States and the various human communities must never forget that religious freedom is the condition for the pursuit of truth, and truth does not impose itself by violence but “by the force of its own truth”.[10] In this sense, religion is a positive driving force for the building of civil and political society.

- Message for the 44th World Day of Peace

Truth is passed on not merely by formal teaching, important as that is, but also by the witness of lives lived in integrity, fidelity and holiness; those who live in and by the truth instinctively recognize what is false and, precisely as false, inimical to the beauty and goodness which accompany the splendour of truth, veritatis splendor.

- Address, 18 September 2010

The truth that sets us free cannot be kept to ourselves; it calls for testimony, it begs to be heard, and in the end its convincing power comes from itself and not from the human eloquence or arguments in which it may be couched.

- Address, 18 September 2010

And here a fundamental idea appears on the way towards the Truth: creatures must be silent, leaving space for the silence in which God can speak. This is still true in our day too. At times there is a sort of fear of silence, of recollection, of thinking of one's own actions, of the profound meaning of one's life. All too often people prefer to live only the fleeting moment, deceiving themselves that it will bring lasting happiness; they prefer to live superficially, without thinking, because it seems easier; they are afraid to seek the Truth or perhaps afraid that the Truth will find us, will take hold of us and change our life, as happened to St Augustine.

- Audience Address, 25 August 2010

In fact, when the beauty and truth of Christ win our hearts, we feel the joy of being his disciples and take on with conviction the mission of proclaiming his redemptive message.

- Address to the Bishops of Peru, 18 May 2009

The conscience is the human capacity to perceive the truth, but this capacity is often impeded by particular interests. And to break free from these interests, to open up more to the truth, to true values, is a major undertaking: it is a task of the Church to help us to know true criteria, true values, and to free us from particular interests.

- In-flight Interview, 8 May 2009

The quest for the truth bears most fruit when it is sustained by love for the truth.

- Address, 16 October 2008

All of you are seeking the truth; and all of you want to live in truth! This truth is Christ. He is the only Way, the one Truth and the true Life.

- Address to French Youth, 13 September 2008

I believe that in a certain way this is proof of the truth of Christianity: heart and reason encounter one another, beauty and truth converge, and the more that we ourselves succeed in living in the beauty of truth, the more that faith will be able to return to being creative in our time too, and to express itself in a convincing form of art.

- Q & A with Clergy, 6 August 2008

Yet, experiences, detached from any consideration of what is good or true, can lead, not to genuine freedom, but to moral or intellectual confusion, to a lowering of standards, to a loss of self-respect, and even to despair.

- Address, 17 July 2008

All men and women have an obligation to seek the truth. When it is found, they are compelled to model their entire lives in accordance with its demands.

- Address to the Bishops of Bangladesh, 12 June 2008

What was true yesterday is true also today.

- Address to the International Congress Celebrating Humanae Vitae, 10 May 2008

Humanity's temptation is always to want to be totally autonomous, to follow its own will alone and to maintain that only in this way will we be free; that only thanks to a similarly unlimited freedom would man be completely man. But this is precisely how we pit ourselves against the truth.

- Homily, 20 March 2008

The human being wants to know what everything around him is. He wants truth.

- Address to the La Sapienza Univeristy, 17 January 2008

When man allows himself to be enlightened by the splendour of truth, he inwardly becomes a courageous peacemaker.

- Angelus Address, 1 January 2006

We must never forget that the Word of God transcends time. Human opinions come and go. What is very modern today will be very antiquated tomorrow. On the other hand, the Word of God is the Word of eternal life, it bears within it eternity and is valid for ever. By carrying the Word of God within us, we therefore carry within us eternity, eternal life.

- General Audience, 7 November 2007

Truth is not dependent upon consensus but precedes it and makes it possible, generating authentic human solidarity.

- Address to the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea

If we do not know God in and with Christ, all of reality is transformed into an indecipherable enigma; there is no way, and without a way, there is neither life nor truth.

-Inaugural Address for the Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean,

13 May 2007

Only those who recognize God know reality and are able to respond to it adequately and in a truly human manner.

-Inaugural Address for the Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean,13 May 2007

Ultimately, it is only the truth that can bring unity, and the proof of this is love.

-Inaugural Address for the Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean,
13 May 2007