Quotable & Notable

“Remember, Jesus came to take away our sins, never our brains.”

-- Greg “Dobie” Moser, director of youth ministry for the Cleveland diocese, quoting a Jesuit friend, during a talk at the National Association for Lay Ministry conference in June

“Here’s what I think the truth is: We are all addicts of fossil fuels in a state of denial, about to face cold turkey. And like so many addicts about to face cold turkey, our leaders are now committing violent crimes to get what little is left of what we’re hooked on.”

-- Novelist Kurt Vonnegut

“They believe that God will deliver their mate to their doorstep. What I always tell these people is, ‘Well, then the only person you’re going to meet is the postman or a Jehovah’s Witness.’ ”

-- Ben Young, associate pastor at Second Baptist Church in Houston and author of The Ten Commandments of Dating, which is directed at single people raised in conservative Christian denominations who think they do not need to actively seek a partner

“We’re basically cutting our efforts on these projects because of administrative and security costs.”

-- Keith Ashtown of Taxpayers for Common Sense explaining that overhead costs of Western contractors has reduced by half the supply of potable water 90 U.S.-funded water projects in Iraq will be able to deliver. The amount set aside for these projects was $4.3 billion.

National Catholic Reporter, August 13, 2004