thank you, Bishop Vecchi, thank you very much!"

"He was not one of your sons, you hardly knew him, he spoke only a few words of your language...why have you come to his funeral? This is the power of the faith, this is what it means to be Christians."

"We welcome the news that the Holy Father will be in Prato with great joy. Our whole diocese is celebrating this event, which will mark our history: Peter will truly visit out Church and confirm us in the faith."

"The Catholic Church in Ireland which has – in the course of its history and in the spiritual footsteps of its great missionary "Father in the Faith" and in nationhood, St. Patrick – taken the message of Pentecost to heart and zealously spread the Good News of salvation at home and abroad. The Church in Ireland, which counts among its sons and daughters an abundant blossoming of saints – some of whom have paid the ultimate price for their fidelity to Christ."

"The proof of holiness for the Church is precisely small actions performed each day. The holiness of the "saints next door" is that lived every day by Christians who, in every part of the world, bear witness to Jesus' love and risk their own lives without ever taking into account their own particular interests."

"I would dare to say that the Holy Land is the place where Christian communities are closest to unity. I would say that in the Holy Land we speak less about the theory of ecumenism and instead practice unity much more."

"St Ignatius' precept was the ideal which inspired the late Cardinal's whole life in his faithful, caring, intelligent and prudent, generous and impartial outlook. He knew of the faults that existed in the Church and in her men, but with caring dedication, full of love and faith, he helped to alleviate their effects, working for the authentic renewal of the Church."

"It would be better to take below-market rents than to refuse to give a hand to those who can't make alternative arrangements."

"Father General was in full agreement with the line indicated by the Council, precisely in the challenging effort to reconcile what is enduring, and therefore unchangeable, in the charism of the Society with the demands of the current situation in the life of the Church and of the world. This is a difficult and delicate task and it is no wonder that in so many areas there was a difference of opinion."

"I experienced minute by minute the dramatic crescendo of problems in the situation and the workload on doctors, nurses and all the staff. It is an absurd Lent, but in a certain sense perfect. Jesus is in the desert for forty days, fighting with the devil. Lent is not about the beauty of custom, but the profound mystery of the evil, death and despair that exist. But also of the Lord who is there. We must recognize His presence."

"Among those stones, which witnessed the incarnation of the Son of God, that intuition was born in Chiara from which infinite horizons would open, which hope to be enlarged and realized by all who have received her legacy."

"The increasingly tired and rhetorical rituals of official commemorations that follow one another from year to year, instead of helping to make remembrance, fuel the molasses effect. Putting everything on the hagiography of the heroic anti-Mafia judge and nothing on those details of his last days of life that, taken one by one, say nothing. But which composed in the chronological mosaic help to understand much, if not everything. Namely, the political-terrorist nature of the Via D'Amelio massacre, with the peculiarities that distinguish it from that of Capaci in spite of the close consecutio temporum, and project it rather on what will happen many months later: the spring-summer 1993 bombs in Milan, Florence and Rome, and then the pax mafiosa that began with the failed (indeed, revoked) bombing of the capital's Olympic stadium, coinciding with the descent into the political arena of Silvio Berlusconi and Marcello Dell'Utri, and continuing to the present day."

"Migrants are human ammunition used in a war bigger than us and them."

"The Constitution of the Italian Republic is far more advanced than Italy and us Italians: it is a smoking worn by a pig."

"A courageous dissident beyond xenophobic and fascist ideas, which in Italy would have landed him in jail for incitement to racism under the Mancino law."

"Personally, I am not prejudicially against wars, as long as wars have international legality, as long as they have an objective, this objective is verified, as long as they are the last resort, and above all as long as we do not play with words, that is, we do not fool people."

"The Gospel is always answer and light for everyday human problems, and one of them consists precisely in the excessive disparity between poor and rich who come across each other in very concrete situations in life and society. We Christians cannot be neutral spectators of the needs and of the poverty of others."

"We need to find a way that people who die are accompanied, but we’re also thinking of the trauma of someone who not only loses a loved one but wasn’t able to be close to them, for reasons of health precautions, but wasn’t able to accompany them after death. It's as if they died almost invisible. The pain in families is enormous, and as the Church we need to respond in whatever way we can."

"The Church in Cameroon is alive, with a notable religious fervor."

"In Paraguay, the social and political scenery remains delicate. It is necessary to work to ensure respect for the common good and the defense of ethics. Pastors are committed to accompanying the Paraguayan people and promoting dialogue for the common good."

"I tried to do my duty and, thanks be to God, I never found myself in danger. Ah, yes, I did it with pleasure, because it was a right thing, and if I had to start over I'd do the same."

"A diplomat's duty is to report to the nation or the state that sends you out, and not to journalists."

"I like to think, especially during these days when the whole Church is as it were focused on the Eucharistic mystery, that precisely there, on the altar, Cardinal Caprio's life and ministry - the various posts to which the diplomatic service of the Holy See took him - would have found their deepest point of convergence."

"Those with goodwill will believe us anyway, while the malicious will not believe us even if we publish the figures."

"Obviously, as the FMA, we have in our DNA attention to women, young women, and to work, because there is no discrimination and because there has been what was perhaps a word most used in the past: empowerment. So I felt I was on a mission in a certain sense, to bring my skills and "do my bit for Italy", which is perfectly in line with our FMA mission. And then it’s exciting to somehow bring Mary’s presence into a group that wants to work for rebirth."

"May you encounter a Church that is not only an institution, an institution to be defended, to be protected, which you have wisely done for 500 years now, but also a community, a believing community which has met the living and true Christ, which loves him, and intends to serve him in everyday life."

"The Church well knows that its purpose through the centuries of its existence amidst various societies, persons and cultures, was none other than the salvation of men and women and the construction of the city of God, as willed by its founder, Jesus Christ."

"For Benedict XVI, who with wide eyes and joyous heart climbed as a boy up to the sanctuary of Altötting, the Virgin Mary represents the achieved figure of his personality and his existence. In the Annunciation the Immaculate pronounced the fiat that was to unfold all its strength in the stabat of Calvary and was to find full accomplishment in the mystery of the Assumption. Mary, in fact, tells us all there is to know about cooperating in consent."

"The Church is there and will not go away, because its people are there. The mission of priests has become very difficult, but their job is vital, and God is with his Church."

"I believe that we must remember that the strong points are born from on High, from the strength of God, from our faith in Him, from our service, from our word and from the grace of God. The weaknesses belong to the human and, therefore, also to the Church, which is made up of concrete persons, who are also sinners; they are born from that which we do not succeed in living in completeness and fullness."

"I'd like a church immersed in history, expert about humanity. A church like a mother, welcoming and forgiving, that doesn't want to proselytize but to evangelize, by telling people the beauty of God in a credible and fresh way."

"Let us rest our dead with dignity and in peace while we await the resurrection, waiting to be able to embrace each other again in eternal life."

"The election of John XXIII to the papacy has had varied and reliable interpretations, not always free of objections. Undoubtedly those who believe in the aid of the Holy Spirit, are not surprised by anything, least of all by the age of the man called, and often they rejoice; but even those who hesitate, biased by a reductive vision of the divine reality of the Church, are convinced that that election honored a biblical man."

"We want to bring some ethics back into the game, which has been undergoing a grave crisis in terms of sportsmanship."

"As a bishop, the things I would like to emulate about him are his ability to dialogue."

"There are two ways to approach Jesus: with the approach of "the wise" who doubt his words, or with that of simple people, who give witness to the miracles of Christ and have eyes to see the Awaited."

"I bring the Pope's greetings, his Apostolic Blessing and his fervent wish that your nation continues to move forward in peace and stability, on a path of development that may become a model of unity and progress with respect for human rights and the environment whereby all its people can prosper and even the most vulnerable will not suffer marginalization or neglect. And all by remaining faithful in spite of great hardships - to its humane ideals."

"The Christian cannot be pessimistic because Christ is Risen and Alive; He is God, as opposed to all other prophets or those calling themselves such. The final victory will be Christ's, but God's times may be long, and often are. He is patient and waits for the conversion of sinners: in the meantime He invites the Church to organize herself and to work to quicken the coming of His Kingdom."

"Without doctrine we cannot walk a path. To walk a path one must always know if we are going towards the destination, and if our steps are the right ones, for reaching the destination."

"It is essential to emphasize that the Sacrament of Reconciliation, being an act of worship, cannot and must not be confused with a psychological session or a form of counseling. As a sacramental act, this sacrament must be protected in the name of religious freedom and any interference must be considered illegitimate and harmful to the rights of conscience."

"Two years of pontificate have amply demonstrated that the expectations of the Christian people have not only not been disappointed, but that Benedict XVI's Magisterium, rich in light, and his ministry, fruitful with grace, have opened new horizons of hope not only for the Church but for all mankind."

"The Holy See's participation in FAO and the reason its action is a priority, must be linked to the vast presence of the Apostolic See in multilateral diplomatic activity, in the desire to affirm the fundamental value of human coexistence. Respect for man's dignity is made concrete by ensuring that each person is guaranteed the right to food security. And, to accomplish this, not only is technical action needed, but also a vision open to sharing, and even more so to concrete solidarity."

"I got to know Poland, its history and culture, and above all the faith of the Poles, and it immediately made a good impression on me."