Pope Benedict XVI Quotes (117 quotes) | Quotes of famous people

Pope Benedict XVI: 117 quotes 4 likes

Famous Pope Benedict XVI Quotes

“Life is not governed by chance; it is not random. Your very existence has been willed by God, blessed and given a purpose! Life is not just a succession of events or experiences. It is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful. It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom; it is in this - in truth, in goodness, and in beauty - that we find happiness and joy.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Papal Welcome (17 July 2008)

“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.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2000, The Spirit of the Liturgy (2000)

“Celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom means embracing a life completely devoted to love, a love that enables you to commit yourselves fully to God's service and to be totally present to your brothers and sisters, especially those in need.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Mass with the Clergy (18 July 2008)

“It is true that the Muslim world is not totally mistaken when it reproaches the West of Christian tradition of moral decadence and the manipulation of human life. … Islam has also had moments of great splendor and decadence in the course of its history.”

Pope Benedict XVI

from "Ratzinger denies Christianity 'superior' to Islam," Zenit.org via Catholic News, March 6, 2002
2002

“You are called to exercise the Spirit's gifts amidst the ups and downs of your daily life. Let your faith mature through your studies, work, sports, music and art. Let it be sustained by prayer and nurtured by the sacraments.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Youth Day Vigil (19 July 2008)

“In and of itself, the market is not, and must not become, the place where the strong subdue the weak.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2009, Cartias in Vertitate (29 June 2009)

Pope Benedict XVI Quotes about God

“[The atheist believes] a world marked by so much injustice, innocent suffering, and cynicism of power cannot be the work of a good God.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Encyclical Letter Spe Salvi of the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI to the Bishops Priests and Deacons Men and Women Religious and All the Lay Faithful On Christian Hope, 30 November 2007
2007

“If the divorced are remarried civilly, they find themselves in a situation that objectively contravenes God's law. Consequently, they cannot receive Holy Communion as long as this situation persists. This norm is not at all a punishment or a discrimination against the divorced and remarried, but rather expresses an objective situation that of itself renders impossible the reception of Holy Communion: '… If these people were admitted to the Eucharist, the faithful would be led into error and confusion regarding the Church's teaching about the indissolubility of marriage.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Letter to bishops, Sept. 14, 1994
1990s

“Christianity is not a highly complicated collection of so many dogmas that it is impossible for anyone to know them all; it is not something exclusively for academicians who can study these things, but it is something simple: God exists and God is close in Jesus Christ.”

Pope Benedict XVI

remarks http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2007/july/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20070724_clero-cadore_en.html at Auronzo di Cadore (24 July 2007)
2007

“Material possessions in themselves are good. We would not survive for long without money, clothing, shelter and food. Yet if we refuse to share what we have with the hungry and the poor, we make of our possessions a false god. How many voices in our materialist society tell us that happiness is to be found by acquiring as many possessions and luxuries as we can! But this is to make possessions into a false god. Instead of bringing life, they bring death.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Disadvantaged Youth (18 July 2008)

“We can be sure our beloved pope is standing today at the window of the father's house, that he sees us and blesses us. Yes, bless us, Holy Father. We entrust your dear soul to the Mother of God, your Mother, who guided you each day and who will now guide you to the glory of her son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.Today we bury his remains in the earth as a seed of immortality. Our hearts are full of sadness, yet at the same time (full) of joyful hope and profound gratitude.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Homily during the Requiem Mass of the funeral of [Pope John Paul II], on April 8, 2005
2005

“After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths due to an advanced age are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. In order to govern the bark of St. Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary — strengths which in the last few months, have deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Statement announcing his resignation as pope, quoted in ABCNews http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/vatican-pope-resigning-feb-28-18462573, 'Pope Benedict to Resign, Vatican Says' (11 February 2013)
2013

Pope Benedict XVI Quotes about life

“Among the fundamental values linked to women's actual lives is what has been called a 'capacity for the other.' Although a certain type of feminist rhetoric makes demands 'for ourselves,' women preserve the deep intuition of the goodness in their lives of those actions which elicit life, and contribute to the growth and protection of the other…. But, in the final analysis, every human being, man or woman, is destined to be 'for the other.'… Therefore, the promotion of women within society must be understood and desired as a humanization accomplished through those values, rediscovered thanks to women. Every outlook which presents itself as a conflict between the sexes is only an illusion and a danger; it would end in segregation and competition between men and women, and would promote a solipsism nourished by a false conception of freedom.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Doctrinal document On the Collaboration of Men and Women in the Church and in the World, July 31, 2004
2003

“Uncertainty over working conditions caused by mobility and deregulation, when it becomes endemic, tends to create new forms of psychological instability, giving rise to difficulty in forging coherent life-plans, including that of marriage.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2009, Cartias in Vertitate (29 June 2009)

“Currently, I see in Germany, but also in the United States, a somewhat fierce debate raging between so-called "creationism" and evolutionism, presented as though they were mutually exclusive alternatives: those who believe in the Creator would not be able to conceive of evolution, and those who instead support evolution would have to exclude God. This antithesis is absurd because, on the one hand, there are so many scientific proofs in favour of evolution which appears to be a reality we can see and which enriches our knowledge of life and being as such. But on the other, the doctrine of evolution does not answer every query, especially the great philosophical question: where does everything come from? And how did everything start which ultimately led to man?”

Pope Benedict XVI

remarks http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2007/july/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20070724_clero-cadore_en.html at Auronzo di Cadore (24 July 2007)
2007

“The Church does not have technical solutions to offer and does not claim “to interfere in any way in the politics of States.” She does, however, have a mission of truth to accomplish, in every time and circumstance, for a society that is attuned to man, to his dignity, to his vocation. Without truth, it is easy to fall into an empiricist and sceptical view of life, incapable of rising to the level of praxis because of a lack of interest in grasping the values — sometimes even the meanings — with which to judge and direct it. Fidelity to man requires fidelity to the truth, which alone is the guarantee of freedom (cf. Jn 8:32) and of the possibility of integral human development. For this reason the Church searches for truth, proclaims it tirelessly and recognizes it wherever it is manifested. This mission of truth is something that the Church can never renounce. Her social doctrine is a particular dimension of this proclamation: it is a service to the truth which sets us free. Open to the truth, from whichever branch of knowledge it comes, the Church's social doctrine receives it, assembles into a unity the fragments in which it is often found, and mediates it within the constantly changing life-patterns of the society of peoples and nations”

Pope Benedict XVI

2009, Cartias in Vertitate (29 June 2009)

“In the hour of its greatest success, Europe seems to have become empty inside, paralyzed by a life-threatening crisis to its health and dependent on transplants.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Values in Times of Upheaval (2005)
2005

“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 reign supreme. Truth and justice must stand above my comfort and physical well-being, or else my life itself becomes a lie. In the end, even the “yes” to love is a source of suffering, because love always requires expropriations of my “I”, in which I allow myself to be pruned and wounded. Love simply cannot exist without this painful renunciation of myself, for otherwise it becomes pure selfishness and thereby ceases to be love.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2007

Pope Benedict XVI: Trending quotes

“Love has a particular trait: it has a task or purpose to fulfill - to abide. By its nature, love is enduring. The Holy Spirit offers our world love that dispels uncertainty; love that overcomes the fear of betrayal; love that carries eternity within; the true love that draws us into a unity that abides!”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Youth Day Vigil (19 July 2008)

Love , World , Fear , Nature

“"There is more joy in giving than in receiving." Never doubt the truth of our Lord's promise that whatever we give him of our creativity, our resources, our persons, will come back to us in abundance.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Closing Mass (19 July 2008)

Truth , Joy , Personality

“Dear young friends, the Lord is asking you to be prophets of this new age, messengers of his love, drawing people to the Father and building a future of hope for all humanity.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Closing Mass (19 July 2008)

Love , People , Age , Hope

Pope Benedict XVI Quotes

“Certainly, the contradiction of tensions and divisions between the followers of different religious traditions, sadly, cannot be denied. However, is it not also the case that often it is the ideological manipulation of religion, sometimes for political ends, that is the real catalyst for tension and division, and at times even violence in society?”

Pope Benedict XVI

" Meeting with Muslim religious leaders, members of the diplomatic corps and rectors of universities in Jordan http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2009/may/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20090509_capi-musulmani_en.html" (9 May 2009)
2009

Religion , Time

“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.”

Pope Benedict XVI

At a Good Friday devotion, the Stations of the Cross, in 2005, seen by many as a statement about the clergy sex abuse scandal
2005

“Relations between States and within States are correct to the extent that they respect the truth. When, instead, truth is violated, peace is threatened, law is endangered, then, as a logical consequence, forms of injustice are unleashed.”

Pope Benedict XVI

In Address to the International Diplomats Address to the International Diplomats http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2006/march/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060318_intern-organizations_en.html (18 March 2006)
2006

Truth , Peace , Law

“Reason always stands in need of being purified by faith: this also holds true for political reason, which must not consider itself omnipotent. For its part, religion always needs to be purified by reason in order to show its authentically human face. Any breach in this dialogue comes only at an enormous price to human development.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2009, Cartias in Vertitate (29 June 2009)

Faith , Religion , Parting

“Our Christian conviction is that Christ is also the messiah of Israel. Certainly it is in the hands of God how and when the unification of Jews and Christians into the people of God will take place.”

Pope Benedict XVI

God and the World, published October 2000, as reported by National Catholic Reporter
2000

God , People , Christ

“In times like these, given the cultural and social context in which we are living, there may be a greater risk of reducing Christian hope to an ideology, to a group slogan or to outward appearances. Nothing is more contrary to Jesus' message! He does not want his disciples to "recite" a part, even that of hope. He wants them "to be" hope and they can only be hope if they remain united to him! He wishes each one of you, dear young friends, to be a small source of hope for your neighbour and, all together, to become an oasis of hope for the society in which you are integrated.”

Pope Benedict XVI

In Homily for Holy mass on the fourth anniversary of the death of John Paul II http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20090402_anniv-morte-gpii_en.html (2 April 2009)
2009

Hope , Appearance , Time , Parting

“A Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil, and so unworthy to present himself for holy Communion, if he were to deliberately vote for a candidate precisely because of the candidate's permissive stand on abortion and/or euthanasia. When a Catholic does not share a candidate's stand in favor of abortion and/or euthanasia, but votes for that candidate for other reasons, it is considered remote material cooperation, which can be permitted in the presence of proportionate reasons.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2004 memorandum to Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington, D.C.
2003

Evil

“Dear young people: What will you leave to the next generation? Are you building your lives on firm foundations? Are you living in a way that opens a space for the Spirit in the midst of a world that wants to forget God, or even rejects him in the name of a falsely-conceived freedom? How are you using the gifts you have been given, the 'power' that the Holy Spirit is even now prepared to release within you?”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Closing Mass (19 July 2008)

God , People , World , Way

“Because God loves us, because He wants us to grow into truth, He must necessarily make demands on us and must also correct us”

Pope Benedict XVI

"Cardinal Ratzinger on Laicism and Sexual Ethics," Zenit.org, Nov. 19, 2004
2003

Love , God , Truth

“The primary capital to be safeguarded and valued is man, the human person in his or her integrity”

Pope Benedict XVI

2009, Cartias in Vertitate (29 June 2009)

Personality

“The ecclesial communities which have not preserved the valid Episcopate and the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic mystery, are not Churches in the proper sense; however, those who are baptized in these communities are, by Baptism, incorporated in Christ and thus are in a certain communion, albeit imperfect, with the Church.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Dominus Jesus declaration, 2000
2000

Communication , Sense , Christ

“Dear brothers and sisters after the great Pope, John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble worker in the Lord's vineyard. The fact that the Lord can work and act even with insufficient means consoles me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers. In the joy of the resurrected Lord, we go on with his help. He is going to help us and Mary will be on our side. Thank you.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Full text of his first public speech as pope, upon his presentation as Pope Benedict XVI
2005

Sister , Help , Joy

“The Holy Spirit is God eternally giving himself; like a never-ending spring he pours forth nothing less than himself. In view of this ceaseless gift, we come to see the limitations of all that perishes, the folly of the consumerist mindset. We begin to understand why the quest for novelty leaves us unsatisfied and wanting. Are we not looking for an eternal gift? For the spring that will never run dry?”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Youth Day Vigil (19 July 2008)

God , Spring , Understanding

“Society today is being fragmented by a way of thinking that is inherently short-sighted because it disregards the full horizon of truth - the truth about God and about us. By its nature, relativism fails to see the whole picture. It ignores the very principles that enable us to live and flourish in unity, order and harmony.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Youth Day Vigil (19 July 2008)

God , Truth , Way , Nature

“If technical progress is not matched by corresponding progress in man's ethical formation, in man's inner growth, then it is not progress at all, but a threat for man and for the world.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Encyclical Letter Spe Salvi of the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI to the Bishops Priests and Deacons Men and Women Religious and All the Lay Faithful On Christian Hope, 30 November 2007
2007

World

“The ambiguity of progress becomes evident. Without doubt, it offers new possibilities for good, but it also opens up appalling possibilities for evil — possibilities that formerly did not exist. We have all witnessed the way in which progress, in the wrong hands, can become and has indeed become a terrifying progress in evil. If technical progress is not matched by corresponding progress in man's ethical formation, in man's inner growth (cf. Eph 3:16; 2 Cor 4:16), then it is not progress at all, but a threat for man and for the world.”

Pope Benedict XVI

In Encyclical Letter Spe Salvi http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi_en.html (30 November 2007)
2007

World , Way , Evil

“Through the Spirit's action may the young people gathered here have the courage to become saints! This is what the world needs more than anything else.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Government House Ceremony (16 July 2008)

People , World , Courage

“The world needs this renewal! In so many of our societies, side by side with material prosperity, a spiritual desert is spreading interior emptiness, unnamed fears, a quiet sense of despair. How many of our contemporaries have built broken and empty cisterns in a desperate search for meaning - the ultimate meaning that only love can give?…. The Church also needs this renewal! She needs your faith, your idealism and your generosity, so that she can always be young in the Spirit!”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Closing Mass (19 July 2008)

Love , World , Fear , Faith

“Rights presuppose duties, if they are not to become mere licence”

Pope Benedict XVI

2009, Cartias in Vertitate (29 June 2009)

“Celibacy is not a matter of compulsion. Someone is accepted as a priest only when he does it of his own accord.”

Pope Benedict XVI

from "Salt of the Earth: Christianity and the Catholic Church at the end of the Millennium: An interview with Peter Seewald," by Ratzinger, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1997
1990s

“According to the teaching of the Church, men and women with homosexual tendencies 'must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided'. They are called, like other Christians, to live the virtue of chastity. The homosexual inclination is however 'objectively disordered' and homosexual practices are 'sins gravely contrary to chastity'.In those situations where homosexual unions have been legally recognized or have been given the legal status and rights belonging to marriage, clear and emphatic opposition is a duty. One must refrain from any kind of formal cooperation in the enactment or application of such gravely unjust laws and, as far as possible, from material cooperation on the level of their application. In this area, everyone can exercise the right to conscientious objection.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Doctrinal document Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions between Homosexual Persons, July 31, 2003
2003

Women , Men , Marriage , Law

“It is impossible to interpret Jesus as a violent person. Violence is contrary to the Kingdom of God, it is a tool of the Antichrist. Violence never serves humanity, but dehumanizes.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Sunday Angelus (11 March 2012), as quoted in "Jesus not political but prophetic, Pope says" at the Catholic News Agency (11 March 2012) http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/jesus-not-political-but-prophetic-pope-says/
2012

God , Personality

“The true source of freedom is found in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Christians believe it is he who fully discloses the human potential for virtue and goodness, and it is he who liberates us from sin and darkness.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Inter-religious Meeting (17 July 2008)

Freedom , Personality

“The religious sense planted within the human heart leads us to meet the needs of others and to search for concrete ways to contribute to the common good. Religion has a special role in this regard, for it teaches people that authentic service requires sacrifice and self-discipline, which in turn must be cultivated through self-denial, temperance and a moderate use of the world's goods.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Inter-religious Meeting (17 July 2008)

People , World , Religion , Way

“That the Jews are connected with God in a special way and that God does not allow that bond to fail is entirely obvious. We wait for the instant in which Israel will say yes to Christ, but we know that it has a special mission in history now … which is significant for the world.”

Pope Benedict XVI

God and the World, published October 2000, as reported by National Catholic Reporter.
2000

God , World , Way , History

“Above all, 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.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2003

Marriage , People , Way , Reality

“Charity without faith is meaningless, and faith without charity remains a dead letter.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Quoted in Elise Harris, " Priest Swaps Clerical Hats with 'Sharp, Healthy' Benedict XVI http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/priest-swaps-clerical-hats-with-sharp-healthy-benedict-xvi", National Catholic Register (11 February 2013)
2013

Faith , Dead

“In the Church, priests also are sinners. But I am personally convinced that the constant presence in the press of the sins of Catholic priests, especially in the United States, is a planned campaign, as the percentage of these offenses among priests is not higher than in other categories, and perhaps it is even lower.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2002

Personality

“Deeper understanding of the matter is bound to recognize that the Temple, as well as the synagogue, entered into Christian liturgy.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2000, The Spirit of the Liturgy (2000)

Understanding

“Wherever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment. Such attraction fades quickly - it cannot compete in the market of leisure pursuits, incorporating as it increasingly does various forms of religious titillation.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2000, The Spirit of the Liturgy (2000)

“While they are growing up, the young need adults who can suggest principles and values to them. They feel in need of people who can teach by their example, more than by their words, to expend themselves for high ideals.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Homily on the fourth anniversary of the death of John Paul II http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20090402_anniv-morte-gpii_en.html (2 April 2009)
2009

People , Feeling

“Dear young people, we have seen that it is the Holy Spirit who brings about the wonderful communion of believers in Jesus Christ. True to his nature as giver and gift alike, he is even now working through you. Let unifying love be your measure; abiding love your challenge; self-giving love your mission!”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Youth Day Vigil (19 July 2008)

Love , People , Nature , Christ

“Every economic decision has a moral consequence.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2009, Cartias in Vertitate (29 June 2009)

Decision

“There is something sinister that stems from the fact that freedom and tolerance are so often separated from truth. This is fuelled by the notion, widely held today, that there are no absolute truths to guide our lives. Relativism, by indiscriminately giving value to practically everything, has made 'experience' all-important.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Papal Welcome (17 July 2008)

Truth , Freedom

“The time has come for me to say good-bye-or better, 'arrivederci!'. World Youth Day 2011 will take place in Madrid, Spain. Until then, let us continue to pray for one another, and let us joyfully bear witness to Christ before the world.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Angelus following the Closing Mass (19 July 2008)

Youth , World , Time , Christ

“Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Inauguration homily, April 24, 2005
2005

Fear

“The market does not exist in the pure state. It is shaped by the cultural configurations which define it and give it direction.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2009, Cartias in Vertitate (29 June 2009)

“Projects for integral human development cannot ignore coming generations, but need to be marked by solidarity and inter-generational justice”

Pope Benedict XVI

2009, Cartias in Vertitate (29 June 2009)

Justice

“Nature expresses a design of love and truth.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2009, Cartias in Vertitate (29 June 2009)

Love , Truth , Nature

“"Rock" [music]… is the expression of elemental passions, and at rock festivals it assumes a cultic character, a form of worship, in fact, in opposition to Christian worship. People are, so to speak, released from themselves by the experience of being part of a crowd and by the emotional shock of rhythm, noise, and special lighting effects. However, in the ecstasy of having all their defenses torn down, the participants sink, as it were, beneath the elemental force of the universe.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2000, The Spirit of the Liturgy (2000)

People , Music , Light , Universe

“I would not like to use big words to apply generic labels. It certainly contains elements that can favor peace, it also has other elements: we must always seek the best elements.”

Pope Benedict XVI

When asked by reporters if Islam is a religion of peace. [Pope says terror attacks cannot be defined as anti-Christian, Catholic News Agency, 2005-07-25, http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope_says_terror_attacks_cannot_be_defined_as_antichristian/, 2016-02-25]
2005

Peace

“Do not be afraid to say 'yes' to Jesus, to find your joy in doing his will, giving yourself completely to the pursuit of holiness, and using all your talents in the service of others!”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Closing Mass (19 July 2008)

Joy

“One must not fear truth, because it is a friend of man and of his freedom”

Pope Benedict XVI

In General Audience, General Audience 30 September 2009 http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20090930_en.html (30 September 2009)
2009

Truth , Fear , Freedom

“Truth draws strength from itself and not from the number of votes in its favour.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Truth , Drawing

“In a society, in a culture, which all too often make relativism its creed - relativism has become a sort of dogma - in such a society the light of truth is missing; indeed, it is considered dangerous and "authoritarian" to speak of truth, and the end result is doubt about the goodness of life - is it good to be a person? is it good to be alive? - and in the validity of the relationships and commitments in which it consists.Today, more than in the past, the education and formation of the person are influenced by the messages and general climate spread by the great means of communication and which are inspired by a mindset and culture marked by relativism, consumerism and a false and destructive exaltation, or rather, profanation, of the body and of sexuality.”

Pope Benedict XVI

In a Speech of Benedict XVI at the Inauguration of the Convention of the Diocese of Rome http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2007/june/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20070611_convegno-roma_en.html, at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran (11 June 2007)
2007

Life , Truth , Education , Communication

“The Holy Spirit! This is the Spirit's role: to bring Christ's work to fulfillment. Enriched with the Spirit's gifts, you will have the power to move beyond the piecemeal, the hollow utopia, the fleeting, to offer the consistency and certainty of Christian witness!”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Youth Day Vigil (19 July 2008)

Christ

“For [the Virgin] Mary there were many struggles ahead as she lived out the consequences of the 'yes' she had given to the Lord. Simeon prophesied that a sword would pierce her heart. When Jesus was twelve she experienced every parent's worst nightmare when for three days the child was missing. And after his public ministry she suffered the agony of witnessing his crucifixion and death. Throughout her trials she remained faithful to her promise, sustained by the Spirit of fortitude. And she was generously rewarded.”

Pope Benedict XVI

2008, Angelus following the Closing Mass (19 July 2008)

Death , Faith , Parent , Suffering

“Unlimited trust should only be placed in the real Word of the Revelation that we encounter in the faith transmitted by the Church.”

Pope Benedict XVI

During interview by Niels Christian Hvidt in 1999
1990s