Perhaps the dumbest of these story lines is that [Pope] Francis has re-opened conversation and debate in a Church that had been closed and claustrophobic for 35 years under John Paul II and Benedict XVI. I defy anyone who, over… — George Weigel Copy Share Image
But ripped out of context, ["Who am I to judge?" phrase] has become an all-purpose filter through which everything else - including the pope's… — George Weigel Copy Share Image
“This life of ours . . . is a gift from God. It is not of our choosing. It comes to us by his choice. Since it… — George Weigel Copy Share Image
I hope ["reanimated the papacy"] means that the new interest in the pope evokes a new interest in the Church's teaching, of which the… — George Weigel Copy Share Image
In the Catholic view of things, abortion is a justice issue, not an issue of sexual morality... it is a civil rights issue, arguably… — George Weigel Copy Share Image
The pope [Francis] takes his vocabulary from his pastoral experience, not from the rhetorical tool kit of liberation theology, with its Marxist yammering about… — George Weigel Copy Share Image
What I hope my liberal friends (and I have more than a few) take from this pontificate is that mercy and truth are never… — George Weigel Copy Share Image
The people who are behind the curve of the Catholic future are the institutional-maintenance types. — George Weigel Copy Share Image
[Pope Francis]sees a world in need of the Gospel, and of friendship with Jesus Christ, as an antidote to the self-absorption and loneliness that… — George Weigel Copy Share Image
Be the Church - that is, be an evangelical movement that tells the world of God's passionate love for humanity. That, not institutional maintenance,… — George Weigel Copy Share Image
Democracy is always an unfinished experiment, testing the capacity of each generation to live freedom nobly. — George Weigel Copy Share Image
[Pope] Francis communicates the pastoral embrace of the Church, the breadth and inclusiveness of Catholicism symbolized by the Bernini colonnade around St. Peter's Square,… — George Weigel Copy Share Image
The dynamically orthodox orders of religious women will continue to grow, and the dying orders, which long ago opted for the lightest of Catholic… — George Weigel Copy Share Image
These [conservative] people, if they're Americans, look back on the last 35 years of our ecclesial experience and take heart from that. The dramatic… — George Weigel Copy Share Image
[Pope Francis] is 78 years old and knows that his will be a short pontificate. — George Weigel Copy Share Image
“Ideas are not intellectuals' toys: ideas have consequences, for good and for ill, in what even intellectuals sometimes call "the real world".” — George Weigel Copy Share Image
![“Perhaps the dumbest of these story lines is that [Pope] Francis has re-opened conversation and debate in a Church that had been closed and claustrophobic for 35 years under John Paul II and Benedict XVI. I defy anyone who, over the last 35 years, has spent time on the campuses of Notre Dame or…” quote by George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/4fe/george-weigel-9372_benedict-xvi_perhaps-the-dumbest-of-these-story-lines_1945253.jpg)
![“But ripped out of context, ["Who am I to judge?" phrase] has become an all-purpose filter through which everything else - including the pope's multiple reaffirmations of Humanae Vitae, Paul VI's encyclical on the morally appropriate means of family planning - gets airbrushed out of the picture.” quote by George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b1d/george-weigel-9372_appropriate_but-ripped-out-of-context-who-am-i-to-ju_146817.jpg)
![“I hope ["reanimated the papacy"] means that the new interest in the pope evokes a new interest in the Church's teaching, of which the pope is the custodian.” quote by George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a8e/george-weigel-9372_church_i-hope-reanimated-the-papacy-means-that_225548.jpg)
![“The pope [Francis] takes his vocabulary from his pastoral experience, not from the rhetorical tool kit of liberation theology, with its Marxist yammering about "center" and "periphery." The "peripheries," for Francis, are all those who have fallen through the cracks of late-modernity and…” quote by George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/14f/george-weigel-9372_argentina_the-pope-francis-takes-his-vocabulary-fr_261899.jpg)
![“[Pope Francis]sees a world in need of the Gospel, and of friendship with Jesus Christ, as an antidote to the self-absorption and loneliness that are eating away at the solidarity of the human community.” quote by George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/79d/george-weigel-9372_absorption_pope-francis-sees-a-world-in-need-of-the_343248.jpg)
![“[Pope] Francis communicates the pastoral embrace of the Church, the breadth and inclusiveness of Catholicism symbolized by the Bernini colonnade around St. Peter's Square, in a powerful way.” quote by George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/06a/george-weigel-9372_bernini_pope-francis-communicates-the-pastoral-e_495970.jpg)
![“These [conservative] people, if they're Americans, look back on the last 35 years of our ecclesial experience and take heart from that. The dramatic reform of seminaries continues. The priests and bishops who take their pastoral model from John Paul II will continue to do so, perhaps learning a…” quote by George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/22a/george-weigel-9372_bishops_these-conservative-people-if-they-re-ame_542601.jpg)
![“[Pope Francis] is 78 years old and knows that his will be a short pontificate.” quote by George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/6aa/george-weigel-9372_knows_pope-francis-is-78-years-old-and-knows-t_577438.jpg)
