Pope Francis Quotes

[Mystics] have been fundamental [to the church]. A religion without mystics is a philosophy.

I urge you to work together in promoting a true, worldwide ethical mobilization which, beyond all differences of religious or political convictions, will spread and put into practice a shared ideal of fraternity and solidarity, especially with regard to the poorest and those most excluded.

The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.

It is beautiful to celebrate Christmas, but let us lower the level of Christmas spending. Let's have a more humble Christmas, with more humble gifts, and send what we save to the Ukrainian people, who need it. … They are suffering so much, they are going hungry, they feel the cold and many are dying because there are not enough doctors and nurses available … Let's not forget. Christmas, yes. In peace with the Lord, yes. But with Ukrainians in our hearts. Let's make this concrete gesture for them.

Dear brother Deacons, you dedicate yourselves to the Word and to the service of charity; you carry out your ministry in the Church with words and deeds, bringing God’s love and mercy to everyone. I urge you to continue your apostolate with joy and — as today’s Gospel suggests — to be a sign of a love that embraces everyone, that transforms evil into goodness and engenders a fraternal world. Do not be afraid to risk love!

We hold the Jewish people in special regard because their covenant with God has never been revoked, for “the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29). The Church, which shares with Jews an important part of the sacred Scriptures, looks upon the people of the covenant and their faith as one of the sacred roots of her own Christian identity (cf. Rom 11:16-18). As Christians, we cannot consider Judaism as a foreign religion; nor do we include the Jews among those called to turn from idols and to serve the true God (cf. 1 Thes 1:9). With them, we believe in the one God who acts in history, and with them we accept his revealed word.

On this third Sunday of Advent, known as the Sunday "of joy", the Word of God invites us on the one hand to joy, and on the other hand to the awareness that existence also includes moments of doubt, in which it is difficult to believe. Joy and doubt are both experiences that are part of our lives. … Advent is a time of grace. It tells us that it is not enough to believe in God: it is necessary to purify our faith every day. It is a matter of preparing ourselves to welcome not a fairy-tale character, but the God who challenges us, involves us and before whom a choice is imposed. The Child who lies in the manger has the face of our brothers and sisters most in need, of the poor who are "a privileged part of this mystery; often they are the first to recognize God’s presence in our midst".

Anche dentro la santissima Trinità stanno tutti litigando a porte chiuse, mentre fuori l’immagine è di unità.

Who now speaks of the fires in Australia, or remembers that 18 months ago a boat could cross the North Pole because the glaciers had all melted? Who speaks now of the floods? I don’t know if these are the revenge of nature, but they are certainly nature’s responses. Today I believe we have to slow down our rate of production and consumption and to learn to understand and contemplate the natural world. We need to reconnect with our real surroundings.

Investing in education means helping children and young people to discover and appreciate the most important values and to have the courage to look to their future with hope.

… exclude the need for appearances: what counts is not appearances; the value of life does not depend on the approval of others or on success, but on what we have inside us.

Everything is connected. Concern for the environment thus needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society.

I think so-called unrestrained liberalism only makes the strong stronger and the weak weaker and excludes the most excluded. We need great freedom, no discrimination, no demagoguery and a lot of love. We need rules of conduct and also, if necessary, direct intervention from the state to correct the more intolerable inequalities.

The Patriarch [Kirill] cannot transform himself into Putin's altar boy.

«Era silenziosa, ma dentro il suo cuore, quante cose diceva al Signore! “Tu, quel giorno – questo è quello che abbiamo letto – mi hai detto che sarà grande; tu mi ha detto che gli avresti dato il Trono di Davide, Suo Padre, che regnerà per sempre e adesso lo vedo lì!”. La Madonna era umana! E forse aveva la voglia di dire: “Bugie! Sono stata ingannata!”».