“I don’t think I’ll ever dance the way I used to dance — and that’s part of the sacrifice — but at the same time, God has opened many doors for me to use it and to use it for his kingdom.”
— David Rider, a former professional tap dancer who is now a New York archdiocesan seminarian attending the Pontifical North American College in Rome

“Keep the spirit alive; let others know that we will not accept a compromise. We will not be told what to teach, what to preach or what to practice. That comes from our hearts and from the religious tradition [that] we treasure.”
— Bishop John Quinn of Winona, speaking March 23 at the Stand Up for Religious Freedom rally in St. Paul to oppose the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contraceptive mandate

“This hat’s gonna cost me a lot more than one in Rome did.”
— Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, quipping as he donned a red hard hat and announced March 17 that St. Patrick’s Cathedral will undergo a $175 million, five-year restoration project

“The church needs to hold up people who held children up.”
— Father Steven Boes, executive director of Boys Town, speaking about Father Edward Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town, who was declared a “servant of God” — a step toward sainthood — during a Mass March 17 in Omaha, Neb.

“Values and fundamental rights proper to Europe, such as freedom of religion and legal recognition of churches, are far from being an established reality in some nations.”
— Bishop Andras Veres of Szombathely, Hungary, in a statement following the release March 19 of a church-backed report documenting the rise of anti-Christian prejudice in Europe