Donald Wuerl Quotes

#1. The things of Catholic life are never boring because we have such a rich tradition and so many stories to tell.

Donald Wuerl

#2. I think the strength of the Catholic church is that when it does finally identify a problem, it works to resolve it.

Donald Wuerl

#3. 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.

Donald Wuerl

#4. 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.

Donald Wuerl

#5. The great American tradition is one of pluralism, not exclusive secularism. The strength of our country is reflected in the contributions that we all make to the common good.

Donald Wuerl

#6. 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.

Donald Wuerl

#7. Everything we see in a Catholic church is there for a single purpose: to tell a love story.

Donald Wuerl

#8. Confession has been my habitual homecoming since I was a child. It is a consolation and a joy, and such joy, our faith teaches us, is meant for everyone. It is our vocation to bring it to as many people as possible.

Donald Wuerl

#9. God's revelation has always been in deeds. God's interventions in history have always been in deeds, in actions. Then there are those who interpret the actions, and then there are those who write down the interpretations of the actions.

Donald Wuerl

#10. One of the challenges of secularism is that it's not something outside us. In too many instances, secularism has so permeated the church that sometimes it's the frame of reference even for very good people, people who have a strong allegiance to the church.

Donald Wuerl

#11. Confession is something we will never outgrow, even if we become the saints God made us to be. Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa of Calcutta were revered even during their lifetime; but both made frequent use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Donald Wuerl

#12. No one should be forced to violate one's conscience, nor should anyone be forced out of service of the common good because there are some things their conscience tells them they cannot do.

Donald Wuerl

#13. There are serious problems that have to do with the environment, that have to do with the way in which we live and consume.

Donald Wuerl

#14. Children need to have a home. I don't mean a physical four walls and a room. There needs to be an emotional and spiritual and loving place in life. That's what a family is.

Donald Wuerl

#15. Those people who think they know the Gospel, and it doesn't have any meaning for them, they're the people we have to find a way to touch, to invite once again to the embrace of Christ.

Donald Wuerl

#16. When I was a young priest in the 1960s and 1970s, there was much experimentation and confusion in the Church. Teachers and clergy were encouraged to communicate an experience of God's love, but to do it without reference to the Creed, the sacraments, or the tradition.

Donald Wuerl

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

Donald Wuerl

#18. What the church is really concerned about is what endures.

Donald Wuerl

#19. People of faith should be able to have confidence in their right to freely express and live their beliefs.

Donald Wuerl

#20. You were part of a parish life. It was a great community to grow up in. I just was impressed by our parish priests. After a while, I began to think maybe I could do that.

Donald Wuerl