Pope Benedict on the Church

“People think they know the Church. They think she is a very ancient system that has become sclerotic over time, that gets progressively more insulated and rigid, that forms a sort of armor that smothers one’s personal life. That is the impression of many people. Few people manage to recognize instead that there is something fresh and also bold and large-minded here, something that offers escape from the stale habits of one’s life. But precisely those who have gone through the experience of modernity see this.”
—Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)


From the book “Salt of the Earth”