Since many of you do not belong to the Catholic Church and others are non-believers, from the bottom of my heart I give this silent blessing to each and every one of you, respecting the conscience of each one of you but knowing that each one of you is a child of God.

I think we too are the people who, on the one hand, want to listen to Jesus, but on the other hand, at times, like to find a stick to beat others with, to condemn others. And Jesus has this message for us: mercy. I think - and I say it with humility - that this is the Lord's most powerful message: mercy.

The Church in the Philippines is called to acknowledge and combat the causes of the deeply rooted inequality and injustice which mar the face of Filipino society, plainly contradicting the teaching of Christ.

The joy of the Gospel is for all people: no one can be excluded.

Some people believe that - pardon my language - in order to be good Catholics, we should be like rabbits. No.

I pray every day for all who are suffering in Iraq. Please join me.

Everyone must be a missionary, everyone can hear that call of Jesus and go forth and proclaim the Kingdom!