“Not only did Jesus tolerate weapons, he instructed His disciples to buy them!”

- Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, in welcoming the Senate’s defeat of a move to expand background checks for gun purchases.

“The Cardinal sitting next to me remarked, `He talks like Jesus!’ To which I replied, `I think that’s his job description.’”

– Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, writing in Time magazine about Pope Francis for the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

(RNS) “I hope that when I turn 75 and the pope says it is time to retire and get out of here you will have a reason to give me an award. You don’t have any yet.”

– Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, accepting an award from a local Catholic philanthropic group, describing the challenges of running a cash-strapped and scandal-scarred archdiocese. He was quoted by The Catholic Standard and Times.

“Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber.”

– Pope icon Justin Bieber, in a note left after visiting the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.

“My goal is to join with the (Southern Evangelical Seminary) family to produce an ever increasing number of graduates who will be the green berets and paratroopers of God’s army, and who will be used by him to win tremendous victories for Christ and His kingdom.”

– Richard Land, retiring head of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, in his statement confirming that he will be taking over as head of Southern Evangelical Seminary.

“There is this false idea that church people are perfect. I try to say: ‘Until you break that, you’ll never get healing.’ ”

Mike Fewster, a pastor at Chantilly’s New Life Christian Church, speaking to the Washington Post about the need for evangelicals to address mental illness.

“If they (the accused) represent the way of God, then God’s ways are crooked. They did not remove the demons that made these bad smells as they promised to do.”

- Romanian lawyer Madalin Ciculescu, who is suing four Orthodox priests and a bishop for failing to exorcise flatulent demons from his home. He was quoted by London’s Daily Mail.

“She was at times dogmatic, but I can be dogmatic too.”

– Former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, who was appointed under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, commenting to The Telegraph after Thatcher’s death at age 87

“I’ll never forget how, many years ago, after another approach had failed to give relief, Matthew said, ‘Dad, I know I’m going to heaven. Why can’t I just die and end this pain?’ but he kept going for another decade.”

– Megachurch pastor Rick Warren, in a letter to his church after his son, Matthew, committed suicide after a long battle with mental illness.

“I was reminded that while our time on Earth is fleeting, He is eternal.”

– President Obama, speaking at a White House Easter prayer breakfast on Friday, recalling his recent visit to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.