Roman Catholic Archbishops

"He soon had to face serious dissensions over the claim by the laity to a voice in the appointment of clergy; he tactfully induced his flock to yield."

"The Church of God in Africa or elsewhere is being asked to grow to see herself as a family. The Church can do so if we intensify our catechesis on the meaning of the Church."

"We do not want a theocracy, we never said we wanted a Christian state. However, we are concerned about whether a secularist state wants to reduce faith to a purely individualistic matter."

"As Bishop of St. Cloud, he was extremely active, and renowned as a pulpit orator."

"After many years of splendid service González, in Dec., 1889, resigned all his offices and dignities, except that of the cardinalate, and retired from active life. The remaining five years of his life were spent in study and prayer."

"Of course, we intend to accept the worries of Rome that it is necessary to avoid risks, but I don't think that we will change anything of substance in our pastoral programme, which is illuminated by the Gospel, the magisterium and our experience as pastors with the people."

"In the Priesthood of Christ I see one thing: being closer to the people because we work hard to bridge the gaps, the separation, which may be a reality in the Church or the ministry."

"In our situation, one cannot share the Good News in a managerial way. The evangelizer and the church have to be sacramental signs of faith. We must embody in our lives the Beatitudes. In a religious Asia, people of other faiths value the Beatitudes. Those sent on missions must embody the values of the Beatitudes. People spontaneously recognize the message in the messenger. Life of witness is a spirituality."

"Peruvians want and need peace, work and unity... to seek social peace and help to overcome the difficult conditions of the country."

"At the Council I went to learn what the episcopate of the whole world thought."

"Immigration is a reality. We need to combine the principle of welcoming others, which has always been at the heart of our country, with another principle that is just as important: legality, which everyone knows is needed for society to work."

"(About Italy) The unity of the country remains an indispensable achievement and anchor. Any desirable reform, starting with federalism, must take into account the historical roots of unity and consistently evolve it for the good of all in order to be beneficial."

"There are no dogmas of faith and there are no dogmas of any kind when it comes to social practices. This issue must also be addressed with a single intention, a single objective: we must evaluate this question in a proactive manner because any decision, any way of dealing with Article 18, must aim to create jobs, otherwise it is useless."

"Modernity has identified the theme of conscience as one of its most emblematic frontiers. [...] Too often, in culture as in life, the concept of conscience, that is, the ability of a person to recognise the truth and the decision to follow it, is confused with the ultimate peremptory nature of subjective opinion."

"Italy is heading towards a slow demographic suicide because "over fifty per cent of families today are childless, and among those that do have children, almost half have only one, the rest have two, and only 5.1 per cent of families have three or more children. There is an urgent need for a child-oriented policy that immediately takes responsibility for a balanced generational change."

"Too often, in culture as in life, the concept of consciousness, that is, a person's ability to recognise the truth and decide to follow it, is confused with the ultimate peremptory nature of subjective demands. [...] It is the confusion surrounding the false concept of autonomy that causes such profound confusion in today's culture, according to which a person is considered happier the closer they feel to doing what they want. [...] There is a reason for being that is stronger and more resistant than any human construct. Recognising this reality in itself and bowing gratefully to it is the most moral act we can perform."

"The Church is not a political republic. It is a spiritual reality incarnated in time, and does not respond to purely human criteria. The important thing is always to find someone capable of guiding God's people at a given moment in history. I have known Pope Leo XIV for a short time, through a few personal encounters. He is always kind, attentive to issues, and thoughtful. My overall and immediate impression is of a serene man, that is, reconciled with himself because he is centred on Christ. I believe this is the best prerequisite for living such a great responsibility."

"The silence of conscience, through neglect and abandonment, can cause instinctiveness to be mistaken for spontaneity, wishful thinking for relevance, injustice for justice, death for life, selfishness for love. [...] However, at the very moment when the Magisterium is eradicated from conscience, without realising it, it is already being replaced by a substitute."

"The problem of our cultural identity, which for us clearly has religious and Christian roots, is certainly a very important question today. And we are seeing so increasingly."

"Archbishop Perche was a great scholar, but he lacked administrative ability."

"The faithful do not have to dedicate only the temple to God the Father but also the sacred temple of the heart."

"God surpasses our measurement unit and surprises it, not in an abstract way, but in the Child laid in a manger."

"Be pillars of stability, peace and unity in your communities and work for the good of your people. You must be an instrument of reconciliation between people of the community, it is your role as priests as messengers of God. We priests must promote reconciliation between communities."

"It is clear that the state itself needs a people, but the people are not such by virtue of the state; they precede it in that they are not a sum of individuals but a community of persons, and a true and reliable community is always spiritual and ethical in nature; it has a soul. This is its backbone. But if the soul becomes corrupt, then the unity of the people becomes fragile, and the state weakens and loses its shape. When can this happen? When the awareness of common values and cultural identity is obscured. Talking about cultural identity does not mean withdrawing or closing oneself off, but rather not disfiguring one's own face: without a face, it is impossible to meet, to get to know each other, to respect each other, to correct each other, to walk together, to work towards the same goals, to be a “people”. The state cannot create this unity, which is pre-institutional and pre-political, but at the same time it must be careful to preserve it and not damage it. It would be short-sighted and irresponsible to attack what unites us in the name of any perspective."

"Work is a special part of those indispensable conditions that a truly human society must guarantee so that everyone can not only survive and live, but even more so, fulfil themselves according to God's plan."

"His energy, sound judgment, and an eloquence which caused Pope Leo XIII to compare him to Bossuet, as well as his unbounded charity, endeared Archbishop Perché to the people of Louisiana."

"The full happiness of the Church, which comes from Christ, does not fail even in the face of our betrayals."

"The Church does not promote itself, but serves humanity with God's love."

"During his long life he has seen the Church in New Zealand develop from a few scattered families-the mustard seed of the Gospel-to the rich and vigorous growth of the present day."

"Something which is not human is neither democratic, nor civil."

"England is great in the esteem to which it upholds the law, contrary to that popular proverb "perfida Albion," which is now proved wrong."

"We can never overestimate the important and determinant role of the mother in the education of children and, not least, in the handing on of the faith. Here in Russia we say the mother is the first to make the sign of the cross on her child's forehead. And I myself have experienced the importance of the mother for the faith in the times of atheism imposed by the state."

"The chief events of his administration were: the building of Nicolet College, to which he contributed the sum, large for the time, of $32,000; the foundation of the College of Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière by the Abbé Painchaud; the educational law of 1829 which granted allowances for the creation of parish schools and the maintenance of colleges, convents, and academies already in existence; the erection in Quebec, with his help, of St. Patrick's church for the Irish."

"Primary schools multiplied everywhere, promoted by the Educational Society of Quebec and by the law of the parish schools. Colleges for secondary instruction were founded wherever needed, and several episcopal sees were erected: Kingston, Charlottetown, and Montreal. In all these movements Bishop Panet took a leading part."

"He was indefatigable in spite of the strain on a constitution never strong. He proved a capable administrator, fighting energetically for Catholic interests, especially those of primary education, which he provided for by the foundation of Catholic schools. He also took great interest in the completion of his cathedral which he lived to open. He was a man of great holiness, and so far as possible continued even when archbishop to lead the life of a simple monk."

"Vaughan was an eloquent preacher and lecturer, and acquired a high literary reputation by his elaborate work."

"Whenever we notice positive situations what is present is a permanent Catholic liturgy, which is regular and accessible to everybody with a growing number of participants. For this reason I would like the liturgy to be considered once again as the first task in view of a new evangelization. The reason: the Church is a community organisation made up not only of people but is a community together with God."

"I am not a perfect bishop, and it is in my weakness I find my strength."

"At the outset of his administration he made the cause of Catholic education his special endeavour."

"The Franciscan Missions (whose memory and whose remains in the second century of their existence are still treasured not by California alone, but by the whole country) having been lately confiscated in the name of "secularization", the missionaries driven away and their flocks largely dispersed, it was evident that his work was simply to create all that a new order of things called for, an order as unique as a bishop ever had to encounter."

"Post modernity maintains that reality is a social construct, that truth is what you make of it. There is no objective truth. It further asserts that reality is a text to be interpreted and your interpretation is as valid as that of the next person. God himself has been knocked off the pedestal."

"Work with wisdom and prudence, pray fervently for our country, for His peace and strength, and that He may grant us wisdom in dialogue and joy in a hope that does not fail."

"It is important to do everything to preserve peace and have peaceful elections."

"We, as Catholics, must do what we can to promote peace and respect and restore the trust and security upon which healthy human relationships depend."

"Ortega, being a broad-minded man, could see the good of the wishes of both sides."

"When children begin to reason, the obligation of receiving Holy Communion is Divine as well as ecclesiastical."

"We have the obligation to accompany the evolution of communications media with a reasonable optimism. We cannot arrive late because others will occupy the vacant seats."

"If my weaknesses, including incomplete understanding of specific circumstances, and sometimes even my ordinary human fatigue, became the cause of your anxiety, I am sorry."

"In theory, the prevailing pedagogy declares that a sound religious education should "educate the whole person". In practice, however, it is mainly the affective and the conative powers which are educated in "Christian values", with many beautiful results. But the cognitive powers are religiously underdeveloped. Intellect, reason, memory, imagination - these are severely undereducated in Catholic doctrine and thought."

"If the faithful open their heart and mind to the Divine Mercy, the Lord will come and work for their good and the good of the entire Catholic community."