[on abortion, when he was cardinal in Buenos Aires] "Perhaps for that reason they might bring us to the courts. Perhaps, for that reason, for caring for life, they might kill us," he said. "We should think about the Christian martyrs. They killed them for preaching this Gospel of life, this Gospel that Jesus brought. But Jesus gives us the strength." "Go forth! Don't be fools," he said. "Remember, a Christian doesn't have the luxury of being foolish. ... He can't give himself the luxury. He has to be clever, he has to be astute, to carry this out." "When one listens to what Jesus says: Look, 'I send you, I send you like sheep amongst the wolves,' one has the desire to ask: 'Lord, are you joking, or do you not have a better place to send us?' Because what Jesus says is a little chilling: 'if you proclaim my message, they are going to persecute you, they are going to slander you, they are going to set traps to deliver you to the courts and to have you killed. But you must continue forward. For that reason, take care, Jesus says, and be astute, be clever like the serpent but very simple like doves,' joining the two things."
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