There must be no facile accommodation to the spirit of the age,- Pope Benedict XVI, speech at Westminster Hall, 17 September 2010

Britain has emerged as a pluralist democracy which places great value on freedom of speech, freedom of political affiliation and respect for the rule of law, with a strong sense of the individual's rights and duties, and of the equality of all citizens before the law. While couched in different language, Catholic social teaching has much in common with this approach, in its overriding concern to safeguard the unique dignity of every human person, created in the image and likeness of God, and in its emphasis on the duty of civil authority to foster the common good.Each generation, as it seeks to advance the common good, must ask anew: What are the requirements that governments may reasonably impose upon citizens, and how far do they extend? By appeal to what authority can moral dilemmas be resolved? These questions take us directly to the ethical foundations of civil discourse.Pope Benedict XVI, speech at Westminster Hall, 17 September 2010

If the moral principles underpinning the democratic process are themselves determined by nothing more solid than social consensus, then the fragility of the process becomes all too evident - herein lies the real challenge for democracy The inadequacy of pragmatic, short-term solutions to complex social and ethical problems has been illustrated all too clearly by the recent global financial crisis.There is widespread agreement that the lack of a solid ethical foundation for economic activity has contributed to the grave difficulties now being experienced by millions of people throughout the world.=Pope Benedict XVI, speech at Westminster Hall, 17 September 2010

... the world of reason and the world of faith - the world of secular rationality and the world of religious belief - need one another and should not be afraid to enter into a profound and ongoing dialogue, for the good of our civilisation. Religion, in other words, is not a problem for legislators to solve, but a vital contributor to the national conversation. - Pope Benedict XVI, speech at Westminster Hall, 17 September 2010

In this light, I cannot but voice my concern at the increasing marginalisation of religion, particularly of Christianity, that is taking place in some quarters, even in nations which place a great emphasis on tolerance.There are those who would advocate that the voice of religion be silenced, or at least relegated to the purely private sphere. There are those who argue that the public celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be discouraged, in the questionable belief that it might somehow offend those of other religions or none. And there are those who argue - paradoxically with the intention of eliminating discrimination - that Christians in public roles should be required at times to act against their conscience.These are worrying signs of a failure to appreciate not only the rights of believers to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, but also the legitimate role of religion in the public square. - Pope Benedict XVI, speech at Westminster Hall, 17 September 2010

I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes— that every particle of spray that dashes against the steamboat has its orbit, as well as the sun in the heavens— that the chaff from the hand of the winnower is steered as the stars in their courses. The creeping of an aphid over the rosebud is as much fixed as the march of the devastating pestilence— the fall of sere leaves from a poplar is as fully ordained as the tumbling of an avalanche.- C. H. Spurgeon

We serve a gracious Master who knows how to overrule even our mistakes to His glory and our own advantage- John Newton

Schools have not necessarily much to do with education...they are mainly institutions of control, where basic habits must be inculcated in the young. Education is quite different and has little place in school. ~Winston Churchill

Men of authority and influence may promote good morals. Let them in their several stations encourage virtue . . . let them favor and take part in any plans which may be formed for the advancement of morality.- William Wilberforce

It is the endeavor of an evil man to quench a great deal of good for a little ill; but Christ cherishes a little grace though there be a great deal of corruption, which yet is as offensive to Him as smoke to us, therefore we should labor to gain all we can by love and meekness.- Richard Sibbes

It is a mistake to think that some of our impulses--say mother love or patriotism--are good, and others, like sex or the fighting instinct, are bad. All we mean is that the occasions on which the fighting instinct or the sexual desire need to be restrained are rather more frequent than those for restraining mother love or patriotism. But there are situations in which it is the duty of a married man to encourage his sexual impulse and of a soldier to encourage the fighting instinct. There are also occasions on which a mother's love for her own children or a man's love for his own country have to be suppressed or they will lead to unfairness towards other people's children or countries.- C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

The view of evil implied by Marxism, expressed by Shaw and maintained by modern psychotherapy, which regards it as the by-product of circumstances which circumstances can, therefore, alter and even eliminate—has come to seem to me intolerably shallow, and the contrary view of it as endemic in man—more particularly in its Christian form, the doctrine of original sin—to express a deep and essential insight into human nature. - C. E. M. Joad (1891-1953), The Recovery of Belief [1952]

It was because we rejected the doctrine of original sin that we on the left were always being disappointed - disappointed by the failure of true socialism to arrive, by the behavior of nations and politicians, and above all by the recurrent fact of war. C. E. M. Joad (1891-1953), The Recovery of Belief [1952]

Earth's crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; and only he who sees takes off his shoes; the rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it -Joseph Joubert: 1754 - 1824