It is evident that in the end he [Tertullian] lacks simplicity, the humility to belong to the Church, to accept his weaknesses, to be tolerant of others and with himself. When you evaluate your thoughts in terms of your greatness, in the end it is your greatness that is lost. The essential characteristic of a great theologian is the humility to stay with the Church, to accept her and one's own faults, because only God is holy. We, on the other hand, are always in need of forgiveness.

-Wednesday Audience Address, 30 May 2007