The confessional is not a torture chamber, but the place in which the Lord's mercy motivates us to do better.

When I had to say something that I didn't like to Turkey, but of which I was sure, I said it, with the consequences that you all know [Editor's note: a reference to his comments on the Armenian Genocide]. I said these words ... I was sure

The Cross is the Word through which God has responded to evil in the world.

The worship of the golden calf of old (cf. Ex 32:15-34) has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly humane goal.

The world is polarized. The middle class becomes smaller. The polarization makes the difference between rich and the poor big. This is true.

Work is fundamental to the dignity of the person. Work, to use an image, 'anoints' with dignity, fills us with dignity, makes us similar to God who has worked and still works, who always acts.

The key that opens the door to the faith is prayer.