There is a temptation to have shortcuts and not put in the time and the effort. I think you have to be willing to talk to people and sit sometimes around a table and listen to other people. Blase J. Cupich More Quotes by Blase J. Cupich More Quotes From Blase J. Cupich The death penalty confronts us with a penetrating moral question: Can even the monstrous crimes of those who are condemned to death and are truly guilty of such crimes erase their sacred dignity as human beings and their intrinsic right to life? Blase J. Cupich death-penalty dignity life death The existence of slavery cast the shadow of hypocrisy over the otherwise noble proclamation of the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in our Declaration of Independence. Blase J. Cupich slavery shadow happiness life Radical individualism can be very sad. Blase J. Cupich very individualism radical sad Some pro-life advocates focus almost exclusively on the rights and suffering of the unborn baby, while some pro-choice advocates focus equally exclusively on the rights and suffering of pregnant women. This is a distortion of the moral choice that confronts us as a society. Blase J. Cupich women society focus suffering I am never bored in my ministry because I continually see the impact of God in people's lives. Blase J. Cupich i-am never god people The church can challenge society, but society also challenges the church. That's good. We should be humble enough to be able to accept that. Blase J. Cupich good society humble challenges We budget quite a bit of money every year in order to assist people who are migrating here, people who are trying to enter into our society and be a part of the American dream. Blase J. Cupich american-dream society money people I did my doctoral dissertation on the lectionary readings that we use at mass and how you have biblical texts that have been taken out of their original Bible context and put together for mass, and now they form a new text. Out of that new text, there is an interplay of new meaning. Blase J. Cupich new you together bible We are called to care for those sickened by pollution, house those displaced by environmental calamities, and heal the spirits of those - especially our youth - who are disheartened by a world where human survival is now in question. Blase J. Cupich environmental youth care world Our schools must be places where all are respected and the values of tolerance and peacemaking are taught and nurtured. Blase J. Cupich places where values tolerance We Catholics have been in the forefront in defending the dignity of the human person. Clericalism is a direct violation of human dignity. Blase J. Cupich human person human-dignity dignity Here are the ingredients of a tragedy: untreated mental illness, a society where life is cheap and crime is glamorized, and a ready supply of firearms. Blase J. Cupich mental-illness society tragedy life When the state imposes the death penalty, it proclaims that taking one human life counterbalances the taking of another life. This assumption is profoundly mistaken. Blase J. Cupich human death-penalty life death This business of demonizing or pre-defining people by the way they look, the religion that they practice, or where they came from is not only un-American but it's going to hurt America. Blase J. Cupich look business people religion I would say that every pope has had people within his administration who have had difficulties one way or another with his administration. Blase J. Cupich difficulties say people way We have always wanted to make sure that we start the conversation by saying that all people are of value and their lives should be respected and that we should respect them. Blase J. Cupich value respect conversation people People should be called the way that they want to be called rather than us coming up with terms that maybe we're more comfortable with. Blase J. Cupich more want people way The open and generous nature of the American people has the capacity to astonish and push boundaries. We crowdfund, sign petitions, dump buckets of ice on ourselves, and embrace new ways of relating to our environment. Blase J. Cupich push new nature people If we create a framework for decision-making that is biased toward life, supportive of families, and fair to people of all circumstances, our policies, legislation, and commercial decisions will be vastly different. Blase J. Cupich will circumstances life people The nation's children, families, poor, workers, and senior citizens deserve more than lip service. They deserve more than outrage. They deserve real support, protection, and solid action. Blase J. Cupich nation service support children