Cardinals

"I do not see anything bad here. It is legitimate in terms of doctrine to turn to the pope and express an opinion – and it is also just that he would respond."

"The troublemakers in Hungary are the Jews… they demoralize our country and they are the leaders of the revolutionary gang that is torturing Hungary."

"We thought that we are on the way to democracy, to freedom. But again, now, it collapsed again to the military and we have no right to speak about human rights and we have practically no dialogue."

"I am fully convinced that in the person of the new Pope we have: a man of faith, a man of the Church, a man who feels with the Church. I ask everyone to pray for the new Pope, because he is God’s gift to the Church. Undoubtedly the election of the new Pope is a moment of great hope for all the members of the Church and for all who, while not members, appreciate the work of the Church."

"God dwells In a Holy House. Faith is growing. Nothing deters the people. Their love for Christ and Church increases."

"We must do what is possible to involve the Lutheran Church and the evangelical communities in the common work of rendering Christ and his message alive for the greatest possible number of people in Sweden."

"Q: You were 20 years old when you converted to Catholicism. What brought about your conversion? A: In my childhood, I had contact with several Catholics. I wanted to find out about their faith. After a year and a half of religious instruction, I could finally say with joy, “Truth has been given to me…"

"Those who become Catholics really want to find the Truth, because relativism is very strong in Sweden. They no longer know what is true or what is not true, what is good and what is not good. The Catholic Church has kept its Tradition since the origins of Christianity, and that too is very important to many people. The universal and timeless nature of the Church is very attractive."

"I talk with people who don't practice: I pray for them and hope they figure it out. They're not going to live forever. They'll meet their Maker. I hope they don't miss out on that adventure of knowing Jesus in person, coming to know him as someone who not just loves you as a disciple, but is totally invested in you, who died for you, and doesn't want you to waste your life but wants you to lose your life in something good."

"I have served the little Church in Brunei, and I can do the same for the Church in Asia. We always have to remember that we are called to be people who have received the incredible invitation to be the Lord's flock, to be part of His mission. Always small, humble, but dedicated to continue and carry it out."

"In a real sense the local parish and church should be the extended family for our children where they continue to feel they belong and are accepted and loved. To this end I would propose that we make our church environments child-friendly rather than child proof them as so often happens. Children are not simply to be tolerated as a necessary evil, they must be made positively welcome. Children must feel they own the church as much as we do."

"Every week, since the Supreme Court's decisions of January 22, 1973, there have been as many deaths from abortion as there were deaths at Nagasaki as a result of the atomic bomb. Every nine days there are as many deaths from abortion as there were American deaths in the 10 years of the Vietnam war."

"We ask special blessings for those men and women who in sincerity and honesty have been leaders in the struggle for justice and harmony among races. As Moses of old, they have gone before their people to a land of promise. Let that promise quickly become a reality, so that the ideals of freedom, blessed alike by our religious faith and our heritage of democracy, will prevail in our land."

"First, I'd like them to say that he was always loyal to his church. Second, that he was a friend to Catholic education. And third, if they don't want to say the first two, at least I hope they would chisel on the stone, 'He served the poor."

"We shelter the homeless, educate those hungry for knowledge, and care for the sick not because they are Catholic, but because we are Catholic. They are Jesus in disguise."

"In the years remaining for me, I shall strive to be a caring pastor, a faithful teacher, a loving father and brother and a true servant of the people of God in the District of Columbia and the five counties of Maryland. I am truly honored, very humbled and deeply grateful that our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, has chosen me to serve as a cardinal of the church."

"We are very proud of our priests. Of course we would need more of them. Most priests have more than one parish to care for but they are very dedicated and zealous. Our priests are poor and a life of poverty is a good means of witness."

"It is better to die of hunger than to receive aid and be compelled to do things that are contrary to God's desire."

"Life for refugees is not easy, that fact should be told."

"We have the big challenge of poverty; I mean material poverty. It is a country of tremendous historical riches and values since the time of the apostolic age; peaceful coexistence among the different religions like Christianity with Muslims, and so on. These are great riches which Ethiopia can share with many parts of Africa and the world."

"It’s important for us to think both about living healthy lives and promoting fraternity. Peace and sports can go together because sports teach us to be united. In his message to the world before the World Cup, Pope Francis said nobody should be alone in sports or in life. On a bigger scale, for our world to be a better place, countries also need to be united."

"I know that without some fervour in the love of Christ, religion cannot be to you savoury, nor any work of goodness can be delectable, but every virtuous deed shall seem laborious and painful. For love maketh every work appear easy and pleasant, though it be right displeasant of itself. And contrariwise right easy labour appeareth grievous and painful, when the soul of the person that doeth the deed hath no desire nor love in doing of it. This thing may well appear by the life of hunters, the which out of doubt is more laborious and painful than is the life of religious persons, and yet nothing sustaineth them in their labour and pains but the earnest love and hearty desire to find their game."

"It is up to us Christians to announce that man needs God to have meaning for his life and for eternal life, without the illumination that comes from the cross of Christ, we would not be able to resolve the inner issues of our hearts."

"We must be pastors near the people. Support with love and patience the steps taken by God in his people."

"It is time to face conflicts with courage and transparency. Only through authentic encounter with the other can the spark of fraternity emerge in our common home, which God, made love, has entrusted to us. by walking together, despite our differences, we can be true witnesses of peace. Let us not limit ourselves to dreaming about it: let us build it with concrete actions of reconciliation and unity."

"This is Nigeria. Whatever happens there; it is still the universal Church. It pains me. We are all the same body of Christ. It pains me. It shouldn’t be …but I am here in Nigeria and I can speak of Nigeria. If any stupid priest or bishop in Nigeria feels he wants to copy the American model, then there is something wrong with his head."

"I agree such incidents can happen in a big country... But how do you evaluate the strength and stand of the government? It is the subsequent action and the legal protection are what matter. The country is being divided on the basis of religious belief. It is bad in a democratic country. I want my country to be united in a secular fabric. But now, this country is being polarised due to religious affiliations. We should fight against it"

"وقال رئيس أساقفة طهران للاتين الكاردينال دومينيك ماتيو عبر "آسي مينا": "لتتوقف الأسلحة، ولتَعِش القلوب بسلامٍ وعدالةٍ وطمأنينة، وفق ما يريد اللهلأبنائه". (Let the weapons stop, and let hearts live in peace, justice and tranquility, as God wants for his children.)"

"I would tell Catholics in the West and in the world: Show them your fraternal attention and pray to God for their intentions; finally, contact and bond with them as much as possible."

"We take advantage of this grace that the Lord offers us to correct the failures of our national life. Even if the churches are full of faithful, it is certain that faith is not yet well rooted. The deepening of the faith is insufficient."

"If we were truly Christians, we would not be where we are. How deep is our faith in reality? Numbers are a good thing, but not the most important. If we profess the faith, but the next day set upon our neighbor, and if we take no interest in other people's lives—then we are not fully living our faith."

"Ultimately there's one judgement that’s supremely important and that's before the good God when you die. Now if I had thought that death was the end of everything, that the ultimately important thing was my earthly reputation, well obviously my approach would have been different."

"We live in difficult times, marked by suffering and disease. We are still in the midst of a pandemic. Good Friday seems to continue, but we know that it will not be greater than the day of the resurrection. The cross, the suffering and the disease surrounding us must be lived in Christ, so that they become precious signs of grace and blessing."

"There must be a line, an order, to intimidate the church, to lower its discourse, to be silent. The government's retaliation against the declarations of the Conference is intimidation. We locate the root of such a tough crisis in the application of a failed political system they called 21st century socialism."

"They see us as an enemy. They accuse us of being ideological, but all we do is to describe the situation of Venezuela as it is. We don't invent. We only report what is happening. Such a dramatic situation hadn’t occurred in years: we are without food and without medicine. To put it loud and clear: starving the population is part of a specific strategy, as in many parts of the world. It's the only way they have to keep the people at bay."

"The people who have devoted their money and blood to the charitable work of colonization, in turn, have the right, in case of need, to count on the support of the natives in defending the motherland, and to respond to that call, the colonial subjects do nothing but protect the material and cultural civilization, which they share with their patrons and educators. Which is their duty."

"In spite of the mistakes and crimes that mark its origin, colonization has in the end brought more than disadvantages to the subjugated peoples. It has banned Canibalism, slavery, human sacrifice and the tyranny of barbarian potentates, a relative prosperity has replaced the horrible misery in which bodies withered and souls degenerate. No doubt one generation had to pay dearly for the institution of the foreign guardianship; but a longer series of generations have been able to reap the benefits of the renewed policies that have come into effect as a result."

"The creator who distributed the goods of the earth among the regions and peoples of the earth, has therefore made them no less in the service of all mankind. The plan of providence is to be worshiped, and the discerning human groups have no right to assume that the benefits and riches offered by the regions inhabited by them are solely for themselves. A unified and fruitful division of labor must therefore be practiced between the nations, making the resources of each region available to all members of humanity. The divine plan is disregarded, humanity is robbed of its future, when, through inability to carelessness or indolence, the backward peoples fail to exploit the treasures of their soil. As long as nobody has been set up with the task of remedying this disorder, every state, provided it has the will and means, has the right to assume this task and, if necessary, to deprive the native governments of the rights which it appears to have made common. welfare of all peoples."

"Cardinal Pizzaballa: The truce must hold, and everything must be done to ensure that it does. There are those who are working against it, we know that, but we must try not to give them any space. The agreement is the same as it was months ago. I believe it has been reached now because perhaps the human and international political conditions have matured. The important thing now, however, is to turn the page immediately and start dealing with the extremely serious humanitarian situation in Gaza."

"We are made of flesh and bones, we need to experience, to touch, to see, to feel. Christianity is not spirituality, it is mysticism. Mysticism means experiencing, touching. The Shroud is a bit like the Sacraments, a kind of Sacrament. The Sacraments are a sign of an experience, of an encounter with Christ. And so it is with the Shroud. First of all, the Shroud immediately takes you back, with its image, with its reality, to two thousand years ago; and then it introduces you to that experience of resurrection and encounter with the Risen One: the Risen One who is present. Only you need to feel this presence, to touch it, and the Shroud introduces you to this experience."

"It is objectively an intolerable situation. We have always had many problems of all kinds, and the economic and financial situation has always been very fragile, but there has never been hunger. This is the first time we have had to deal with hunger. This is intolerable."

"A bishop cannot lead his flock without the collaboration of his priests, the religious and the faithful. He would not be a good shepherd. Today you are all with me, though not as numerous as we wished. But I know from different parts of the diocese and the world, many faithful and pilgrims of our and other diocese, are close to us in prayer, and it is in this spirit that we find ourselves as Church – the Mother Church of Jerusalem."

"After this crisis, one of the most serious of the last 70 years, neither Israelis nor Palestinians will be willing to seek temporary solutions. These events will force everyone to find stable solutions. [Two peoples, two states?] I don't know. Technically it seems difficult to me, even if it would be the only possible way. It is clear that whatever you choose to do will have to guarantee stability and freedom for both peoples."

"I consider myself neither a progressive nor a traditionalist. We must follow the Church's teaching on the teaching function of the Pope, the College of Bishops and the Second Vatican Council. The Pope's pronouncements as head of the Church concern faith and morals — and not other matters, such as political issues."

"Our main task was and remains pastoral care and evangelization. Here, too, we should be well aware that society is in constant motion and that we must reflect on our activities in order to be on the level of time. We cannot offer formulas to today's man. We must do evangelism in a spirit of deep humility and an invitation to dialogue. Let's discuss, let's talk, let's look. The principles of the Gospel that we proclaim are also the principles of our civilization, which grew out of ancient Jewish heritage, but which was also enriched by Germanic, Celtic and Slavic influence. The new technologies -- microphones, phones, televisions, the internet and others that today's times have to offer -- must be used, but also with caution. Let us not encourage propaganda and ultimate expressions. These are just elements of the time that we need to address society so that it can somehow understand us. The new is not the essence, but the approach in reality is. In a secularized society, we then face the question of how, on the one hand, not to sell off all the values we have and, on the other hand, not to close ourselves and say that culture ended in the 17th or 18th century. We are in the 21st century, in the middle of globalization. And so not only the Catholic Church but also the whole Christian world has to rethink how to share the message of Christ to the future generations. At the same time, we should also realize that Christianity is not a declining religion. This may seem to be reality to us in Europe, but it is not the reality worldwide, as the number of Christians has almost doubled in the last century."

"We Christians believe in a sensitive God: He hears the groaning of the oppressed and listens to the widow’s plea; He suffers with and for humanity, we want to believe that consecrated life, with its many charisms, is the very expression of this sensitivity."

"There were two conclave, the one of the cardinals and the one of the media. I participated in the first one...I knew before I left for Rome that I would return. There was a very quick and very clear consensus among the cardinals on the choice to be made. I assured him [Pope Leo XIV] of obedience, closeness in prayer, loyalty and the will to work together for the Church in the world and in the Holy Land."

"This is not the first time we have a conflict in the Holy Land. But this conflict has had an impact like no other. There is a clear ‘before’ and ‘after’, October 7, 2023, even if we struggle to define and understand what this ‘after’ is. The emotional, economic, psychological, human impact has been enormous on both populations, Israeli and Palestinian. For the Israeli population, it was a huge shock. Israel was founded as the home where Jews are safe, and suddenly that no longer seemed true. The hostage issue is the most crucial point for Israel. We are seeing protests continuing all over the country. Israelis are divided on many things, but they all agree on one: the hostage issue. It is a huge issue. Even for the Palestinians, what happened after October 7, in Gaza but also in the West Bank, was an incredible shock. I would say this is true for the Arab population in general. We are dealing with fear and feelings of hatred and resentment that, in these proportions, had never been seen before. We also have to consider the economic impact that the war is having on social life: part of the Palestinian population has lost their jobs, but even in Israel the situation is not easy ­– just think that there are no more pilgrimages. People who were working have been called to arms. Life is difficult. There is a deep sense of distrust that permeates society at all levels. It will be very difficult to rebuild trust after all this, partly because we cannot see what come next, when it will all end."

"First of all, an Oblate has to be an Oblate. I mean he has to be an Oblate in the true sense of the word. In a French encyclopedia in the late 19th century the Oblates were defined as “Jésuites des campagnes” or the “countryside Jesuits”. They go to the peripheries. I think that is their characteristic. For example, I saw in Thailand how much the Oblates are reaching out to the poor; the poor that others neglect. That is your identity. That is why I said, an Oblate should be an Oblate."

"Christ has infinite patience with us. When we have doubts and fears, He never stops reaching out to us with his love. He wants us to love Him back, he wants us to trust him completely. We sometimes lack faith because the realities of the world press in on us: a financial situation, a job situation, a difficulty in the family, and other factors. When these concerns cloud our hearts, we begin to lose the clear vision of faith that frees us. Trust Christ! Have faith! Do not be afraid to trust Christ completely, offering Him your worries and fears, your joys and hopes. Jesus, I trust in you! This is the great exclamation of the Church. It is only through trust that you will begin to experience the depths of Christ's love for you. And when you begin to experience this love, deeply and profoundly in your lives, you cannot help but see the world around you differently."