Quotes by Pope Benedict XVI

About Pope Benedict XVI:

Pope Benedict XVI was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave following the death of Pope John Paul II and was inaugurated on 24 April 2005.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Since man always remains free and since his freedom is always fragile, the kingdom of good will never be definitively established in this world. Anyone who promises the better world that is guaranteed to last forever is making a false promise; he is ...

Pope Benedict XVI

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,...

Pope Benedict XVI

Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is more or less strong tendency ordered to an intrinsic moral evil, and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder.

Pope Benedict XVI

We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires.

Pope Benedict XVI

If a Pope clearly realizes that he is no longer physically, psychologically, and spiritually capable of handling the duties of his office, then he has a right and, under some circumstances, also an obligation to resign.

Pope Benedict XVI

To me, it really seems visible today that ethics is not something exterior to the economy, which, as technical matter, could function on its own; rather, ethics is an interior principle of the economy itself, which cannot function if it does not take...

Pope Benedict XVI

I would say it simply: No one can give that which he doesn't personally possess, which means we cannot transmit the Holy Spirit in an effective way, render the Spirit perceptible, if we ourselves aren't close to the Spirit.

Pope Benedict XVI

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

I leave from where the apostle arrived.

Pope Benedict XVI

In Latin America in general, it's very important that Christianity not be simply a thing of reason, but also of the heart.

Pope Benedict XVI

The Catholic tradition maintains that the objective norms governing right action are accessible to reason, prescinding from the content of revelation.

Pope Benedict XVI

Every State has the primary duty to protect its own population from grave and sustained violations of human rights, as well as from the consequences of humanitarian crises, whether natural or man-made.

Pope Benedict XVI

Beauty, then, is not mere decoration, but rather an essential element of the liturgical action, since it is an attribute of God himself and his revelation. These considerations should make us realize the care which is needed, if the liturgical action...

Pope Benedict XVI

It is theologically and anthropologically important for woman to be at the center of Christianity. Through Mary, and the other holy women, the feminine element stands at the heart of the Christian religion.

Pope Benedict XVI

The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness

Pope Benedict XVI

God is our Father and loves us, even when his silence remains incomprehensible.

Pope Benedict XVI

Without God man neither knows which way to go, nor even understands who he is... One of the deepest forms of poverty a person can experience is isolation... Poverty is often produced by a rejection of God's love, by man's basic and tragic tendency to...

Pope Benedict XVI

Evil draws its power from indecision and concern for what other people think.

Pope Benedict XVI

We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God.

Pope Benedict XVI

A tolerance that no longer distinguishes between good and evil would become chaotic and self-destructive, just as a freedom that did not respect the freedom of others or find the common measure of our respective liberties would become anarchy and des...

Pope Benedict XVI

If you follow the will of God, you know that in spite of all the terrible things that happen to you, you will never lose a final refuge. You know that the foundation of the world is love, so that even when no human being can or will help you, you may...

Pope Benedict XVI

Author Bio

  • NamePope Benedict XVI
  • Description265th Pope of the Catholic Church
  • AliasesJoseph Aloisius Ratzinger; Pope Benedict XVI; Josef Ratzinger
  • BornApril 16, 1927
  • CountryGermany; Vatican City
  • ProfessionCatholic Priest; Theologian; Non-fiction Writer; Pianist
  • AwardsCommander Of The Legion Of Honour; Bavarian Order Of Merit; Bayerische Verfassungsmedaille In Gold; ; Honorary Degree; Honorary Degree