Quote

Faith was intended precisely for the simple, but the quest for certainty and simplicity becomes dangerous when it leads to fanaticism and narrow-mindedness. When reason as such becomes suspect, then faith itself becomes falsified.

Pope Benedict XVI

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Pope Benedict XVI
Age: 97
Born: 1927
Born: April 16
Philosopher
Pianist
Religious Writer
Roman Catholic Priest
Theologian
Transitional Deacon
University Teacher
Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger
Pope Benedict XVI
Josef Ratzinger
Benedetto XVI
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
Joseph Alois Ratzinger
Leads
Quests
Simplicity
Quest
Becomes
Suspect
Suspects
Dangerous
Intended
Simple
Narrow
Falsified
Faith
Precisely
Mindedness
Reason
Certainty
Fanaticism

More quotes by Pope Benedict XVI

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The wrath of God is a way of saying that I have been living in a way that is contrary to the love that is God. Anyone who begins to live and grow away from God, who lives away from what is good, is turning his life toward wrath.
Pope Benedict XVI
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The environment is God's gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations, and towards humanity as a whole.
Pope Benedict XVI
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Jesus, the Word incarnate, is always the center of our announcement, the point of reference for our evangelizing mission and for its methodology, because He is the human face of God, who wishes to meet all men and women so as to bring them into communion with Him, in His love.
Pope Benedict XVI
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The fact that the Church is convinced of not having the right to confer priestly ordination on women, is now considered by some as irreconcilable with the European Constitution.
Pope Benedict XVI
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Without fear we must set sail on the digital sea.
Pope Benedict XVI
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What is capable of restoring enthusiasm and confidence, what can encourage the human spirit to rediscover its path, to raise its eyes to the horizon, to dream of a life worthy of its vocation - if not beauty?
Pope Benedict XVI
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Humor is in fact an essential element in the mirth of creation. We can see how, in many matters in our lives, God wants to prod us into taking things a bit more lightly.
Pope Benedict XVI
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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.
Pope Benedict XVI
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The goods of creation belong to humanity as a whole. Yet the current pace of environmental exploitation is seriously endangering the supply of certain natural resources not only for the present generation, but above all for generations to come.
Pope Benedict XVI
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Today Christmas has become a commercial celebration, whose bright lights hide the mystery of God’s humility, which in turn calls us to humility and simplicity. Let us ask the Lord to help us see through the superficial glitter of this season, and to discover behind it the child in the stable in Bethlehem, so as to find true joy and true light.
Pope Benedict XVI
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The life of the community, both domestically and internationally, clearly demonstrates that respect for rights, and the guarantees that follow from them, are measures of the common good that serve to evaluate the relationship between justice and injustice, development and poverty, security and conflict.
Pope Benedict XVI
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Dancing is not a form of expression for the Christian liturgy.
Pope Benedict XVI
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That the entire People of God, to whom Christ entrusted the mandate to go and preach the Gospel to every creature, may eagerly assume their own missionary responsibility and consider it the highest service they can offer humanity.
Pope Benedict XVI
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The Gospel is not merely a communication of things that can be known - it is one that makes things happen and is life-changing. The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life.
Pope Benedict XVI
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We can learn from him that suffering and the gift of himself is an essential gift we need in our time.
Pope Benedict XVI
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Faith is above all a personal, intimate encounter with Jesus, and to experience [His] closeness, [His] friendship, [His] Love only in this way does one learn to know [Him] ever more, and to love and follow [Him] ever more. May this happen to each one of us.
Pope Benedict XVI
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The Catechism was not written to please you. It will not make life easy for you, because it demands of you a new life.
Pope Benedict XVI
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Today, having a clear faith based on the Creed of the Church is often labeled today as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, that is, letting oneself be tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine, seems the only attitude that can cope with modern times.
Pope Benedict XVI
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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
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Before it's too late, we need to make courageous choices that will recreate a strong alliance between man and Earth. We need a decisive 'yes' to care for creation and a strong commitment to reverse those trends that risk making the situation of decay irreversible.
Pope Benedict XVI