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When, For Example, In The Name Of Non-discrimination, People Try To Force The Catholic Church To Change Her Position On Homosexuality Or The Ordination Of Women, Then That Means That She Is No Longer Allowed To Live Out Her Own Identity And That, Instead, An Abstract, Negative Religion Is Being Made Into A Tyrannical Standard That Everyone Must Follow. That Is Then Seemingly Freedom — For The Sole Reason That It Is Liberation From The Previous Situation.

-Pope Benedict XVI

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Pope Benedict XVI

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When, For Example, In The Name Of Non-discrimination, People Try To Force The Catholic Church To Change Her Position On Homosexuality Or The Ordination Of Women, Then That Means That She Is No Longer Allowed To Live Out Her Own Identity And That, Instead, An Abstract, Negative Religion Is Being Made Into A Tyrannical Standard That Everyone Must Follow. That Is Then Seemingly Freedom — For The Sole Reason That It Is Liberation From The Previous Situation.

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For Each One Of You, As For The Apostles, The Encounter With The Divine Teacher Who Calls You Friends May Be The Beginning Of An Extraordinary Venture: That Of Becoming Apostles Among Your Contemporaries To Lead Them To Live Their Own Experience Of Friendship With God, Made Man, With God Who Has Made Himself My Friend.

The Evangelization Of The Person And Of Human Communities Depends Totally On This Encounter With Jesus Christ.

The Proclamation Of The Gospel Remains The Primary Service That The Church Owes To Humanity, To Offer The Salvation Of Christ To The Man Of Our Time, Who Is In Many Ways Humiliated And Oppressed, And To Orientate In A Christian Way Cultural, Social, And Ethical Transformations That Are Unfolding In The World.

Receiving The Eucharist Means Adoring Him Whom We Receive. Only In This Way Do We Become One With Him, And Are Given, As It Were, A Foretaste Of The Beauty Of The Heavenly Liturgy. The Act Of Adoration Outside Mass Prolongs And Intensifies All That Takes Place During The Liturgical Celebration Itself.

Tell Others About The Truth That Sets You Free.

Faith In The Resurrection Of Jesus Says That There Is A Future For Every Human Being; The Cry For Unending Life Which Is A Part Of The Person Is Indeed Answered... God Exists: That Is The Real Message Of Easter. Anyone Who Even Begins To Grasp What This Means Also Knows What It Means To Be Redeemed.

Both Need Each Other: The Agnostic Cannot Be Content To Not Know, But Must Be In Search Of The Great Truth Of Faith; The Catholic Cannot Be Content To Have Faith, But Must Be In Search Of God All The Time, And In The Dialogue With Others, A Catholic Can Learn More About God In A Deeper Fashion.

In This Regard, I Reiterate That The Prohibition Against Torture Cannot Be Contravened Under Any Circumstances.

Our Knowledge Of Jesus Is In Need Above All Of A Living Experience: Another Person's Testimony Is Certainly Important, As In General The Whole Of Our Christian Life Begins With The Proclamation That Comes To Us From One Or Several Witnesses. But We Ourselves Must Be Personally Involved In An Intimate And Profound Relationship With Jesus.

If We Take The Lord's Hand And Let Ourselves Be Guided By Him, The Path We Take Will Be Right And Good.

Making The Sign Of The Cross - As We Will Do During The Blessing - Means Saying A Visible And Public "yes" To The One Who Died And Rose For Us, To God Who In The Humility And Weakness Of His Love Is The Almighty, Stronger Than All The Power And Intelligence Of The World.

Grant That We May Be One Flock And One Shepherd.

Can We Disregard The Growing Phenomenon Of "environmental Refugees", People Who Are Forced By The Degradation Of Their Natural Habitat To Forsake It - And Often Their Possessions As Well - In Order To Face The Dangers And Uncertainties Of Forced Displacement? Can We Remain Impassive In The Face Of Actual And Potential Conflicts Involving Access To Natural Resources? All These Are Issues With A Profound Impact On The Exercise Of Human Rights, Such As The Right To Life, Food, Health And Development.

If You Follow The Will Of God, You Know That In Spite Of All The Terrible Things That Happen To You, You Will Never Lose A Final Refuge. You Know That The Foundation Of The World Is Love, So That Even When No Human Being Can Or Will Help You, You May Go On, Trusting In The One That Loves You.

Global Interconnectedness Has Led To The Emergence Of A New Political Power, That Of Consumers And Their Associations. It Is Good For People To Realize That Purchasing Is Always A Moral - And Not Simply Economic - Act.

Faith Was Intended Precisely For The Simple, But The Quest For Certainty And Simplicity Becomes Dangerous When It Leads To Fanaticism And Narrow-mindedness. When Reason As Such Becomes Suspect, Then Faith Itself Becomes Falsified.

I Too Hope In This Short Reign To Be A Man Of Peace.

Again And Again It Astonishes Us That God Makes Himself A Child So That We May Love Him, So That We May Dare To Love Him, And As A Child Trustingly Lets Himself Be Taken Into Our Arms. It Is As If God Were Saying: I Know That My Glory Frightens You, And That You Are Trying To Assert Yourself In The Face Of My Grandeur. So Now I Am Coming To You As A Child, So That You Can Accept Me And Love Me.

Rock Music Is A Vehicle Of Anti-religion

I'm Not A Man Who Constantly Thinks Up Jokes. But I Think It's Very Important To Be Able To See The Funny Side Of Life And Its Joyful Dimension And Not To Take Everything Too Tragically. I'd Also Say It's Necessary For My Ministry. A Writer Once Said That Angels Can Fly Because They Don't Take Themselves Too Seriously. Maybe We Could Also Fly A Bit If We Didn't Think We Were So Important.

A United Humanity Will Be Able To Confront The Many Troubling Problems Of The Present Time: From The Menace Of Terrorism To The Humiliating Poverty In Which Millions Of Human Beings Live, From The Proliferation Of Weapons To The Pandemics And The Environmental Destruction Which Threatens The Future Of Our Planet.

The Unbreakable Bond Between Love Of God And Love Of Neighbor Is Emphasized. One Is So Closely Connected To The Other That To Say That We Love God Becomes A Lie If We Are Closed To Our Neighbor Or Hate Him Altogether. Saint John's Words Should Rather Be Interpreted To Mean That Love Of Neighbor Is A Path That Leads To The Encounter With God, And That Closing Our Eyes To Our Neighbor Also Blinds Us To God.

Sometimes We Are Looked Upon As People Who Speak Only Of Prohibitions. Nothing Could Be Further From The Truth!

Each Generation, As It Seeks To Advance The Common Good, Must Ask Anew: 'what Are The Requirements That Governments May Reasonably Impose Upon Citizens, And How Far Do They Extend? By Appeal To What Authority Can Moral Dilemmas Be Resolved?'

How Can It Be That The Most Wonderous And Sacred Human Space - The Womb - Has Become A Place Of Unutterable Violence?

Our First Experience Of God Is So Important, We Either Experience Him As The Police Guard That Wants To Punish Or As Creative Love That Awaits.

These Days We Are All Pained By The Disaster Caused By The Hurricane In The United States Of America.

Authentic Love Is Obviously Something Good... When We Love, We Become Most Fully Ourselves, Most Fully Human... People Often Think They Are Being Loving When Actually They Are Being Possessive Or Manipulative. People Sometimes Treat Others As Objects To Satisfy Their Own Needs... How Easy It Is To Be Deceived By The Many Voices In Our Society That Advocate A Permissive Approach To Sexuality, Without Regard For Modesty, Self-respect Or The Moral Values That Bring Quality To Human Relationships! This Is Worship Of A False God. Instead Of Bringing Life, It Brings Death.

While We Too Always Seek Other Signs, Other Wonders, We Do Not Realize That He Is The Real Sign, God Made Flesh; He Is The Greatest Miracle Of The Universe: All The Love Of God Hidden In A Human Heart, In A Human Face.

It Is Deplorable That Homosexual Persons Have Been And Are The Object Of Violent Malice In Speech Or In Action. Such Treatment Deserves Condemnation From The Church's Pastors Wherever It Occurs. ... The Intrinsic Dignity Of Each Person Must Always Be Respected In Work, In Action And In Law.

Richard Dawkins's The Selfish Gene Is A Classic Example Of Science Fiction.

The New Evangelization ... Begins In The Confessional.

The Gospel Is Not Merely A Communication Of Things That Can Be Known - It Is One That Makes Things Happen And Is Life-changing. The Dark Door Of Time, Of The Future, Has Been Thrown Open. The One Who Has Hope Lives Differently; The One Who Hopes Has Been Granted The Gift Of A New Life.

During The Season Of Lent Which Begins Today, We Renew Our Commitment To The Path Of Conversion, Making More Room For God In Our Lives.

Perhaps Reluctantly We Come To Acknowledge That There Are Also Scars Which Mark The Surface Of Our Earth: Erosion, Deforestation, The Squandering Of The World’s Mineral And Ocean Resources In Order To Fuel An Insatiable Consumption.

Our Faith Is Well Founded; But It Is Necessary That This Faith Become Part Of Our Lives. A Great Effort Must Therefore Be Made In Order For All Christians To Transform Themselves Into 'witnesses,' Ready And Able To Shoulder The Commitment Of Testifying - Always And To Everyone - To The Hope That Animates Them.

We Cannot But Recognize That, In Practical Terms, Defending Human Life Has Become More Difficult Today, Because A Mentality Has Been Created That Progressively Devalues Human Life And Entrusts It To The Judgement Of Individuals. A Consequence Deriving Therefrom Is Lessened Respect For The Human Person, A Value That Lies At The Foundation Of Any Form Of Civil Coexistence, Over And Above The Faith A Person May Profess.

How Much Filth There Is In The Church, Even Among Those Who, In The Priesthood, Should Belong Entirely To Him. How Much Pride, How Much Self-sufficiency.

Music Has No Borders, No Race Or Color, No Limits Of Country, No Ethnicity. Music Makes The People Come Together. Dance It,dance All.

Since Politics Fundamentally Should Be A Moral Enterprise, The Church In This Sense Has Something To Say About Politics.

The Missionary Experience Is Part Of Christian Formation And It Is Important For Adolescents And Young People To Be Able To Live It Personally.

We Are Moving Toward A Dictatorship Of Relativism Which Does Not Recognize Anything As For Certain And Which Has As Its Highest Goal One's Own Ego And One's Own Desires.

The Closer A Person Is To God, The Closer He Is To People.

This Clash Is An Absurdity Because On One Hand There Is Much Scientific Proof In Favor Of Evolution, Which Appears As A Reality That We Must See And Which Enriches Our Understanding Of Life And Being As Such.

Anyone Who Has Discovered Christ Must Lead Others To Him. A Great Joy Cannot Be Kept To Oneself. It Has To Be Passed On.

Each Of You Has A Personal Vocation Which He Has Given You For Your Own Joy And Sanctity. When A Person Is Conquered By The Fire Of His Gaze, No Sacrifice Seems Too Great To Follow Him And Give Him The Best Of Ourselves. This Is What The Saints Have Always Done, Spreading The Light Of The Lord ... And Transforming The World Into A Welcoming Home For Everyone.

We Do Not Seek A Christ Whom We Have Invented, For Only In The Real Communion Of The Church Do We Encounter The Real Christ.

In The Month Of October, The Universal Church Highlights Her Missionary Vocation. Guided By The Holy Spirit She Knows She Is Called To Pursue The Work Of Jesus Himself, Proclaiming The Gospel Of The Kingdom Of God Which Is "righteousness And Peace And Joy In The Holy Spirit"

With The Synod Assembly, Therefore, I Heartily Recommend To The Church's Pastors And To The People Of God The Practice Of Eucharistic Adoration, Both Individually And In Community

A New Generation Of Christians Is Being Called To Help Build A World In Which God's Gift Of Life Is Welcomed, Respected And Cherished-not Rejected, Feared As A Threat And Destroyed. A New Age In Which Love Is Not Greedy Or Self-seeking, But Pure, Faithful And Genuinely Free, Open To Others, Respectful Of Their Dignity, Seeking Their Good, Radiating Joy And Beauty. A New Age In Which Hope Liberates Us From The Shallowness, Apathy And Self-absorption That Deaden Our Souls And Poison Our Relationships.

[the Atheist Believes] A World Marked By So Much Injustice, Innocent Suffering, And Cynicism Of Power Cannot Be The Work Of A Good God.

It Is The Beautiful Task Of Advent To Awaken In All Of Us Memories Of Goodness And Thus To Open Doors Of Hope.

Art Means: Revealing God In Everything That Exists.

Apostolic And Missionary Fruitfulness Is Not Principally Due To Programmes And Pastoral Methods That Are Cleverly Drawn Up And "efficient", But Is The Result Of The Community's Constant Prayer (cf. "evangelii Nuntiandi," 75). Moreover, For The Mission To Be Effective, Communities Must Be United, That Is, They Must Be "of One Heart And Soul" (cf. Acts 4:32), And They Must Be Ready To Witness To The Love And Joy That The Holy Spirit Instils In The Hearts Of The Faithful (cf. Acts 4:32).

May You Always Experience The Joy That Comes From Putting Christ At The Centre Of Your Lives.

Love Looks To The Eternal. Love Is Indeed "ecstasy," Not In The Sense Of A Moment Of Intoxication, But Rather As A Journey, An On-going Exodus Out Of The Closed Inward-looking Self Toward Its Liberation Through Self-giving... Toward Authentic Self-discovery And Indeed The Discovery Of God.

Islam Has A Total Organization Of Life That Is Completely Different From Ours; It Embraces Simply Everything,...there Is A Very Marked Subordination Of Woman To Man; There Is A Very Tightly Knit Criminal Law, Indeed, A Law Regulating All Areas Of Life, That Is Opposed To Our Modern Ideas About Society. One Has To Have A Clear Understanding That It Is Not Simply A Denomination That Can Be Included In The Free Realm Of A Pluralistic Society.

Those Who Allow Themselves To Be Led By The Spirit Understand That Placing Oneself At The Service Of The Gospel Is Not An Optional Extra, Because They Are Aware Of The Urgency Of Transmitting This Good News To Others...i Assure You That The Spirit Of Jesus Today Is Inviting You Young People To Be Bearers Of The Good News Of Jesus To Your Contemporaries.

Friends, Do Not Be Afraid Of Silence Or Stillness. Listen To God. Adore Him In The Eucharist.

Forgiveness Is Not Substitute For Justice.

When, For Example, In The Name Of Non-discrimination, People Try To Force The Catholic Church To Change Her Position On Homosexuality Or The Ordination Of Women, Then That Means That She Is No Longer Allowed To Live Out Her Own Identity And That, Instead, An Abstract, Negative Religion Is Being Made Into A Tyrannical Standard That Everyone Must Follow. That Is Then Seemingly Freedom — For The Sole Reason That It Is Liberation From The Previous Situation.

With The Rosary, We Allow Ourselves To Be Guided By Mary, Model Of Faith, In Meditating On The Mysteries Of Christ, And Day After Day We Are Helped To Assimilate The Gospel, So That It Shapes All Our Lives.

The Holy Spirit Gives Us Joy. And He Is Joy. Joy Is The Gift In Which All The Other Gifts Are Included. It Is The Expression Of Happiness, Of Being In Harmony With Ourselves, That Which Can Only Come From Being In Harmony With God And With His Creation. It Belongs To The Nature Of Joy To Be Radiant; It Must Communicate Itself. The Missionary Spirit Of The Church Is None Other Than The Impulse To Communicate The Joy Which Has Been Given.

To Me, Its Seems Necessary To Rediscover - And The Energy To Do So Exists - That Even The Political And Economic Spheres Need Moral Responsibility, A Responsibility That Is Born In Man's Heart And, In The End, Has To Do With The Presence Or Absence Of God.

Indeed, Truth Draws Strength From Itself And Not From The Number Of Votes In Its Favour.

God Came Into The World To Reawaken The Thirst For Great Things In Us.

Continue To Walk In The Faith And, Faithful To The Mandate That Has Been Entrusted To You, Go Out With Solicitude And Joy Toward All Creatures And Pass On To Them The Gifts Of Salvation...let Yourselves Be Guided By The Holy Spirit To Be The Leaven Of New Life, Salt Of The Earth And Light Of The World.

Human Pride And Egoism Always Create Divisions, Build Walls Of Indifference, Hate And Violence. The Holy Spirit, On The Other Hand, Makes Hearts Capable Of Understanding The Languages Of All, As He Re-establishes The Bridge Of Authentic Communication Between Earth And Heaven.

God Is Alive. He Has Created Every One Of Us, And He Knows Us All. He Is So Great That He Has Time For The Little Things In Our Lives: “every Hair Of Your Head Is Numbered”. God Is Alive, And Makes Sense To Become A Priest: The World Needs Priests, Pastors, Today, Tomorrow And Always, Until The End Of Time.

The World Needs More Than Just Itself. Amid The Dreariness, People Do Not Need A Distraction That Will In The End Become Dreary Itself; They Are Asking For Mystery, Even If They Do Not Realize This Themselves. They Need The Sign Of The Wholly Other, The Living Word Of God, Entering Into This Our Age In Unadulterated Trustworthiness And Dynamism.

Do Not Be Afraid Of Seeming Different And Being Criticized For What Might Seem To Be Losing Or Out Of Fashion; Your Peers But Adults Too, Especially Those Who Seem More Distant From The Mindset And Values Of The Gospel, Are Crying Out To See Someone Who Dares To Live According To The Fullness Of Humanity Revealed By Jesus Christ.

Dear Friends, May No Adversity Paralyze You. Be Afraid Neither Of The World, Nor Of The Future, Nor Of Your Weakness. The Lord Has Allowed You To Live In This Moment Of History So That, By Your Faith, His Name Will Continue To Resound Throughout The World.

The State Which Would Provide Everything, Absorbing Everything Into Itself, Would Ultimately Become A Mere Bureaucracy Incapable Of Guaranteeing The Very Thing Which The Suffering Person—every Person—needs: Namely, Loving Personal Concern. We Do Not Need A State Which Regulates And Controls Everything, But A State Which, In Accordance With The Principle Of Subsidiarity, Generously Acknowledges And Supports Initiatives Arising From The Different Social Forces And Combines Spontaneity With Closeness To Those In Need. The Church Is One Of Those Living Forces.

Too Often, Attention Is Diverted From The Needs Of Populations, Insufficient Emphasis Is Placed On Work In The Fields, And The Goods Of The Earth Are Not Given Adequate Protection. As A Result, Economic Imbalance Is Produced, And The Inalienable Rights And Dignity Of Every Human Person Are Ignored.

Silence 'is So Lacking In This World Which Is Often Too Noisy, Which Is Not Favorable To Recollection And Listening To The Voice Of God. In This Time Of Preparation For Christmas, Let Us Cultivate Interior Recollection So As To Receive And Keep Jesus In Our Lives.'

I Urge You To Continue Your Fraternal Cooperation With One Another In The Spirit Of The Community Of Christ's Disciples, United In Your Love For Him And In The Gospel That You Proclaim.

Sometimes We Are Looked Upon As People Who Speak Only Of Prohibitions. Nothing Could Be Further From The Truth! Authentic Christian Discipleship Is Marked By A Sense Of Wonder. We Stand Before The God We Know And Love As A Friend, The Vastness Of His Creation, And The Beauty Of Our Christian Faith.

A Theologian Who Does Not Love Art, Poetry, Music And Nature Can Be Dangerous. Blindness And Deafness Toward The Beautiful Are Not Incidental; They Necessarily Are Reflected In His Theology.

We Must Have Great Respect For These People Who Also Suffer And Who Want To Find Their Own Way Of Correct Living. On The Other Hand, To Create A Legal Form Of A Kind Of Homosexual Marriage, In Reality, Does Not Help These People.

One Of The Most Serious [challenges] Is Increased Military Spending And The Cost Of Maintaining And Developing Nuclear Arsenals. Enormous Resources Are Being Consumed For These Purposes, When They Could Be Spent On The Development Of Peoples, Especially Those Who Are Poorest. For This Reason I Firmly Hope That, During The Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference To Be Held This May In New York, Concrete Decisions Will Be Made Towards Progressive Disarmament, With A View To Freeing Our Planet From Nuclear Arms

The Current Economic Crisis...has Numerous Causes And Sends A Powerful Message About The Need For A Profound Revision Of The Model Of Global Economic Development. It's An Acute Symptom That Is Added To Other More Grave And Already Well-known Ones, Such As The Continued Imbalance Between Wealth And Poverty, The Scandal Of Hunger, The Ecological Emergency And The Problem Of Unemployment, Which Has Now Become General. In This Context A Strategic Re-launching Of Agriculture Appears Decisive.

It Is Necessary Not Only To Relieve The Gravest Needs But To Go To Their Roots, Proposing Measures That Will Give Social, Political And Economic Structures A More Equitable And Solidaristic Configuration.

The Human Being Of All Times Prays Because He Cannot Fail To Wonder About The Meaning Of His Life, Which Remains Obscure And Discomforting Of It Is Not Put In Relations To The Mystery Of God And If His Plan For The World.

Only From God Does True Revolution Come... The Definitive Way To Change The World.

We Will Never Forget That Blessing. It Was The Most Pained And Moving Blessing, Which Left Us With The Extreme Testimony Of His Will To Complete His Ministry Until The End.

The Eucharistic Sacrifice Of The Body And Blood Of Christ Embraces In Turn The Mystery Of Our Lord's Continuing Passion In The Members Of His Mystical Body, The Church In Every Age.

An Adult Faith Does Not Follow The Waves Of Fashion And The Latest Novelties.

The Capacity To Accept Suffering For The Sake Of Goodness, Truth And Justice Is An Essential Criterion Of Humanity, Because If My Own Well-being And Safety Are Ultimately More Important Than Truth And Justice, Then The Power Of The Stronger Prevails, Then Violence And Untruth Reigns Supreme.

The Great Tasks Facing The Ecclesial Community In The Modern World - And Among The Many I Particularly Stress Evangelization And Ecumenism - Are Centered On The Word Of God And, At The Same Time, Draw Therefrom Their Justification And Support.

Society As A Whole Must Defend The Conceived Child's Right To Life And The True Good Of The Woman Who Can Never, In Any Circumstances, Find Fulfilment In The Decision To Abort.

The Catholic Tradition Maintains That The Objective Norms Governing Right Action Are Accessible To Reason, Prescinding From The Content Of Revelation.

The Truth Comes To Rule, Not Through Violence, But Rather Through Its Own Power; [this Is The Central Theme Of John's Gospel:] When Brought Before Pilate, Jesus Professes That He Himself Is The Truth And The Witness To The Truth. He Does Not Defend The Truth With Legions But Rather Makes It Visible Through His Passion And Thereby Also Implements It.

The Church Needs Your Faith, Your Idealism And Your Generosity, So That She Can Always Be Young In The Spirit.

I Have A Mustard Seed; And I Am Not Afraid To Use It.

To The Extent That We Nourish Ourselves On Christ And Are In Love With Him, We Feel Within Us The Incentive To Bring Others To Him: Indeed, We Cannot Keep The Joy Of The Faith To Ourselves; We Must Pass It On.

Can Man, The Finite And Sinful One, Cooperate With God, The Infinite And Holy One? Yes, He Can, Precisely Because God Himself Has Become Man, Become Body, And Here (in The Liturgy), Again And Again, He Comes Through His Body To Us Who Live In The Body.

Purity Of Heart Is What Enables Us To See.

Selfishness And Fear Are At The Root Of (pro-abortion) Legislation...we In The Church Have A Great Struggle To Defend Life...life Is A Gift Not A Threat.

In Silence, We Are Better Able To Listen To And Understand Ourselves; Ideas Come To Birth And Acquire Depth... Deeper Reflection Helps Us To Discover The Links Between Events That At First Sight Seem Unconnected... For This To Happen, It Is Necessary To Develop An Appropriate Environment, A Kind Of 'eco-system' That Maintains A Just Equilibrium Between Silence, Words, Images And Sounds.

[non-catholic Christians Are] In A Gravely Deficient Situation In Comparison With Those Who, In The [roman Catholic] Church, Have The Fullness Of The Means Of Salvation.

Love Has A Particular Trait: Far From Being Indulgent Or Fickle, It Has A Task Or Purpose To Fulfil: To Abide. By Its Nature Love Is Enduring. Again, Dear Friends, We Catch A Further Glimpse Of How Much The Holy Spirit Offers Our World: Love Which Dispels Uncertainty; Love Which Overcomes The Fear Of Betrayal; Love Which Carries Eternity Within; The True Love Which Draws Us Into A Unity That Abides!

In A World Wounded By Conflicts, Where Violence Is Justified In God's Name, It's Important To Repeat That Religion Can Never Become A Vehicle Of Hatred, It Can Never Be Used In God's Name To Justify Violence.

In Jesus Christ, God Took On A Human Face And Became Our Friend And Brother.

Preservation Of The Environment, Promotion Of Sustainable Development And Particular Attention To Climate Change Are Matters Of Grave Concern For The Entire Human Family. No Nation Or Business Sector Can Ignore The Ethical Implications Present In All Economic And Social Development. With Increasing Clarity Scientific Research Demonstrates That The Impact Of Human Actions In Any One Place Or Region Can Have Worldwide Effects.

The Church Must Never Be Satisfied With The Ranks Of Those Whom She Has Reached At A Certain Point Or Say That Others Are Fine As They Are: Muslims, Hindus And So Forth. The Church Can Never Retreat Comfortably To Within The Limits Of Her Own Environment. She Is Charged With Universal Solicitude; She Must Be Concerned With And For One And All... We Must... As The Lord Says - Go Out Ever Anew 'to The Highways And Hedges' (luke 14:23), To Deliver God's Invitation To His Banquet Also To Those Who Have So Far Heard Nothing Or Have Not Been Stirred Within.

Advent's Intention Is To Awaken The Most Profound And Basic Emotional Memory Within Us, Namely, The Memory Of The God Who Became A Child. This Is A Healing Memory; It Brings Hope. The Purpose Of The Church's Year Is Continually To Rehearse Her Great History Of Memories, To Awaken The Heart's Memory So That It Can Discern The Star Of Hope.

Continue To Witness To The Gospel Every Day And Commit Yourselves Generously In The Next Missionary Initiatives In The Diocese Of Rome.

Rock... Is The Expression Of Elemental Passions... In The Ecstasy Of Having All Their Defenses Torn Down, The Participants Sink, As It Were, Beneath The Elemental Force Of The Universe.

We Are Still Awaiting Easter; We Are Not Yet Standing In The Full Light But Walking Toward It Full Of Trust.

The Experience Of [the African] Bishops Is That Evangelization Itself Should Be Foremost, That The God Of Jesus Christ Must Be Known, Believed In And Loved, And That Hearts Must Be Converted If Progress Is To Be Made On Social Issues And Reconciliation Is To Begin, And If - For Example - Aids Is To Be Combated By Realistically Facing Its Deeper Causes And The Sick Are To Be Given The Loving Care They Need. Social Issues And The Gospel Are Inseparable.

We Cannot Live, We Cannot Look At The Truth About Ourselves Without Letting Ourselves Be Looked At And Generated By Christ In Daily Eucharistic Adoration.

The Cross Is The Approbation Of Our Existence, Not In Words, But In An Act So Completely Radical That It Caused God To Become Flesh And Pierced This Flesh To The Quick; That, To God, It Was Worth The Death Of His Incarnate Son.

An Authentic Updating Of Sacred Music Can Take Place Only In The Lineage Of The Great Tradition Of The Past, Of Gregorian Chant And Of Sacred Polyphony.

Thus, The Apostles' Adventure Began As A Gathering Of Persons Who Open To One Another Reciprocally. A Direct Knowledge Of The Teacher Began For The Disciples. They Saw Where He Lived And Began To Know Him. They Would Not Have To Be Heralds Of An Idea, But Witnesses Of A Person. Before Being Sent To Evangelize, They Would Have To "be" With Jesus (cf. Mark 3:14), Establishing A Personal Relationship With Him. With This Foundation, Evangelization Is No More Than A Proclamation Of What Has Been Experienced And An Invitation To Enter Into The Mystery Of Communion With Christ (cf. 1 John 13).

Art Is Elemental. Reason Alone As It's Expressed In The Sciences Can't Be Man's Complete Answer To Reality, And It Can't Express Everything That Man Can, Wants To, And Has To Express. I Think God Built This Into Man. Art Along With Science Is The Highest Gift God Has Given Him.

While The Church Exhorts Civil Authorities To Seek Peace, Not War, And To Exercise Discretion And Mercy In Imposing Punishment On Criminals, It May Still Be Permissible To Take Up Arms To Repel An Aggressor Or To Have Recourse To Capital Punishment. There May Be A Legitimate Diversity Of Opinion Even Among Catholics About Waging War And Applying The Death Penalty, But Not However With Regard To Abortion And Euthanasia.

The Catechism Was Not Written To Please You. It Will Not Make Life Easy For You, Because It Demands Of You A New Life.

If A Pope Clearly Realizes That He Is No Longer Physically, Psychologically, And Spiritually Capable Of Handling The Duties Of His Office, Then He Has A Right And, Under Some Circumstances, Also An Obligation To Resign.

Do Not Believe That Living Together Before Marriage Guarantees The Future. By Burning Certain Stages, You Risk Burning Love Itself. Time Needs To Be Respected Gradually, Just Like The Expressions Of Love.

It Is When We Attempt To Avoid Suffering By Withdrawing From Anything That Might Involve Hurt, When We Try To Spare Ourselves The Effort And Pain Of Pursuing Truth, Love, And Goodness, That We Drift Into A Life Of Emptiness, In Which There May Be Almost No Pain, But The Dark Sensation Of Meaninglessness And Abandonment Is All The Greater.

The Real 'action' In The Liturgy In Which We Are All Supposed To Participate Is The Action Of God Himself. This Is What Is New And Distinctive About The Christian Liturgy: God Himself Acts And Does What Is Essential.

In The Pierced Heart Of The Crucified, God's Own Heart Is Opened Up - Here We See Who God Is And What He Is Like. Heaven Is No Longer Locked Up. God Has Stepped Out Of His Hiddenness.

You Have Suffered Grievously And I Am Truly Sorry. I Know That Nothing Can Undo The Wrong You Have Endured. Your Trust Has Been Betrayed And Your Dignity Has Been Violated.

For More Than 160 Years, Through The Initiative Of The French Bishop Charles De Forbin Janson, The Childhood Of Jesus Has Become The Icon For The Commitment Of Christian Children Who Help The Church In Her Task Of Evangelization By Prayer, Sacrifice And Gestures Of Solidarity....thousands Of Children Meet The Needs Of Other Children, Driven By The Love That The Son Of God, Become A Child, Brought To The Earth. I Say Thanks To These Little Ones And I Pray That They Will Always Be Missionaries.

Lent Stimulates Us To Let The Word Of God Penetrate Our Life And In This Way To Know The Fundamental Truth: Who We Are, Where We Come From, Where We Must Go, What Path We Must Take In Life.

The Ways Of The Lord Are Not Easy, But We Were Not Created For An Easy Life, But For Great Things, For Goodness.

The Church Does Not Engage In Proselytism. Instead, She Grows By "attraction": Just As Christ "draws All To Himself" By The Power Of His Love, Culminating In The Sacrifice Of The Cross, So The Church Fulfills Her Mission.

Every Human Being Is Loved By God The Father. No One Need Feel Forgotten, For Every Name Is Written In The Lord's Loving Heart.

In A Nuclear War There Would Be No Victors, Only Victims. The Truth Of Peace Require That All-whether Those Governments Which Openly Or Secretly Possess Nuclear Arms, Or Those Planning To Acquire Them- Agree To Change Their Course By Clear And Firm Decision And Strive For A Progressive And Concerted Nuclear Disarmament. The Resources Which Would Be Saved Could Then Be Employed In Projects Of Development Capable Of Benefiting All Their People, Especially The Poor.

Nuclear Disarmament

Men And Women Were Created For Something Great, For Infinity. Nothing Else Will Ever Be Enough.

Today, The Need To Avoid Confusing Marriage With Other Types Of Unions Based On Weak Love Is Especially Urgent. It Is Only The Rock Of Total, Irrevocable Love Between A Man And A Woman That Can Serve As The Foundation On Which To Build A Society That Will Become A Home For All Mankind.

The Ecological Crisis Shows The Urgency Of A Solidarity Which Embraces Time And Space... A Greater Sense Of Intergenerational Solidarity Is Urgently Needed. Future Generations Cannot Be Saddled With The Cost Of Our Use Of Common Environmental Resources.

For In This World, Marked By Sin, The Gravitational Pull Of Our Lives Is Weighted By The Chains Of The "i" And The "self." These Chains Must Be Broken To Free Us For A New Love That Places Us In Another Gravitational Field Where We Can Enter New Life.

In A World Where There Is So Much Noise, So Much Bewilderment, There Is A Need For Silent Adoration Of Jesus Concealed In The Host. Be Assiduous In The Prayer Of Adoration And Teach It To The Faithful. It Is A Source Of Comfort And Light, Particularly To Those Who Are Suffering.

How Much We Need, In The Church And In Society, Witnesses Of The Beauty Of Holiness, Witnesses Of The Splendour Of Truth, Witnesses Of The Joy And Freedom Born Of A Living Relationship With Christ!

In The Desert We Rediscover The Value Of What Is Essential For Living; Thus In Today's World There Are Innumerable Signs, Often Expressed Implicitly Or Negatively, Of The Thirst For God, For The Ultimate Meaning Of Life. And In The Desert People Of Faith Are Needed Who, By The Example Of Their Own Lives, Point Out The Way To The Promised Land And Keep Hope Alive.

...the Baptized In Their Sense Of Mission, Through Prayer, The Witness Of Life And Christian Commitment In All Its Forms, So That All The Faithful May Become Missionaries In The Places Where They Live And That Vocations Will Come Forth To Proclaim The Gospel To Men Who Do Not Yet Know It.

The Celebration Of Lent, In The Context Of The Year Of Faith, Offers Us A Valuable Opportunity To Meditate On The Relationship Between Faith And Charity: Between Believing In God - The God Of Jesus Christ - And Love, Which Is The Fruit Of The Holy Spirit And Which Guides Us On The Path Of Devotion To God And Others.

Experience Shows That Disregard For The Environment Always Harms Human Coexistence, And Vice Versa. It Becomes More And More Evident That There Is An Inseparable Link Between Peace With Creation And Peace Among Men.

At The Time Of Galileo The Church Remained Much More Reasonable Than Galileo Himself. The Process Against Galileo Was Reasonable And Just.

To Desire The Common Good And Strive Towards It Is A Requirement Of Justice And Charity.

Lent Is Like A Long 'retreat' During Which We Can Turn Back Into Ourselves And Listen To The Voice Of God, In Order To Defeat The Temptations Of The Evil One. It Is A Period Of Spiritual 'combat' Which We Must Experience Alongside Jesus, Not With Pride And Presumption, But Using The Arms Of Faith: Prayer, Listening To The Word Of God And Penance. In This Way We Will Be Able To Celebrate Easter In Truth, Ready To Renew The Promises Of Our Baptism.

Popular Piety Is One Of Our Strengths Because It Consists Of Prayers Deeply Rooted In People's Hearts. These Prayers Even Move The Hearts Of People Who Are Somewhat Cut Off From The Life Of The Church And Who Have No Special Understanding Of Faith. All That Is Required Is To 'illuminate' These Actions And 'purify' This Tradition So That It May Become Part Of The Life Of The Church Today.

Everything In This World Will Pass Away. In Eternity Only Love Will Remain.

God's Love Does Not Distinguish Between The Infant In The Mother's Womb Or The Child Or The Youth Or The Adult Or The Older Person. In Each One God Sees His Image And Likeness. Human Life Is A Manifestation Of God And His Glory.

The World Needs Transparent Lives, Clear Souls, Pure Minds That Refuse To Be Perceived As Mere Objects Of Pleasure.

This World In Which We Live Needs Beauty In Order Not To Sink Into Despair. Beauty, Like Truth, Brings Joy To The Human Heart, And Is That Precious Fruit Which Resists The Erosion Of Time, Which Unites Generations And Enables Them To Be One In Admiration. And All This Through The Work Of Your Hands . . . Remember That You Are The Custodians Of Beauty In The World.

It Is Important Always To Know That The First Word, The True Initiative, The True Activity Comes From God And Only By Inserting Ourselves Into The Divine Initiative, Only Begging For This Divine Initiative, Shall We Too Be Able To Become - With Him And In Him - Evangelizers.

Thanks To Being Profoundly Rooted In Christ, He Was Able To Bear A Burden Which Transcends Merely Human Abilities.

A Spiritual Desert Is Spreading: An Interior Emptiness, An Unnamed Fear, A Quiet Sense Of Despair.

The Essence Of Christianity...is An Ever-new Encounter With... The God Who Speaks To Us, Who Approaches Us And Who Befriends Us!

Grace, Lavished Upon Us By God And Communicated Through The Mystery Of The Incarnate Word, Is An Absolutely Free Gift With Which Nature Is Healed, Strengthened And Assisted In Pursuing The Innate Desire For Happiness In The Heart Of Every Man And Of Every Woman.

Advent Is The Spiritual Season Of Hope Par Excellence, And In This Season The Whole Church Is Called To Be Hope, For Itself And For The World.

The Church's Mission Is To Spread Hope "contagiously" Among All Peoples... It Is Only In This Mission That The True Journey Of Humanity Is Understood And Attested.

Without Fear We Must Set Sail On The Digital Sea.

Today We Have To Learn All Over Again That Love For The Sinner And Love For The Person Who Has Been Harmed Are Correctly Balanced If I Punish The Sinner In The Form That Is Possible And Appropriate. In This Respect There Was In The Past A Change Of Mentality, In Which The Law And The Need For Punishment Were Obscured. Ultimately This Also Narrowed The Concept Of Law, Which In Fact Is Not Only Just Being Nice Or Courteous, But Is Found In The Truth. And Another Component Of The Truth Is That I Must Punish The One Who Has Sinned Against Real Love

Jesus Christ Does Not Teach Us A Spirituality “of Closed Eyes”, But One Of “alertness”, One Which Entails An Absolute Duty To Take Notice Of The Needs Of Others And Of Situations Involving Those Whom The Gospel Tells Us Are Our Neighbours. The Gaze Of Jesus, What “his Eyes” Teach Us, Leads To Human Closeness, Solidarity, Giving Time, Sharing Our Gifts And Even Our Material Goods.

Dear Brothers And Sisters, After The Great Pope John Paul Ii, The Cardinals Have Elected Me - A Simple, Humble Worker In The Vineyard Of The Lord.

But Palm Sunday Tells Us That ... It Is The Cross That Is The True Tree Of Life.

Evil Draws Its Power From Indecision And Concern For What Other People Think.

Today, I, Too, Wish To Reaffirm That I Intend To Continue On The Path Toward Improved Relations And Friendship With The Jewish People, Following The Decisive Lead Given By John Paul Ii.

Christ Had A Specific Evangelizing Goal In Mind When He Prayed At The Last Supper That All His Disciples 'be One...'the Church's Evangelizing Mission, Therefore, Moves Along The Path Of Ecumenism, The Path Of Unity Of Faith, Of Evangelical Witness And Authentic Fraternity.

I Send Them My Warmest Encouragement To Persevere In The Patience And Charity Of Christ.

Each One Of Us Needs Time And Space For Recollection, Meditation And Calmness.... Thanks Be To God That This Is So! In Fact, This Need Tells Us That We Are Not Made For Work Alone, But Also To Think, To Reflect Or Even Simply To Follow With Our Minds And Our Hearts A Tale, A Story In Which To Immerse Ourselves, In A Certain Sense To Lose Ourselves To Find Ourselves Subsequently Enriched.

How Many People Also In Our Time Are In Search Of God, In Search Of Jesus And Of His Church, In Search Of Divine Mercy, And Are Waiting For A "sign" That Will Touch Their Minds And Their Hearts! Today, As Then, The Evangelist Reminds Us That The Only "sign" Is Jesus Raised On The Cross: Jesus Who Died And Rose Is The Absolutely Sufficient Sign. Through Him We Can Understand The Truth About Life And Obtain Salvation.

Believing Is Nothing Other Than, In The Darkness Of The World, Touching The Hand Of God, And In This Way, In Silence, Hearing The Word, Seeing Love.

The Earth Is Indeed A Precious Gift Of The Creator Who, In Designing Its Intrinsic Order, Has Given Us Bearings That Guide Us As Stewards Of His Creation. Precisely From Within This Framework, The Church Considers Matters Concerning The Environment And Its Protection Intimately Linked To The Theme Of Integral Human Development.

Consecrated Life Means Going To The Very Root Of The Love Of Jesus Christ With An Undivided Heart And Putting Nothing Ahead Of This Love.

We Live Our Lives By Philosophies, Amid Worldly Affairs And Occupations That Totally Absorb Us And Are A Great Distance From The Manger. In All Kinds Of Ways, God Has To Prod Us And Reach Out To Us Again And Again, So That We Can Manage To Escape From The Muddle Of Our Thoughts And Activities And Discover The Way That Leads To Him. But A Path Exists For All Of Us. The Lord Provides Everyone With Tailor-made Signals.

Preservation Of The Environment, Promotion Of Sustainable Development And Particular Attention To Climate Change Are Matters Of Grave Concern For The Entire Human Family.

Discovering The Beauty And Joy Of Faith Is A Path That Every New Generation Must Take On Its Own.

The Catholic Community Must Offer Support To Those Women Who May Find It Difficult To Accept A Child, Above All When They Are Isolated From Their Family And Friends. Likewise, The Community Should Be Open To Welcome Back All Who Repent Of Having Participated In The Grave Sin Of Abortion, And Should Guide Them With Pastoral Charity To Accept The Grace Of Forgiveness, The Need For Penance, And The Joy Of Entering Once More Into The New Life Of Christ.

Civilization Is Now Under The Tyranny Of Relativism.

The Rediscovery Of The Value Of One's Own Baptism Is At The Root Of Every Christian's Missionary Commitment, Because As We See In The Gospel, Those Who Allow Themselves To Be Fascinated By Christ Cannot Fail To Witness To The Joy Of Following In His Footsteps... We Understand Ever More That It Is Precisely In Virtue Of Baptism That We Possess A Co-natural Missionary Vocation.

Praying Actualizes And Deepens Our Communion With God. Our Prayer Can And Should Arise Above All From Our Heart, From Our Needs, Our Hopes, Our Joys, Our Sufferings, From Our Shame Over Sin, And From Our Gratitude From The Good. It Can And Should Be A Wholly Personal Prayer.

The Church Does Not Invent Sins But Recognizes The Will Of God And Has To Declare It. Of Course, The Great Thing.. Is That Upon The Church, Which Has To Declare The Will Of God In Its Full Magnitude, In Its Unconditional Rigor, So That Man Should Know His True Measure, Is Bestowed As A Gift, At The Same Time, The Task Of Forgiving.

I Think In Particular Of Our Need To Speak To The Hearts Of Young People, Who, Despite Their Constant Exposure To Messages Contrary To The Gospel, Continue To Thirst For Authenticity, Goodness And Truth. Much Remains To Be Done, Particularly On The Level Of Preaching And Catechesis In Parishes And Schools, If The New Evangelization Is To Bear Fruit For The Renewal Of Ecclesial Life In America.

It Is A Symbol Evoking A Reality That Touches The Depths Of The Person ... The Light Of Goodness That Vanquishes Evil, Of Love That Overcomes Hatred, Of Life That Defeats Death.

Anyone Who Knows He Is Loved Is In Turn Prompted To Love. It Is The Lord Himself, Who Loved Us First, Who Asks Us To Place At The Center Of Our Lives Love For Him And For The People He Has Loved. It Is Especially Adolescents And Young People, Who Feel Within Them The Pressing Call To Love, Who Need To Be Freed From The Widespread Prejudice That Christianity, With Its Commandments And Prohibitions, Sets Too Many Obstacles In The Path Of The Joy Of Love And, In Particular Prevents People From Fully Enjoying The Happiness That Men And Women Find In Their Love For One Another.

The Cardinals Have Elected Me, A Simple And Humble Labourer In The Vineyard Of The Lord. The Fact That The Lord Knows How To Work And To Act Even With Inadequate Instruments Comforts Me, And Above All I Entrust Myself To Your Prayers.

We Cannot Keep To Ourselves The Words Of Eternal Life Given To Us In Our Encounter With Jesus Christ: They Are Meant For Everyone, For Every Man And Woman. ... It Is Our Responsibility To Pass On What, By God's Grace, We Ourselves Have Received.

Christianity Is Not A New Philosophy Or New Morality. We Are Christians Only If We Encounter Christ... Only In This Personal Relationship With Christ, Only In This Encounter With The Risen One Do We Really Become Christians... Therefore, Let Us Pray To The Lord To Enlighten Us, So That, In Our World, He Will Grant Us The Encounter With His Presence, And Thus Give Us A Lively Faith, An Open Heart, And Great Charity For All, Capable Of Renewing The World.

That The Different Christian Confessions, Aware Of The Need For A New Evangelisation In This Period Of Profound Transformations, May Be Committed To Announcing The Good News And Moving Towards The Full Unity Of All Christians In Order To Offer A More Credible Testimony Of The Gospel.

We Are Not Some Casual And Meaningless Product Of Evolution. Each Of Us Is The Result Of A Thought Of God.

One Of The Promising Indications Of A Renewal In The Church's Missionary Consciousness In Recent Decades, Has Been The Growing Desire Of Many Lay Men And Women [...] To Cooperate Generously In The 'missio Ad Gentes.' As Vatican Council Ii Stressed, The Work Of Evangelization Is A Fundamental Duty Incumbent Upon The Whole People Of God.

We Can Learn From Him That Suffering And The Gift Of Himself Is An Essential Gift We Need In Our Time.

Eternity Is Not An Unending Succession Of Days In The Calendar, But Something More Like The Supreme Moment Of Satisfaction, In Which Totality Embraces Us And We Embrace Totality.

Help Each Other To Live And To Grow In The Christian Faith So As To Be Valiant Witnesses Of The Lord. Be United, But Not Closed. Be Humble, But Not Fearful. Be Simple, But Not Naive. Be Thoughtful, But Not Complicated. Enter Into Dialogue With Others, But Be Yourselves.

The Language Of Art Is A 'parabolic' Language, With A Special Openness To The Universal: The 'way Of Beauty' Is A Way Capable Of Leading The Mind And Heart To The Lord, To Elevate Them To The Heights Of God.

I Am Simply A Pilgrim Beginning The Last Leg Of His Pilgrimage On This Earth.

God's Love For His People Is So Great That It Turns God Against Himself, His Love Against His Justice.

The New Pope Knows That His Task Is To Make The Light Of Christ Shine Before Men And Women Of World - Not His Own Light, But That Of Christ.

The "door Of Faith" (acts 14:27) Is Always Open For Us, Ushering Us Into The Life Of Communion With God And Offering Entry Into His Church. It Is Possible To Cross That Threshold When The Word Of God Is Proclaimed And The Heart Allows Itself To Be Shaped By Transforming Grace. To Enter Through That Door Is To Set Out On A Journey That Lasts A Lifetime.

When Human Affairs Are So Ordered That There Is No Recognition Of God, There Is A Belittling Of Man. That Is Why, In The Final Analysis, Worship And Law Cannot Be Completely Separated From Each Other. God Has A Right To A Response From Man, To Man Himself, And Where That Right Of God Totally Disappears, The Order Of Law Among Men Is Dissolved, Because There Is No Cornerstone To Keep The Whole Structure Together.

In An Ever More Open World, Building Peace Through Dialogue Is No Longer A Choice But A Necessity!

Freedom Is Not Only A Gift, But A Summons To Personal Responsibility.

Personal Responsibility

Advent, This Powerful Liturgical Season That We Are Beginning, Invites Us To Pause In Silence To Understand A Presence. It Is An Invitation To Understand That The Individual Events Of The Day Are Hints That God Is Giving Us, Signs Of The Attention He Has For Each One Of Us.

Because The Truth Of God Is Love, Conversion To God Is Conversion To Love.

In The Current Economic Situation, The Temptation For The More Dynamic Economies Is That Of Chasing After Advantageous Alliances That, Nevertheless, Can Have Harmful Effects For Poorer States, Prolonging Situations Of Extreme Mass Poverty Of Men And Women And Using Up The Earth's Natural Resources, Entrusted To Man By God The Creator-as Genesis Says-that He Might Cultivate And Protect It.

Jesus, The Word Incarnate, Is Always The Center Of Our Announcement, The Point Of Reference For Our Evangelizing Mission And For Its Methodology, Because He Is The Human Face Of God, Who Wishes To Meet All Men And Women So As To Bring Them Into Communion With Him, In His Love.

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