We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.

I don’t know if it is all (man’s fault) but the majority is, for the most part, it is man who continuously slaps down nature.

How many young people, how many young people of our Europe, whom we have left empty of ideals, who do not have work... they take drugs, alcohol, or go there to enlist in fundamentalist groups.

Do not forget this: the Lord never wearies of forgiving! We are the ones who weary of asking for forgiveness.

The pace of consumption, waste and environmental change has so stretched the planet's capacity that our contemporary lifestyle, unsustainable as it is, can only precipitate catastrophes, such as those which even now periodically occur in different areas of the world ... we need to reflect on our accountability before those who will have to endure the dire consequences.

Essential to the attainment of these national goals is the moral imperative of ensuring social justice and respect for human dignity. The great biblical tradition enjoins on all peoples the duty to hear the voice of the poor. It bids us to break the bonds of injustice and oppression which give rise to glaring, and indeed, scandalous social inequalities. Reforming the social structures which perpetuate poverty and the exclusion of the poor first requires a conversion of mind and heart.

There is no cross, big or small, in our life which the Lord does not share with us.