Richard Paul Russo

“Those are God-like qualities. Not in power, but in choice. If He had created us in such a way that we could only do good, if we were incapable of acting badly, selfishly, causing pain or harm, then the notion of free will would be meaningless, would it not? Not only that, true free will precludes God’s intervention in our lives. There is no real free will if God intercedes to protect us or save us from the consequences of our own or other people’s actions and choices. We have to face those consequences ourselves. That is the price we pay for free will.” Father”
― Richard Paul Russo, Ship of Fools

“I think often of Father Veronica. It would be nice to believe that her spirit, her soul, lives on and is somehow with us yet: watching over us, guiding us in whatever way she can. I want to believe this. I don’t. I still do not believe - not in an afterlife, not in heaven and hell, and I do not believe in the existence of God. And yet . . . and yet she is still with me in a strange and mysterious way - through my memories of her, through my imagination. I talk to her, I imagine what her replies would be, and I talk further with her. I have long internal conversations, discussions and even arguments; they sometimes bring me comfort, ease my grief, my guilt. She would probably say I was praying, and perhaps I am.”
― Richard Paul Russo, Unto Leviathan