Background Image

...

Euthanasia And Assisted Suicide Are Never Acceptable Acts Of Mercy. They Always Gravely Exploit The Suffering And Desperate, Extinguishing Life In The Name Of The 'quality Of Life' Itself.

-Pope John Paul II

...

Please Wait....
Translating....

Euthanasia And Assisted Suicide

Pope John Paul II

...

Euthanasia And Assisted Suicide Are Never Acceptable Acts Of Mercy. They Always Gravely Exploit The Suffering And Desperate, Extinguishing Life In The Name Of The 'quality Of Life' Itself.

Views: 5

Topic

More From Pope John Paul II

Every Scientist, Through Personal Study And Research, Completes Himself And His Own Humanity. ... Scientific Research Constitutes For You, As It Does For Many, The Way For The Personal Encounter With Truth, And Perhaps The Privileged Place For The Encounter Itself With God, The Creator Of Heaven And Earth. Science Shines Forth In All Its Value As A Good Capable Of Motivating Our Existence, As A Great Experience Of Freedom For Truth, As A Fundamental Work Of Service. Through Research Each Scientist Grows As A Human Being And Helps Others To Do Likewise.

Truth Can Never Be Confined To Time And Culture; In History It Is Known, But It Also Reaches Beyond History.

The Church Must Breathe With Her Two Lungs!

Take Heart Young People! Christ Is Calling You And The World Awaits You! Remember The Kingdom Of God Needs Your Generous And Complete Dedication.

A Good Leader Sees Everything, Overlooks A Great Deal, And Corrects A Little.

If Humanity Today Succeeds In Combining The New Scientific Capacities With A Strong Ethical Dimension, It Will Certainly Be Able To Promote The Environment As A Home And A Resource For...all...and Will Be Able To Eliminate The Causes Of Pollution And To Guarantee Adequate Conditions Of Hygiene And Health For Small Groups As Well As For Vast Human Settlements.

The Gospel Must Not Be Kept Hidden Because Of Fear Or Indifference. It Was Never Meant To Be Hidden Away In Private. It Has To Be Put On A Stand So That People May See Its Light And Give Praise To Our Heavenly Father.

In The Mass And In Eucharistic Adoration We Meet The Merciful Love Of God That Passes Through The Heart Of Jesus Christ.

Do Not Drink Coffee In Early A.m. It Will Keep You Awake Until Noon. Do Not Go From The Slavery Of The Communist Regime To The Slavery Of Consumerism.

The Only Really Effective Means Of Enabling States To Deal With The Grave Problem Of Poverty Is To Provide Them With The Necessary Resources Through Foreign Financial Aid - Public And Private - Granted Under Reasonable Conditions, Within The Framework Of International Commercial Relations Regulated With Fairness.

This Is Why Moral Uneasiness Is Destined To Become Even More Acute. It Is Obvious That A Fundamental Defect, Or Rather A Series Of Defects, Indeed A Defective Machinery Is At The Root Of Contemporary Economics And Materialistic Civilization, Which Does Not Allow The Human Family To Break Free From Such Radically Unjust Situations.

Economic Inequality

Christ Is The Sacrament Of The Invisible God - A Sacrament That Indicates Presence. God Is With Us.

[st. Francis] Looked Upon Creation With The Eyes Of One Who Could Recognize In It The Marvelous Work Of The Hand Of God. His Solicitous Care, Not Only Towards Men, But Also Towards Animals Is A Faithful Echo Of The Love With Which God In The Beginning Pronounced His 'fiat' Which Brought Them Into Existence. We Too Are Called To A Similar Attitude.

What Have I Done With My Baptism And Confirmation? Is Christ Really At The Center Of My Life? Do I Have Time For Prayer In My Life? Do I Live My Life As A Vocation And Mission?

The Worst Prison Would Be A Closed Heart.

Humankind, Which Discovers Its Capacity To Transform And In A Certain Sense Create The World Through Its Own Work, Forgets That This Is Always Based On God's Prior And Original Gift Of Things That Are. People Think That They Can Make Arbitrary Use Of The Earth, Subjecting It Without Restraint To Their Wills, As Though The Earth Did Not Have Its Own Requisites And A Prior God-given Purpose, Which Human Beings Can Indeed Develop But Must Not Betray.

Are You Capable Of Risking Your Life For Someone? Do It For Christ.

Risking Your Life

Only The Chaste Man And The Chaste Woman Are Capable Of True Love.

Purity And Love

New Knowledge Has Led To The Recognition In The Theory Of Evolution Of More Than A Hypothesis. It Is Indeed Remarkable That This Theory Has Been Progressively Accepted By Researchers, Following A Series Of Discoveries In Various Fields Of Knowledge. The Convergence, Neither Sought Nor Fabricated, Of The Results Of Work That Was Conducted Independently Is In Itself A Significant Argument In Favor Of This Theory.

Theory Of Evolution

Once Again, Through Myself, The Church, In The Words Of The Well-known Declaration Nostra Aetate, 'deplores The Hatred, Persecutions And Displays Of Anti-semitism Directed Against The Jews At Any Time And By Anyone.' I Repeat, 'by Anyone.'

Holidays And Vacations Can Help To Balance Activity With Contemplation, Haste With More Natural Rhythms, Noise With The Heralding Silence Of Peace.

In This Oasis Of Quiet, Before The Wonderful Spectacle Of Nature, One Easily Experiences How Profitable Silence Is, A Good That Today Is Ever More Rare... In Reality, Only In Silence Does Man Succeed In Hearing In The Depth Of His Conscience The Voice Of God, Which Really Makes Him Free. And Vacations Can Help To Rediscover And Cultivate This Indispensable Interior Dimension Of Human Life.

The World [is] Tired Of Ideology [and] Is Opening Itself To The Truth. The Time Has Come When The Splendor Of This Truth Has Begun Anew To Illuminate The Darkness Of Human Existence.

The Church Counters The Culture Of Death With The Culture Of Love.

By The End Of This Decade We Will Live Under The First One World Government That Has Ever Existed In The Society Of Nations ... A Government With Absolute Authority To Decide The Basic Issues Of Human Survival. One World Government Is Inevitable.

World Government

I Encourage Christians Regularly To Visit Christ Present In The Blessed Sacrament, For We Are All Called To Abide In The Presence Of God.

Eucharistic Adoration

With Supernatural Intuition Blessed Josemaria Untiringly Preached The Universal Call To Holiness And Apostolate. Christ Calls Everyone To Become Holy In The Realities Of Everyday Life. Hence Work Too Is A Means Of Personal Holiness And Apostolate When It Is Done In Union With Jesus Christ

The Dignity Of The Human Person Is A Transcendent Value, Always Recognized As Such By Those Who Sincerely Search For The Truth. Indeed, The Whole Of Human History Should Be Interpreted In The Light Of This Certainty. Every Person, Created In The Image And Likeness Of God (cf. Gn 1:26 28), Is Therefore Radically Oriented Towards The Creator, And Is Constantly In Relationship With Those Possessed Of The Same Dignity. To Promote The Good Of The Individual Is Thus To Serve The Common Good, Which Is That Point Where Rights And Duties Converge And Reinforce One Another.

Truth Must Be The Foundation Stone, The Cement To Solidify The Entire Social Edifice.

As Believers, How Can We Fail To See That Abortion, Euthanasia And Assisted Suicide Are A Terrible Rejection Of God's Gift Of Life And Love? And As Believers, How Can We Fail To Feel The Duty To Surround The Sick And Those In Distress With The Warmth Of Our Affection And The Support That Will Help Them Always To Embrace Life?

Do Not Abandon Yourselves To Despair. We Are The Easter People And Hallelujah Is Our Song.

The Lust Of The Flesh Directs These Desires [of Personal Union], However, To Satisfaction Of The Body, Often At The Cost Of A Real And Full Communion Of Persons.

Treating A Person As A Means To An End, And An End Moreover Which In This Case Is Pleasure, The Maximization Of Pleasure, Will Always Stand In The Way Of Love.

If You Wish To Be Brothers, Drop Your Weapons.

In The Designs Of Providence, There Are No Mere Coincidences.

Laws Which Legitimize The Direct Killing Of Innocent Human Beings Through Abortion Or Euthanasia Are In Complete Opposition To The Inviolable Right To Life Proper To Every Individual; They Thus Deny The Equality Of Everyone Before The Law.

Sensitivity To The Immense Needs Of Humanity Brings With It A Spontaneous Rejection Of The Arms Race, Which Is Incompatible With The All Out Struggle Against Hunger, Sickness, Under-development And Illiteracy.

The Gradual Depletion Of The Ozone Layer And The Related "greenhouse Effect" Has Now Reached Crisis Proportions As A Consequence Of Industrial Growth, Massive Urban Concentrations And Vastly Increased Energy Needs. Industrial Waste, The Burning Of Fossil Fuels, Unrestricted Deforestation, The Use Of Certain Types Of Herbicides, Coolants And Propellants: All Of These Are Known To Harm The Atmosphere And Environment.

The Rosary Is My Favorite Prayer. A Marvelous Prayer! Marvelous In Its Simplicity And Its Depth. In The Prayer We Repeat Many Times The Words That The Virgin Mary Heard From The Archangel, And From Her Kinswoman Elizabeth.

The Ethos Of Redemption Is Realied In Self-mastery, By Means Of Temperance, That Is, Continence Of Desires.

We Need To Make Our Own The Ancient Pastoral Wisdom Which... Encouraged Pastors To Listen More Widely To The Entire People Of God. Significant Is Saint Benedict's Reminder To The Abbot Of A Monastery, Inviting Him To Consult Even The Youngest Members Of The Community: "by The Lord's Inspiration, It Is Often A Younger Person Who Knows What Is Best".

Rediscover The Rosary In The Light Of Scripture, In Harmony With The Liturgy, And In The Context Of Your Daily Lives.

Forgiveness Is Above All A Personal Choice, A Decision Of The Heart To Go Against The Natural Instinct To Pay Back Evil With Evil.

When Our Whole Life Is One Faith, Hope, Love, Prayer And Silence, A Consecrated Life Always Bound Up In The Eucharist, Then The 'urge' Towards God Springs.

It Can Therefore Be Said That, From The Viewpoint Of The Doctrine Of The Faith, There Are No Difficulties In Explaining The Origin Of Man In Regard To The Body, By Means Of The Theory Of Evolution.

Theory Of Evolution

Lord Jesus, Who In The Eucharist Make Your Dwelling Among Us And Become Our Traveling Companion, Sustain Our Christian Communities So That They May Be Ever More Open To Listening And Accepting Your Word. May They Draw From The Eucharist A Renewed Commitment To Spreading In Society, By The Proclamation Of Your Gospel, The Signs And Deeds Of An Attentive And Active Charity

The Distinctive Mark Of The Christian, Today More Than Ever, Must Be Love For The Poor, The Weak, The Suffering.

Do Not Be Afraid To Take A Chance On Peace, To Teach Peace, To Live Peace...peace Will Be The Last Word Of History.

Beauty Is A Key To The Mystery And A Call To Transcendence. It Is An Invitation To Savor Life And To Dream Of The Future. That Is Why The Beauty Of Created Things Can Never Fully Satisfy. It Stirs That Hidden Nostalgia For God Which A Lover Of Beauty Like Saint Augustine Could Express In Incomparable Terms: 'late Have I Loved You, Beauty So Old And So New: Late Have I Loved You!'.

The Vow Of Celibacy Is A Matter Of Keeping One's Word To Christ And The Church. A Duty And A Proof Of The Priest's Inner Maturity; It Is The Expression Of His Personal Dignity.

What We Talked About Will Have To Remain A Secret Between Him And Me. I Spoke To Him As A Brother Whom I Have Pardoned And Who Has My Complete Trust.

To Predispose Our Mind To Welcome The Lord Who, As We Say In The Creed, One Day Will Come To Judge The Living And The Dead, We Must Learn To Recognize Him As Present In The Events Of Daily Life. Therefore, Advent Is, So To Speak, An Intense Training That Directs Us Decisively Toward Him Who Already Came, Who Will Come, And Who Comes Continuously.

Intense Training

Do Not Be Afraid To Be Holy! Have The Courage And Humility To Present Yourselves To The World Determined To Be Holy, Since Full, True Freedom Is Born From Holiness.

The Heart Is Our Hidden Center, Beyond The Grasp Of Our Reason And Of Others; Only The Spirit Of God Can Fathom The Human Heart And Know It Fully. The Heart Is The Place Of Decision, Deeper Than Our Psychic Drives. It Is The Place Of Truth, Where We Choose Life Or Death. It Is The Place Of Encounter.

The Historical Experience Of Socialist Countries Has Sadly Demonstrated That Collectivism Does Not Do Away With Alienation But Rather Increases It, Adding To It A Lack Of Basic Necessities And Economic Inefficiency.

Socialist Countries

The Sickness Of A Family Member, Friend Or Neighbor Is A Call To Christians To Demonstrate True Compassion, That Gentle And Persevering Sharing In Another's Pain.

The Dramatic Threat Of Ecological Breakdown Is Teaching Us The Extent To Which Greed And Selfishness Are Contrary To The Order Of Creation. ...a Given Culture Reveals Its Understanding Of Life Through The Choices It Makes In Production And Consumption... A Great Deal Of Educational And Cultural Work Is Urgently Needed, Including The Education Of Consumers In The Responsible Use Of Their Power Of Choice.

Humanity Should Question Itself, Once More, About The Absurd And Always Unfair Phenomenon Of War, On Whose Stage Of Death And Pain Only Remain Standing The Negotiating Table That Could And Should Have Prevented It.

The Eucharist Is The Heart Of The Church. Where Eucharistic Life Flourishes, There The Life Of The Church Will Blossom.

Modern Society Will Find No Solution To The Ecological Problem Unless It Takes A Serious Look At Its Lifestyle.

The World Looks To The Priest, Because It Looks To Jesus! No One Can See Christ; But Everyone Sees The Priest, And Through Him They Wish To Catch A Glimpse Of The Lord! Immense Is The Grandeur Of The Lord! Immense Is The Grandeur And Dignity Of The Priest!

The United Nations Organization Has Proclaimed 1979 As The Year Of The Child. Are The Children To Receive The Arms Race From Us As A Necessary Inheritance?

Chess Holds Deep Wisdoms Of The People. It Is Truly An Image Of Life, The Reflection Of Human Fate That Has Shown Us The Earthly Way Of Suffering In Darkness And Permanent Shortage Of Time. Like In Chess, We Encounter All Kinds Of Traps, Mistakes, Settlements, Sacrifices, Kings, And Queens, Doubled Pawns, And Extraordinary Moves While We Are On The Board Ourselves.

[on His 83rd Birthday] Physical Condition Or Advancing Of Age Are Not Obstacles To A Perfect Life. God Does Not Look At External Things But At The Soul.

We Need A New Apologetic, Geared To The Needs Of Today, Which Keeps In Mind That Our Task Is Not To Win Arguments But To Win Souls... Such An Apologetic Will Need To Breathe A Spirit Of Humanity, That Humility And Compassion Which Understand The Anxieties And Questions Of People.

There Cannot Be Forgotten The Great Possibilities Of Mass Media In Promoting Dialogue, Becoming Vehicles For Reciprocal Knowledge, Of Solidarity And Of Peace. They Become A Powerful Resource For Good If Used To Foster Understanding Between Peoples, A Destructive 'weapon' If Used To Foster Injustice And Conflicts.

Before Our Eyes We Have The Results Of Ideologies Such As Marxism, Nazism And Fascism, And Also Of Myths Like Racial Superiority, Nationalism And Ethnic Exclusivism. No Less Pernicious, Though Not Always As Obvious, Are The Effects Of Materialistic Consumerism, In Which The Exaltation Of The Individual And The Selfish Satisfaction Of Personal Aspirations Become The Ultimate Goal Of Life. In This Outlook, The Negative Effects On Others Are Considered Completely Irrelevant.

Jesus Himself Has Shown Us By His Own Example That Prayer And Fasting Are The First And Most Effective Weapons Against The Forces Of Evil.

Every Act Of Reverence, Every Genuflection That You Make Before The Blessed Sacrament Is Important Because It Is An Act Of Faith In Christ, And Act Of Love For Christ. And Every Sign Of The Cross And Gesture Of Respect Made Each Time You Pass A Church Is Also An Act Of Faith.

Christians, In Particular, Realize That Their Responsibility Within Creation And Their Duty Towards Nature And The Creator Are An Essential Part Of Their Faith.

When A Parliamentary Or Social Majority Decrees That It Is Legal, At Least Under Certain Conditions, To Kill Unborn Human Life, Is It Not Really Making A Tyrannical Decision With Regard To The Weakest And Most Defenseless Of Human Beings?....while Public Authority Can Sometimes Choose Not To Put A Stop To Something Which Were It Prohibited Would Cause More Serious Harm, It Can Never Presume To Legitimize As A Right Of Individuals Even If They Are The Majority Of The Members Of Society An Offense Against Other Persons Caused By The Disregard Of So Fundamental A Right As The Right To Life.

Love Is A Constant Challenge, Thrown To Us By God.

Contraception Contradicts The Full Truth Of The Sexual Act As The Proper Expression Of Conjugal Love.

Humanity, Its Dignity And Its Balance, Will Depend At Every Moment And On Every Place On The Globe,on Who Man Is For Woman And Who Woman Is For Man.

We Are Now Standing In The Face Of The Greatest Historical Confrontation Humanity Has Gone Through. I Do Not Think That Wide Circles Of The American Society Or Wide Circles Of The Christian Community Realize This Fully. We Are Now Facing The Final Confrontation Between The Church And The Anti-church, Of The Gospel Versus The Anti-gospel.

Know What You Are Talking About.

The Choice Of Euthanasia Becomes More Serious When It Takes The Form Of A Murder Committed By Others On A Person Who Has In No Way Requested It And Who Has Never Consented To It. The Height Of Arbitrariness And Injustice Is Reached When Certain People, Such As Physicians Or Legislators, Arrogate To Themselves The Power To Decide Who Ought To Live And Who Ought To Die.

Yes, The South-becoming Always Poorer-and The North-becoming Always Richer ...richer, Too In The Resources Of Weapons With Which The Superpowers And Blocs Can Mutually Threaten Each Other. In The Light Of Christ's Words (mt. 25), This Poor South Will Judge The Rich North. And The Poor People And Poor Nations-poor In Different Ways, Not Only Lacking Food, But Also Deprived Of Freedom And Other Human Right-will Judge Those People Who Take These Goods Away From Them, Amassing To Themselves The Imperialist Monopoly And Political Supremacy At The Expense Of Others.

Not All Are Called To Be Artists In The Specific Sense Of The Term. Yet, As Genesis Has It, All Men And Women Are Entrusted With The Task Of Crafting Their Own Life: In A Certain Sense, They Are To Make Of It A Work Of Art, A Masterpiece.

To Be Actively Pro-life Is To Contribute To The Renewal Of Society Through The Promotion Of The Common Good. It Is Impossible To Further The Common Good Without Acknowledging And Defending The Right To Life, Upon Which All The Other Inalienable Rights Of Individuals Are Founded And From Which They Develop.

Peoples Of The Entire World Need To Hear These Words. Their Conscience Needs To Grow In The Certainty That Someone Exists Who Holds In His Hands The Destiny Of This Passing World... And This Someone Is Love- Love That Became Man, Love Crucified And Risen, Love Unceasingly Present Among Men. It Is Eucharistic Love.

Interdependence Must Be Transformed Into Solidarity Based Upon The Principle That The Goods Of Creation Are Meant For All. That Which Human Industry Produces Through The Processing Of Raw Materials With The Contribution Of Work Must Serve Equally For The Good Of All.

In My Reading And In My Studies I Always Tried To Achieve A Harmony Between Faith, Reason, And The Heart. These Are Not Separate Areas, But Are Profoundly Interconnected, Each Giving Life To The Other.

Beneath The Sacred Host, Christ Is Contained, The Redeemer Of The World

If The Communications Media Are A Good Destined For All Humanity, Then Ever-new Means Must Be Found - Including Recourse To Opportune Legislative Measures - To Make Possible A True Participation In Their Management By All. The Culture Of Co-responsibility Must Be Nurtured.

Through Mary, We Come To Her Son More Easily.

Allow The Light And The Healing Presence Of Christ To Shine Brightly Through Your Lives. In That Way, All Those Who Come In Contact With You Will Discover The Loving Kindness Of God.

...all That Is Carried Along By The Stream's Silvery Cascade, Rhythmically Falling From The Mountain, Carried By Its Own Current-- Carried Where?

As The Family Goes, So Goes The Nation And So Goes The Whole World In Which We Live.

Let Science Tell Us What And How. Let Religion Tell Us Who And Why.

The Challenge Is To Make The Church's Yes To Life Concrete And Effective. The Struggle Will Be Long, And It Needs Each One Of You. Place Your Intelligence, Your Talents, Your Enthusiasm, Your Compassion And Your Fortitude At The Service Of Life!

The Human Person Is A Unique Composite - A Unity Of Spirit And Matter, Soul And Body, Fashioned In The Image Of God And Destined To Live Forever. Every Human Life Is Sacred, Because Every Human Person Is Sacred.

The Eucharist Is The Full Realization Of The Worship Which Humanity Owes To God, And It Cannot Be Compared To Any Other Religious Experience.... The Risen Lord ... Calls The Faithful Together To Give Them The Light Of His Word And The Nourishment Of His Body As The Perennial Sacramental Wellspring Of Redemption. The Grace Flowing From This Wellspring Renews Mankind, Life, And History.

When We Go Before Jesus In The Blessed Sacrament We Represent The One In The World Who Is In Most Need Of God's Mercy." We "stand In Behalf Of The One In The World Who Does Not Know Christ And Who Is Farthest Away From God And We Bring Down Upon Their Soul The Precious Blood Of The Lamb.

Farmers Everywhere Provide Bread For All Humanity, But It Is Christ Alone Who Is The Bread Of Life...even If All The Physical Hunger Of The World Were Satisfied, Even If Everyone Who Is Hungry Were Fed By His Or Her Own Labor Or By The Generosity Of Others, The Deepest Hunger Of Man Would Still Exist...therefore, I Say, Come, All Of You, To Christ. He Is The Bread Of Life. Come To Christ And You Will Never Be Hungry Again.

Laws Which Authorize And Promote Abortion And Euthanasia Are Therefore Radically Opposed Not Only To The Good Of The Individual But Also To The Common Good; As Such They Are Completely Lacking In Authentic Juridical Validity. Disregard For The Right To Life, Precisely Because It Leads To The Killing Of The Person Whom Society Exists To Serve, Is What Most Directly Conflicts With The Possibility Of Achieving The Common Good. Consequently, A Civil Law Authorizing Abortion Or Euthanasia Ceases By That Very Fact To Be A True, Morally Binding Civil Law.

The Promotion Of The Culture Of Life Should Be The Highest Priority In Our Societies...if The Right To Life Is Not Defended Decisively As A Condition For All Other Rights Of The Person, All Other References To Human Rights Remain Deceitful And Illusory.

For By His Incarnation The Son Of God United Himself In A Certain Way With Every Man. He Labored With Human Hands... And Loved With A Human Heart. Born Of Mary The Virgin, He Truly Became One Of Us.

True Holiness Does Not Mean A Flight From The World; Rather, It Lies In The Effort To Incarnate The Gospel In Everyday Life, In The Family, At School And At Work, And In Social And Political Involvement.

Work Bears A Particular Mark Of Man And Of Humanity, The Mark Of A Person Operating Within A Community Of Persons

By Dialogue, We Let God Be Present In Our Midst, For As We Open Ourselves To One Another, We Open Ourselves To God.

You Are Called To Stand Up For Life! To Respect And Defend The Mystery Of Life Always And Everywhere, Including The Lives Of Unborn Babies, Giving Real Help And Encouragement To Mothers In Difficult Situations. You Are Called To Work And Pray Against Abortion.

We Must Understand That In Order 'to Do', We Must First Learn 'to Be', That Is To Say, In The Sweet Company Of Jesus In Adoration.

An Effective Proclamation Of The Gospel In Contemporary Western Society Will Need To Confront Directly The Widespread Spirit Of Agnosticism And Relativism Which Has Cast Doubt On Reason's Ability To Know The Truth, Which Alone Satisfies The Human Heart's Restless Quest For Meaning.

The Essential Commitment And, Above All, The Visible Grace And Source Of Supernatural Strength For The Church As The People Of God Is To Persevere And Advance Constantly In Eucharistic Life And Eucharistic Piety And To Develop Spiritually In The Climate Of The Eucharist.

Make Your Lives Intensely Eucharistic.

Offer Christ Your Heart In Meditation And Personal Prayer Which Is The Foundation Of The Spiritual Life.

I Hope To Have Communion With The People, That Is The Most Important Thing.

And Everything Else Will Then Turn Out To Be Unimportant And Inessential Except This: Father, Child, And Love. And Then, Looking At The Simplest Things, We Will All Say, Could We Have Not Learned This Long Ago? Has This Not Always Been Embedded In Everything That Is?

The Only Struggle Which Religions Can Justify, The Only Struggle Worthy Of Humans, Is The Moral Struggle Against Humanity's Own Disordered Passions, Against Every Kind Of Selfishness, Against Attempts To Oppress Others, Against Every Type Of Hatred And Violence.

All Are Called To Holiness, And Holy People Alone Can Renew Humanity.

We Are All One Family In The World. Building A Community That Empowers Everyone To Attain Their Full Potential Through Each Of Us Respecting Each Other's Dignity, Rights And Responsibilities Makes The World A Better Place To Live.

You Are Priests, Not Social Or Political Leaders. Let Us Not Be Under The Illusion That We Are Serving The Gospel Through An Exaggerated Interest In The Wide Field Of Temporal Problems.

[speaking Of Marriage And Family] In This Entire World There Is Not A More Perfect, More Complete Image Of God, Unity And Community. There Is No Other Human Reality Which Corresponds More, Humanly Speaking, To That Divine Mystery.

Mary's Role Is To Make Her Son Shine

True Freedom Is Not Advanced In The Permissive Society, Which Confuses Freedom With License To Do Anything Whatever And Which In The Name Of Freedom Proclaims A Kind Of General Amorality. It Is A Caricature Of Freedom To Claim That People Are Free To Organize Their Lives With No Reference To Moral Values, And To Say That Society Does Not Have To Ensure The Protection And Advancement Of Ethical Values. Such An Attitude Is Destructive Of Freedom And Peace.

Real Love Is Demanding. I Would Fail In My Mission If I Did Not Clearly Tell You So. For It Was Jesus - Our Jesus Himself - Who Said: 'you Are My Friends If You Do What I Command You'. Love Demands Effort And A Personal Commitment To The Will Of God. It Means Discipline And Sacrifice, But It Also Means Joy And Human Fulfilment.

Catholic Education Aims Not Only To Communicate Facts But Also To Transmit A Coherent, Comprehensive Vision Of Life, In The Conviction That The Truths Contained In That Vision Liberate Students In The Most Profound Meaning Of Human Freedom.

The World Designed By God Cannot Be A World In Which Some Hoard Immoderate Wealth In Their Hands, While Others Suffer From Destitution And Poverty, And Die Of Hunger. Love Must Inspire Justice And The Struggle For Justice

Much Of The Violence That Humanity Suffers In Our Times Is Rooted Inmisunderstanding As Well As In The Rejection Of The Values And Identityof Foreign Cultures. Tourism Improves Relationships Between Individualsand Peoples; When They Are Cordial, Respectful, And Based On Solidarity Theyconstitute, As It Were, An Open Door To Peace And Harmonious Coexistence

See Everything. Ignore A Lot. Improve A Little.

It Is More Necessary Than Ever To Intensify Liturgical Life ... By Means Of An Appropriate Formation ... Of All The Faithful.

It's Too Early For A Polish Pope.

In Order To See Jesus, We First Need To Let Him Look At Us!

The History Of Mankind, The History Of Salvation, Passes By Way Of The Family.

The Church's Teaching On Ownership Diverges Radically From Collectivism As Proclaimed By Marxism And "rigid" Capitalism. The Primacy Of The Person Over Things Joint Ownership Of The Means Of Work.

The Gospel Of Life Is Not For Believers Alone: It Is For Everyone. The Issue Of Life And Its Defense And Promotion Is Not A Concern Of The Christian Alone. Although Faith Provides Special Light And Strength, This Question Arises In Every Human Conscience Which Seeks The Truth And Which Cares About The Future Of Humanity. Life Certainly Has A Sacred And Religious Value, But In No Way Is That Value A Concern Only Of Believers. The Value At Stake Is One Which Every Human Being Can Grasp By The Light Of Reason; Thus It Necessarily Concerns Everyone.

Faith Leads Us Beyond Ourselves. It Leads Us Directly To God.

Gandhi Was Much More Christian Than Many People Who Say They Are Christians.

Love Is Never Defeated, And I Could Add, The History Of Ireland Proves It.

Love Between Man And Woman Cannot Be Built Without Sacrifices And Self-denial.

Artistic Talent Is A Gift From God And Whoever Discovers It In Himself Has A Certain Obligation: To Know That He Cannot Waste This Talent, But Must Develop It.

The Eucharist Is The Source And Summit Of The Christian Life

The Earth Will Not Continue To Offer Its Harvest, Except With Faithful Stewardship. We Cannot Say We Love The Land And Then Take Steps To Destroy It For Use By Future Generations.

Attention Is Riveted On What Is Tangible, Useful, Instantly Available; The Stimulus For Deeper Thought And Reflection May Be Lacking. Yet Human Beings Have A Vital Need For Time And Inner Quiet To Ponder And Examine Life And Its Mysteries... Understanding And Wisdom Are The Fruit Of A Contemplative Eye Upon The World, And Do Not Come From A Mere Accumulation Of Facts, No Matter How Interesting.

We Are The People Of Life, Because God, In His Unconditional Love, Has Given Us The Gospel Of Life, And We Are Called To Act Accordingly.

Unconditional Love

Around The World, We See The Results Of Exploitation Which Destroys Much Without Taking Future Generations Into Account. Protecting The World's Forests; Stemming Desertification And Erosion; Avoiding The Spread Of Toxic Substances Harmful To Man, Animals And Plants; Protecting The Atmosphere; All These Can Be Accomplished Only Through Active And Wise Cooperation, Without Borders Or Political Power Plays.

The Unworthy Successor Of Peter Who Desires To Benefit From The Immeasurable Wealth Of Christ Feels The Great Need Of Your Assistance, Your Prayers, Your Sacrifice, And He Most Humbly Asks This Of You.

I Have A Sweet Tooth For Song And Music. This Is My Polish Sin.

Precisely In An Age When The Inviolable Rights Of The Person Are Solemnly Proclaimed And The Value Of Life Is Publicly Affirmed, The Very Right To Life Is Being Denied Or Trampled Upon, Especially At The More Significant Moments Of Existence: The Moment Of Birth And The Moment Of Death.

The [abortion] Excommunication Affects All Those Who Commit This Crime With Knowledge Of The Penalty Attached, And Thus Includes Those Accomplices Without Which The Crime Would Not Have Been Committed.

Do Not Be Afraid. Do Not Be Satisfied With Mediocrity. Put Out Into The Deep And Let Down Your Nets For A Catch.

Another Name For Peace Is Development.

The Animals Possess A Soul And Men Must Love And Feel Solidarity With Our Smaller Brethren. All Animals Are Fruit Of The Creative Action Of The Holy Spirit And Merit Respect And They Are As Near To God As Men Are.

Darkness Can Only Be Scattered By Light, Hatred Can Only Be Conquered By Love.

Only A Socially Just Country Has The Right To Exist.

Each Man, In His Suffering, Can Also Become A Sharer In The Redemptive Suffering Of Christ.

Christ Remains Primary In Your Life Only When He Enjoys The First Place In Your Mind And Heart. Thus You Must Continuously Unite Yourself To Him In Prayer.... Without Prayer There Can Be No Joy, No Hope, No Peace. For Prayer Is What Keeps Us In Touch With Christ.

Pray And Learn To Pray! Deepen Your Knowledge Of The Word Of The Living God By Reading And Meditating On The Scriptures.

The Saints Have Always Been The Source And Origin Of Renewal In The Most Difficult Moments In The Church's History.

Learning To Think Rigorously, So As To Act Rightly And To Serve Humanity Better.

Today, The Scale And Horror Of Modern Warfare - Whether Nuclear Or Not - Makes It Totally Unacceptable As A Means Of Settling Differences Between Nations. War Should Belong To The Tragic Past, To History; It Should Find No Place On Humanity's Agenda For The Future.

The Best, The Surest And The Most Effective Way Of Establishing Peace On The Face Of The Earth Is Through The Great Power Of Perpetual Adoration Of The Blessed Sacrament.

Evangelization Through The Eucharist, In The Eucharist, And From The Eucharist - These Are Three Inseparable Aspects Of How The Church Lives The Mystery Of Christ And Fulfills Her Mission Of Communicating It To All People.... In Addition To The Preaching Of The Message, The Consummation Of Evangelization Consists In The Building Up Of The Church, Which Has No Real Existence Without The Sacramental Life Culminating In The Blessed Eucharist

Our Communal Worship At Mass Must Go Together With Our Personal Worship Of Jesus In Eucharistic Adoration In Order That Our Love May Be Complete

The Church Must Persist In The Teaching Transmitted To Her By Christ.

St. Joseph Was A Just Man, A Tireless Worker, The Upright Guardian Of Those Entrusted To His Care. May He Always Guard, Protect And Enlighten Families.

The Inviolability Of The Person Which Is A Reflection Of The Absolute Inviolability Of God, Finds Its Primary And Fundamental Expression In The Inviolability Of Human Life. Above All, The Common Outcry, Which Is Justly Made On Behalf Of Human Rights-for Example, The Right To Health, To Home, To Work, To Family, To Culture- Is False And Illusory If The Right To Life, The Most Basic And Fundamental Right And The Condition For All Other Personal Rights, Is Not Defended With Maximum Determination.

But Responsibility Likewise Falls On The Legislators Who Have Promoted And Approved Abortion Laws, And, To The Extent That They Have A Say In The Matter, On The Administrators Of The Health-care Centers Where Abortions Are Performed. In This Sense Abortion Goes Beyond The Responsibility Of Individuals And Beyond The Harm Done To Them, And Takes On A Distinctly Social Dimension. It Is A Most Serious Wound Inflicted On Society And Its Culture By The Very People Who Ought To Be Societys Promoters And Defenders.

On The Basis Of His Work Each Person Is Fully Entitled To Consider Himself A Part Owner Of The Great Workbench At Which He Is Working With Everyone Else. A Way Toward That Goal Could Be Found By Associating Labor With The Ownership Of Capital Joint Ownership Of The Means Of Work, Sharing By The Workers In The Management And/or Profits Of Businesses, So-called Shareholding By Labor, Etc.

Man Cannot Live Without Love. He Remains A Being That Is Incomprehensible For Himself, His Life Is Senseless, If Love Is Not Revealed To Him, If He Does Not Encounter Love, If He Does Not Experience It And Make It His Own, If He Does Not Participate Intimately In It.

We Christians Joyfully Recognize The Religious Values We Have In Common With Islam. I Would Like To Repeat What I Said To Young Muslims Some Years Ago In Casablanca: 'we Believe In The Same God, The One God, The Living God, The God Who Created The World And Brings His Creatures To Their Perfection.

Those Who Advocate Euthanasia Have Capitalized On People's Confusion, Ambivalence And Even Fear About The Use Of Modern Life-prolonging Technologies. Being Able To Choose The Time And Manner Of One's Death, Without Regard To What Is Chosen Is Presented As The Ultimate Freedom.

In The Context Of The "great Mystery" Of Christ And Of The Church, All Are Called To Respond - As A Bride - With The Gift Of Their Lives To The Inexpressible Gift Of The Love Of Christ, Who Alone, As The Redeemer Of The World, Is The Church's Bridegroom.

And So, Like Moses (cf Ex 3, 5), In Spirit We Remove The Shoes From Our Feet, On The Threshold Of The Inner Sanctuary That Each Of Us Must Become As We Meet The Lord.

The Poor Of The United States And Of The World Are Your Brothers And Sisters In Christ. You Must Never Be Content To Leave Them Just The Crumbs From The Feast. You Must Take Of Your Substance, And Not Just Of Your Abundance, In Order To Help Them. And You Must Treat Them Like Guests At Your Family Table.

The International Community Should Support A System Of Laws To Regularize International Relations And Maintain The Peace In The Same Manner That Law Governs National Order.

America You Are Beautiful . . . And Blessed . . . . The Ultimate Test Of Your Greatness Is The Way You Treat Every Human Being, But Especially The Weakest And Most Defenseless. If You Want Equal Justice For All And True Freedom And Lasting Peace, Then America, Defend Life.

You Will Reciprocally Promise Love, Loyalty And Matrimonial Honesty. We Only Want For You This Day That These Words Constitute The Principle Of Your Entire Life And That With The Help Of Divine Grace You Will Observe These Solemn Vows That Today, Before God, You Formulate.

Friendship, As Has Been Said, Consists In A Full Commitment Of The Will To Another Person With A View To That Person's Good.

Condemning Class Struggle Does Not Mean Condemning Every Possible Form Of Social Conflict. Such Conflicts Inevitably Arise And Christians Must Often Take A Position In The "struggle For Social Justice." What Is Condemned Is "total War," Which Has No Respect For The Dignity Of Others (and Consequently Of Oneself). It Excludes Reasonable Compromise, Does Not Pursue The Common Good But The Good Of A Group, And Sets Out To Destroy Whatever Stands In Its Way.

He Has Chosen You, In A Mysterious But Real Way, To Make You Saviors With Him And Like Him. Yes, Christ Calls You, But He Calls You In Truth. His Call Is Demanding, Because He Invites You To Let Yourselves Be 'captured' By Him Completely, So That Your Whole Lives Will Be Seen In A Different Light.

Without Wonder, Men And Women Would Lapse Into Deadening Routine And Little By Little Would Become Incapable Of A Life Which Is Genuinely Personal.

In The Life Of Husband And Wife Together, Fatherhood And Motherhood Represent Such A Sublime "novelty" And Richness As Can Only Be Approached "on One's Knees".

But Sometimes It Is Necessary To Do That Which Is Too Much.

Inspirational Cancer

We Face A Fundamental Question Which Can Be Described As Both Ethical And Ecological. How Can Accelerated Development Be Prevented From Turning Against Man? How Can One Prevent Disasters That Destroy The Environment And Threaten All Forms Of Life, And How Can The Negative Consequences That Have Already Occurred Be Remedied?

Give Us The Grace - When The Sacredness Of Life Before Birth Is Attacked, To Stand Up And Proclaim That No One Ever Has The Authority To Destroy Unborn Life.

The Greatest Gift You Can Give Your Child Is Another Sibling.

The Eucharist Is Not Only A Particularly Intense Expression Of The Reality Of The Church's Life, But Also In A Sense Its Fountainhead. The Eucharist Feeds And Forms The Church: 'because There Is One Bread, We Who Are Many Are One Body, For We All Partake Of The One Bread' (1 Cor 10:17, Rsv). Because Of This Vital Link With The Sacrament Of The Body And Blood Of The Lord, The Mystery Of The Church Is Savored, Proclaimed, And Lived Supremely In The Eucharist.

Young People Are Threatened... By The Evil Use Of Advertising Techniques That Stimulate The Natural Inclination To Avoid Hard Work By Promising The Immediate Satisfaction Of Every Desire.

Science Can Purify Religion From Error And Superstition. Religion Can Purify Science From Idolatry And False Absolutes.

In Suffocating The Voice Of Conscience, Passion Carries With Itself A Restlessness Of The Body And The Senses: It Is The Restlessness Of The "external Man." When The Internal Man Has Been Reduced To Silence, Then Passion, Once It Has Been Given Freedom Of Action, So To Speak, Exhibits Itself As An Insistent Tendency To Satisfy The Senses And The Body.

Side By Side With The Miseries Of Underdevelopment...we Find Ourselves Up Against A Form Of Superdevelopment, Equally Inadmissable. This Superdevelopment Consists In An Excessive Availability Of Material Goods For The Benefit Of Certain Social Groups And Makes People Slaves Of "possession" And Immediate Gratification, With No Other Horizon Than The Multiplication Or Continual Replacement Of The Things Already Owned With Others Still Better. This Is The Civilization Of Consumption, Or "consumerism," Which Involves So Much Throwing Away And Waste.

Our Very Contract With Nature Has A Deep Restorative Power; Contemplation Of Its Magnificence Imparts Peace And Serenity.

The Greatness Of Work Is Inside Man.

Apart From The Mercy Of God, There Is No Other Source Of Hope For Mankind.

The Priest Is Not And Must Not Be A Civil Servant Of The Church. Above All The Priest Is A Man Who Lives For The Spirit For God. This Being The Case The Seminary Is The Place Where He Learns 'to Be With Him.'

One Cannot Use With Impunity The Different Categories Of Beings-animals, Plants, The Natural Elements-simply As One Wishes, According To Economic Needs. One Must Take Into Account The Nature Of Each Being And Its Mutual Connection In An Ordered System, Which Is The Cosmos.

'lord You Know That I Love You...lord, You Know That I Love You' (jn 21:15-17). The Eucharist Is, In A Certain Way, The Culminating Point Of This Answer. I Wish To Repeat It Together With The Whole Church To Him, Who Manifested His Love By Means Of The Sacrament Of His Body And Blood, Remaining With Us 'to The Close Of The Age'

The Vocation And Mission Of The Faithful Can Only Be Understood In Light Of A Renewed Awareness Of The Church As Sacrament Or Sign And Instrument Of Intimate Union With God, Of The Unity Of The Whole Of Mankind, And Of The Personal Duty To Adhere More Closely To Her.

The Family, As The Fundamental And Essential Educating Community, Is The Privileged Means For Transmitting The Religious And Cultural Values Which Help The Person To Acquire His Or Her Own Identity. Founded On Love And Open To The Gift Of Life, The Family Contains In Itself The Very Future Of Society; Its Most Special Task Is To Contribute Effectively To A Future Of Peace.

Never Tire Of Firmly Speaking Out In Defense Of Life From Its Conception And Do Not Be Deterred From The Commitment To Defend The Dignity Of Every Human Person With Courageous Determination. Christ Is With You: Be Not Afraid!

The Most Faithful Disciples Of Christ Have Been Builders Of Peace, To The Point Of Forgiving Their Enemies, Sometimes Even To The Point Of Giving Their Lives For Them.

Even If The Forces Of Darkness Appear To Prevail, Those Who Believe In God Know That Evil And Death Do Not Have The Final Say.

The Cross Means There Is No Shipwreck Without Hope; There Is No Dark Without Dawn; Nor Storm Without Haven.

The Future Starts Today, Not Tomorrow.

The Church And The World Have A Great Need Of Eucharistic Worship. Jesus Waits For Us In This Sacrament Of Love. Let Us Be Generous With Our Time In Going To Meet Him In Adoration And In Contemplation That Is Full Of Faith And Ready To Make Reparation For The Great Faults And Crimes Of The World. May Our Adoration Never Cease

God Has, In Fact, Thought Of Us From Eternity And Has Loved Us As Unique Individuals. He Has Called Every One Of Us By Name, As The Good Shepherd 'calls His Sheep By Name.'

Look, I Can Surely Say By Now That I've Got The Antibodies To Communism Inside Me. But When I Think Of Consumer Society, With All Its Tragedies, I Wonder Which Of The Two Systems Is Better.

There Is No Dignity When The Human Dimension Is Eliminated From The Person. In Short, The Problem With Pornography Is Not That It Shows Too Much Of The Person, But That It Shows Far Too Little.

Trending Author

Amitabh Bachchan

Augustine Birrell

Gabriel Heatter

Category