BLASE J. CUPICH

I don't want the abnormal or something special. I want to have a normal life.

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.

We have to become involved in the political process - if we don't like it, we can change it.

I don't think sometimes people in positions of leadership in the church really engage gay and lesbian people and talk to them and get to know about their lives.

For me, the real goal is how do we make vibrant and vital faith communities that are sustainable for the long run.

Once a bishop is appointed, in terms of governance, we are semi-autonomous. It's not like we are branch managers of a bank or something.

Science can and should inform debate about abortion and the law. But science does not resolve questions of moral value and moral choice.

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.

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.

Christ receives people; because of that mercy, conversion happens.

Once kids begin to realize that they are connected to a greater good and greater whole, then that will lessen the possibility that they will act out violently because it creates empathy.

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.

The Second Amendment was passed in an era when organized police forces were few and citizen militias were useful in maintaining the peace.

We want to let people know that we can build solidarity with suffering folks so that they are not excluded, they are integrated.

The long arc of history that recounts the Catholic Church's embrace of people of all faiths and none in providing health, education, and welfare in society is as incontestable as it is impressive.

We have to be sure we don't pigeonhole one group as though they're not part of the human family, as though there's a different set of rules for them. That would be a big mistake.

Those who do not think religious organizations should have an opinion on climate change misunderstand the former and the moral dimension of the latter.

I always tell myself... that the faith I have is a gift, so I shouldn't take that for granted. And so when people are struggling and feel they have no faith at all, I shouldn't say, 'Well, it's their fault.'

I think that the Pope has trust in every bishop that is appointed.

We're not a Church of preservation but rather a Church of proclamation. To achieve this end, we must be open to significant, if not revolutionary, changes in how the Archdiocese with its parishes and ministries is organized, how it's resourced, how it's staffed.

The Catholic Church is an enormous footprint in Chicago, doing a lot of good. That aspiration is felt by a lot of people - that the church succeed - because it will be good for society.

We are an immigrant nation.

I take time to be with people, and I learn a lot.

The Church is not fully Church if it lacks dialogue.

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.