Catholics From Brazil

"In the work of evangelisation it is necessary to keep in mind that many university students are attracted to science and technology and they have the right to be taught the fundamentals of faith so they realise there is no opposition between faith and reason."

"The entire life of the people and of the ecclesial missionary communities, such as pastoral work and missionary work, are entirely animated by the power of the Word of God."

"Given the dramatic situation in Ukraine, with this war that has brought pain and death to the Ukrainian people, we are touched here in Brazil, especially in Paraná. The pain of the Ukrainian people is our pain. This is the time when we must reach out, offering, in addition our precious prayers, the humanitarian aid they need."

"Many people ask themselves: why did it happen? What is the meaning? Does it make sense? Is there an answer? After days of prayer and meditation on God's Word, we understand that an answer will always be partial and possible only starting from our faith. So we ask Catholics and all people of good will to remain firm in faith, to defend the values, proposing a culture of peace and harmony"

"Of course, we intend to accept the worries of Rome that it is necessary to avoid risks, but I don't think that we will change anything of substance in our pastoral programme, which is illuminated by the Gospel, the magisterium and our experience as pastors with the people."

"They are always watching out for me, asking me if I need help. I feel protected by them."

"I always lived with them, and I was always struck by the violence of the authorities toward the poor."

"We hope to show that Bishop Expedito was a martyr in defense of morality, since as a martyr there is no need for a miracle for beatification, the final step to canonization."

"We have the obligation to accompany the evolution of communications media with a reasonable optimism. We cannot arrive late because others will occupy the vacant seats."

"The territory is more than the land itself, a relationship that is built where you live, where their ancestors lived, where they grew up and where families are formed."

"Youths, it would seem, (a majority of them) have not let themselves be drawn by the theanthropic values of the Gospel. The most open path is directed towards goodness as welcome, comprehension and empathy. Goodness will be for them (as for many others) an efficacious sign to conquer them for the noble causes of today's society."

"I take with me in my heart this learning, in the confidence and assurance that this work is from God, and I place myself at the disposal of the Holy Mother church to serve her no matter the place and ministry entrusted to me by God from now on."

"You don't kill life inside the mother. This is the time for Blessed Gianna Beretta Molla to intercede for the life you are carrying."

"The time for your canonization has arrived. Intercede to the Lord for the grace of a miracle and save the life of this little baby."

"Politics are not only elections. Politics are also citizenship."

"The faithful have the right to full communion with the Church of Christ. Without this protection offered to the pastors against divisions and without the protection offered to the faithful against negligent Pastors, the Pope would go against his basic duty of confirming his brethren."

"We must strive to be a Church capable of listening to the religious expressions of the communities, of welcoming the religious richness of the rituals of the people, of offering opportunities for commissioning ministries, of perceiving the presence of God in the way of living in harmony with everything and everyone."

"So we need to keep growing in our relationship with the one who calls us. So to be with him more, the Lord Jesus, where he is, is the Eucharist, the Word proclaimed, with one another. This is the time for all of us to be one body. Is the time for the laity to take the lead with us clergy to serve the Church and God in our neighbors, to go out of our doors, to widen our tents."

"With great joy we shall go to serve without fear, because the reason, and our goal, is Jesus Christ."

"The Church has no intention of getting involved in politics, nor does she aspire to participate in the administration of temporal affairs. Her specific contribution will be that of strengthening the spiritual and moral foundation of society, making it possible that all activity in the area of the common good take place in conformity and in tune with the directives and requirements of human and Christian ethics."

"Witness to the presence of God in the world to counter groups and strong forces which openly try to destroy the idea of Jesus Christ in the world."

"The first factor in determining one's vote is the position that the candidate takes on the value of the human person. Many candidates, in spite of the laws, continue taking advantage of the needs of the people in order to obtain votes. Because of this we can barely say we live in a democracy."

"The election of a Pope is an act of faith, not a political act. Therefore whoever is elected is the Vicar of Christ, since we know in faith that Christ Jesus in person leads his Church."

"The missionary dimension of the Church is the fruit of love for Christ. America has been blessed with ardent missionaries who gave us the Christian faith, and even today they choose the poorest and needy areas."

"Personal and intellectual qualities are not guarantees of being the right person to take on the guidance of a flock. The episcopate is a grace that must be lived pastorally. It cannot be conferred as a prize or as confirmation or as a political function."

"In the tasks in which he consumed his life, Monsignor Luciano always maintained the same way of proceeding, which made him loved and admired by all those who knew him: softly spoken, firm in principles, strong in action. It is thus that we want to remember him."

"Today's world calls for new attitudes, new ways of life - more responsible, aware, and egalitarian. We need more communion and more dialogue. By affecting us regardless of political, territorial, racial, ethnic and religious boundaries, climate change unites the world through shared suffering. In order to fight it, we need to keep united and to transform this union into an action that is collective, global, and shared, involving all strata of society all around the world."

"We cannot accommodate and continue allowing economic interests that seek exorbitant profits before the well-being of people, to destroy biodiversity and ecosystems, nor continue dictating our energy model based on fossil fuels. We know that Brazil has abundant resources of clean and renewable energy that do no harm to our common home. Therefore, I believe that the proposal to turn the Diocese of Umuarama into low-carbon is a practical way to achieve what Laudato si' calls for."

"Together with those who declare their membership of other religions there are also more people who do not practice any religion. It is a matter of individualism and subjectivism. This complex situation requires a differentiated, complete pastoral response."

"The process towards worldliness, in great part fruit of urban, modern, and post-modern culture, which afflicts the family today, profoundly weakens fundamental family values, as, with respect to life, matrimonial indissolubility, conjugal fidelity, and religious education of children."

"Secularization should not scare us, but must be an opportunity for witnessing and proclaiming the Faith. Secularization is a field of evangelization"

"These applications would bring misunderstanding and scandal. Our diocese is not in a position to apply these suggestions."

"When you meet God it's like finding a treasure, you bet everything. How much we have changed in our lives because of our faith and our faith makes us bet everything"

"I hope many other initiatives will help us fight with the most powerful weapons we have: prayer, penance, fasting, charity, which are the weapons of Lent and which can help us overcome this challenge."

"As we live at a hectic pace and often our prayer time takes a back seat, I took the initiative to call on the Brazilian people to unite in prayer."

"Being a deacon is a spiritual configuration to Jesus who is the servant of all and who wants to remain present in his family, which is the Church. His body that extends in society, his mystical body that walks in history, grows in history, a body of which He is the head and of which we are its living members. Love is the cement that unites all these living stones so that we may be God's dwelling place."

"I would like to call attention to the serious situation of the Continent in the southern hemisphere. The North must take account of the globalization of the neo-liberal system which is emarginating millions and millions of poor brethren of Latin America. We need not only to fight the facts but also struggle to overcome the deadly system of capitalism in its present terrible phase which is economic neo-liberalism."

"Catechesis is a path, a discipleship, a meeting that lasts through the years. But the Lord is never outdone in generosity."

"Catechist, with great gratitude and affection, I want to tell you that one day the Lord Jesus will give you a big hug, a big hug of gratitude for having accepted and dedicated time and intelligence, affection and creativity, everything so that the name of the Lord Jesus be understood and loved. May the Lord multiply the blessings for you, dear catechists, for the blessing they are for the Church."

"We went there to tell him that we acknowledged his religious authority and that we did not have the intention to depart from the church. We wanted to reconcile, and that is what we did. The charge was connected to the alleged offense to the church. But now, if the church states that it is not offended, the charge is senseless."

"Can I say that this robe is going to lead to salvation? No, but this piece of clothing here can help me to perceive the imperceptible to see the invisible."

"When the people suffer, the Church suffers too."

"One of the great tasks of the Church in this century will be the proclamation of an integral anthropology. There are many anthropological reductionisms which have repercussions in lethal practices."

"The meeting with Jesus Christ must be personal. In compliance with the economy for salvation, people should therefore meet God in the community, in the Church, and in particular when the Church meets during a Liturgical Assembly. This meeting with Jesus Christ - in the life of each person - is celebrated in the Liturgy, where it reaches its peak and profundity."

"I became a pastor, close to the people, cheerful, someone who welcomes. I will be bold: I have a lot still to win, but my ticket in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal caused me to be a little more of Jesus. It was a lever that pushed me forward I want to be increasingly Jesus to the people, because this need is not of me but of Jesus; people need Jesus in me."

"In truth, I left the Congregation only canonically, but my heart has always been that of a Salesian and my way of being is always that of a Salesian - so much so that today we are part of the Salesian Family and we are resolved to be really Salesian."

"Communion is our horizon and our dream. We want to overcome any spirit of competition and open our frontiers to bear witness to what we have seen, heard, organising missionary activity in our Church. We reject anything which closes us in small horizons."

"Dialogue presupposes that I am truly very convinced of what I believe, but that I respect that which the other believes."

"Information is power. In pyramids, power is concentrated, so also information, which is hidden or kept to be used at the right time, with a view to accumulating and concentrating more power. In networks, power is deconcentrated, and so is information, which is distributed and disseminated so that everyone has access to the power that their possession represents."

"If democracy appears to be the best system for achieving good for all, it is not exempt from faults. The reason is the fragileness itself of human nature. Because of this, vice and corruption are possible even in elections. Our democracy should always be getting more perfect, for the dignity and good of all Brazilians."