According to the legislation, they [women and gay people] cannot partake in (some) sacraments. This does not mean that it is closed. Each person encounters God in their own way inside the Church

Pope Francis, press conference, 6 August

I speak badly of any empire, of whatever sort. For this reason, I know that I am a stone in the shoe for more than one when I report these situations, so they have to somehow drive away the pain of the stone

Pope Francis, interview with Vida Nueva, 4 August

Whatever the cause of our curious instinct to put our hands together for gods, dictators or Gary Lineker, we can now see that a generation that doesn’t look outwards, towards God, looks inwards, to itself. The defining spirit of our time is self-obsession; neurosis, self-actualisation, the triumph of mind over matter

Tim Stanley, The Daily Telegraph, 7 August

Oppenheimer distinguished between his technical accomplishment and the moral implications of that accomplishment. He also recognised that new technology generates new ethical questions. The world was changed by his creation and the criteria for moral judgement looked different in that new world. Today, the pioneers of AI are facing the same dilemmas Oppenheimer faced

Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, Thought for the Day, Radio 4, 3 August

Instead of that simplistic work-life binary, I think it’s really fruitful to think of life in terms of rhythm and so create balanced spaces for work, for family, for leisure, and for personal reflection. If an overworked generation could find that kind of pattern week by week, there would be less need to burden our holidays with such high expectations — and maybe then we’d start to find them fun again

Philip North, Bishop of Burnley, Thought for the Day, Radio 4, 31 July

I’ll have to pay £5.10 for parking and then £5 for the collection. That’s £10 a week, £40 a month — that’s a lot of money in this day and age

Olive Bramley, quoted in story about introduction of Sunday parking fees in Winchester, The Sun, 4 August

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