One of the more serious temptations which stifles boldness and zeal is a defeatism, which turns us into querulous and disillusioned pessimists, sourpusses.

I don't live in the papal residence. I live in a simple apartment behind the Vatican gas station.

I don't know how things stand in the thinking of the Italian parliament. The Pope doesn't get mixed up in Italian politics.

Jesus did not say: 'One of you go', but 'All of you go': we are sent together.

People have to struggle to live and, frequently, to live in an undignified way. One cause of this situation, in my opinion, is in the our relationship with money, and our acceptance of its power over ourselves and our society.

Work is fundamental to the dignity of a person. . . . It gives one the ability to maintain oneself, one's family, to contribute to the growth of one's own nation.

Fathers are so necessary as examples and guides for our children in wisdom and virtue. Without father figures, young people often feel orphaned; left adrift at a critical moment in their growth and development.