Donald Wuerl

I can say with total conviction that it was the Holy Spirit that chose, guided the election of Pope Francis.

In the pulpit, we're supposed to present the teaching with all of its unvarnished clarity, but when you step out of the pulpit, you have to meet people where they are and try to walk with them.

We sometimes get so caught up in one or another aspect of the teaching, we forget that if a person hasn't been introduced to Christ, if a person hasn't embraced the risen Lord and the church that's an expression of that experience, what we're saying just sounds like a bunch of rules or negative statements limiting their personal freedom.

The freedom to be able to offer education, human services, and health care in accordance with our own identity as a church should not be denied us simply because there may be the perception of a political majority who favors a new understanding of the American tradition of pluralism.

Our God who created all of us is the God who calls all of us to care for one another. I think that's going to be one of the big, big challenges of the future, helping refocus on the needs of others.