"To love the church means also to have the courage to take difficult, painful decisions, always keeping the good of the church in mind, not oneself." - Pope Benedict XVI bidding an emotional farewell at his final general audience in St. Peter's Square on the eve of his retirement.

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"We do well by placing a statue of her here. But we can do no greater honor to her memory than to carry forward the power of her principle and a courage born of conviction." - President Barack Obama in comments as the nation's most powerful politicians honored Rosa Parks by unveiling her statue in a permanent place in the U.S. Capitol.

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"I'm not here for the sympathy or the pat on the back. I'm here to speak up for my son." - Neil Heslin, whose 6-year-old son, Jesse, was among those cut down at a Connecticut elementary school in December, asking the Senate Judiciary Committee to ban assault weapons like the one that killed his child.