Ján Chryzostom Korec

Ján Chryzostom Korec (22 January 1924 – 24 October 2015) was a Slovak cardinal of the Catholic Church.

Quotes

• Justice can only serve Truth: this is written on the palace of Justice in Bratislava. Courageous and honest Slovak men have fought throughout history for this justice. I do not ask for mercy: I simply appeal to the Truth, to the Law and to Justice. The injustices I have personally experienced can be forgotten. But I can never renounce Truth and Justice.
  • KOREC Card. Ján Chryzostom, S.I. Vatican

• Today Slovakia is an independent nation. But it experienced two world wars and its people, especially its Christians – were the victims of one of fiercest Communist persecutions from 1948 to 1989 when the regime collapsed. Bishops, clergy and laity were imprisoned, religious orders suppressed, diocesan seminaries closed, and Catholic organisations and press banned. Those were years of barbarism and terror. In 1989 we found our freedom once again.
  • Cardinal Korec Tells Fides: the Holy Father’s Visit Will Give Us New Thrust for Evangelisation and a Deeper Rooting of the Faith, So Necessary Today, for Us and for the Whole World. ( 9 September 2003) Fides News Agecny

Quotes about Ján Chryzostom Korec

• He was a Jesuit cardinal, persecuted by the regime, imprisoned, and sentenced to forced labor until he fell ill. When he came to Rome for the Jubilee of the Year 2000, he went to the catacombs and lit a candle for his persecutors, imploring mercy for them. This is the Gospel. It grows in life and in history through humble and patient love.
  • Pope Francis, Pope Francis: We need ‘creativity of the Gospel,’ not ‘a defensive Catholicism’ (13 September 2021)