Conclave

by Robert Harris

change almost invariably produces the opposite effect to the improvement it is intended to bring about,

Language is vital. Because from language, over time, arises thought, and from thought arises philosophy and culture.

on the cross. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand in hand with doubt. If there was only certainty, and if there was no doubt, there would be no mystery, and therefore no need for faith.

Was it really possible that he had spent the past thirty years worshipping the Church rather than God?

‘No one who follows their conscience ever does wrong, Your Eminence. The consequences may not turn out as we intend; it may prove in time that we made a mistake. But that is not the same as being wrong. The only guide to a person’s actions can ever be their conscience, for it is in our conscience that we most clearly hear the voice of God.’

Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made .