"We all want the good of the country, we all want to develop the country and all Ecuadorians want to have a good life and support each other. So, I think that dialogue is the key to resolving the disputes. All I know is what I have to do. I am the father of all and children must be invoked to reconciliation, dialogue, and development."

"Our first appeal has always been for dialogue and peace. And the appeal to all parties involved—from the government to social and indigenous organizations and civil society as a whole—is understood as a mission at the service of these people."

"Closeness makes sharing possible for authorities with our people, particularly the most vulnerable. Listening allows us to discover how people live, want and expect; and not exactly just what we like to hear. Service is the guiding principle of every project and social, political or economic program."

"Don't be fooled and distracted by the things that steer you away from your faith."

"Corruption violates God's commandment "Thou shalt not steal." It violates the good name and the rights of individuals and harms public resources - which should benefit everyone - and blocks the integral development of peoples. The Church in America is called upon to denounce corruption and promote integrity by word and by example, to proclaim the value of the beatitudes, to recall the teachings of Christ, conversion, justice, solidarity, honesty and integrity."

"We can believe in the transforming action of community prayer: by this we confess and worship the living God. However, can we group together one praying America? It is difficult for us to hope due to: poverty, injustice, divisions and marginalization, communication deceit and oppression. It would be best to create forms of communication and foster exchange which could help us to grow together and keep a constant dialogue."

"In order to see that the Parish becomes the place of encounter between Christ and our brethren we must put into practice the commitment undertaken in Medellin, Puebla and Santo Domingo, of converting the Parish into a community of small communities and movements. In this way the Pastor becomes a stimulator of the lay leaders and a catechist of the catechists so that all those baptized - adults and children - can become living and responsible members."

"We must work for this. Our God is the God of life and life is his gift. In no way can we be among those who work for death, on the contrary we must work for life. The Congress was a call to all men and women to remember we are loved by God and we must love him in return."

"The mission of the Church is the one given to her by Christ: to be a force for evangelization and leaven for the building of a Christian community as well as leaven for national unity."

"An effective experience of solidarity among the countries of America will overcome injustices and economic inequalities."

"We pastors encourage the faithful to discover all the beauty that receiving the sacrament of matrimony means. We're not going to find the strength for marriage in the media or on television, but in the grace of God which comes to us through the sacraments."

"What is my testimony, as a good Catholic? To see that, God chose a Latin American brother to look after His Church. The same Latin America that follows the Lord devoutly and now fixes its eyes on Europe, as once Europe reached out to the Americas. So we're not just proud of having a Latin American Pope: we're proud because we can say that Latin America is living more deeply the Catholic faith."

"It is not only an intellectual proposal, but connection with a divine life that helps to overcome our weaknesses and the darkness of our lives, to rise the summit where we see the Lord, where we see Him glorious and risen and we are filled with joy, where we find the meaning of our existence."