Achille Silvestrini

“Wojtyla made his own this principle whereby, with the incarnation, Christ in some way unites himself to every man, and reveals to man the meaning of himself. Humanism is entirely founded on Christology, so that man is the obligatory path for the Church, which cannot but dedicate itself to serving the good of man. From these principles derive the rights of the human person, which is the value on which the legitimacy or illegitimacy of all political and social systems is measured.”

“The Oriental churches are an integral part of the European identity: A Europe without the contribution of the Oriental Christian is an incomplete Europe. The first thing that's necessary is to recognize the importance of this presence, as a historical patrimony and as a present reality. Without the contributions of the spiritual and cultural traditions of the East, Europe would not be Europe any more.”