Roman Catholic Bishops

"Caritas can become a leaven that transforms people's lives. Many people think that development requires a lot of money. But I believe that it starts with people."

"There is no vocation without its trials and difficulties, but a vocation is nevertheless God's choice of how he wants us to serve him in this life. And God doesn't make mistakes. He gives us the grace of perseverance provided we are sufficiently humble to accept the help proffered."

"The Church of Rome is not spotless, it is not hard and pure like a utopia, whose only real quality would be that of not existing. Instead it exists, with its features marked strongly by time and space, by men and their stone constructions. Thus, the vocation of Rome is the incarnation of the faith."

"Never would I have dreamed that I would be walking through the halls of Sacramento and talking with the various levels of government . . . and learning about all these issues and laws and policies, it was a graced place to be."

"Russia wants to destroy Ukraine, to erase its existence as an independent national, cultural and state entity. Whoever does evil almost always tries to justify it with good. In this case, Russia claims that it is defending the Christian values that are being destroyed in Ukraine. It is not true that Russia is interested in defending Christian values. If they really wanted to defend Christian values, they would use Christian methods to do so."

"The Gospel message tells us that we are all created by God in His image and likeness, and we are all equal, and therefore we have to learn to live and work together and cooperate."

"In the case of Archbishop Romero, Providence left very clear marks for who is sincerely seeking the truth about his life and death."

"This whole area of ministry is first and foremost the fulfilment of baptismal responsibilities. This demands lay participation in all areas of Church life, and calls for collaboration in ministry. Therefore, I call upon this Synod, firstly, to recognise that collaborative ministry is an imperative, not an option, and secondly, to allow Churches to shape ministries adapted to their particular pastoral priorities."

"If you have understanding, then you can build trust. If you have trust, you can build community and have respect for people's dignity."

"It is man in his wholeness, in the full use of his freedom who lets himself be taken on by Christ: with his history, mentality and religion; with the social and political structures of the world in which he lives under the influence of the powerful environment of the means of social communication when they do not oppose to the will of the Creator and Redeemer of the world. In other words, it is man with his culture and with whatever he has that is positive."

"Our Catholic religion is about God who is love. Often, we can mistake weakness for love and strength as a lack of love. Compassion cannot be exercised at the cost of objective truth. We must strive to correct erroneous consciences, especially in those who call themselves "Catholic". Dissent against the Teaching Church is widespread. The Teaching Church, however, has the authority and the responsibility to articulate the faith of the whole Church."

"Those who are not motivated by laws rarely are persuaded when an appeal is made to "obligation." The need, then, is to look beyond "the law.""

"The value of a democracy stands or falls with the values which it embodies and promotes. Today let us pray that our democracy will always embody and uphold its present core value, the dignity of the individual human person. What we sorely need in Ireland are more informed and articulate people who can challenge the idea that a person's religious beliefs should be relegated to the private sphere."

"He was, by nature, a man with vision, who was blessed by God with many opportunities to realise it. He always seemed to be in the right place when the opportunity for change presented itself and allowed him room to be creative and to create something new for the future."

"Faith in Jesus Christ and the remembrance of our ancestors have given us, and continue to give us, the strength to endure the past and present, when others want to erase our memory by force."

"Because each person is a disciple of Jesus Christ and a Catholic, then each one works not only for him or herself but for the Church in Thailand. This representation of the Church should not be underestimated or forgotten. It is time for Thai Catholics to begin to ask what they can do or what role they can play for the Church. The Thai Church will be more effective when each Thai Catholic forgets about what is in the association for himself and begins to think and act as a member of the group."

"The creators of this constitution had created a firm foundation against the background of our history that unites Christianity and the Enlightenment, faith and reason. The 75th anniversary of the Basic Law makes me look back with gratitude on this common foundation of our coexistence. It is important to think about how the Basic Law can be filled with life. For me as a Christian, this also includes maintaining an awareness of the question of how we are ultimately responsible for our actions."

"After the nationalization of the press and the audio-visual means of the religious confessions around the 1970's, the Catholic Church lost most of its means for social communication: the radio, the television, the films, the newspapers and the magazines. Today, we are trying to climb back, with difficulty, up the slope in a still uncertain social, economic and political environment. Despite the enormous challenges which we must face, the possibilities are still huge."

"More publicized cases are treated in the same way as the lesser known cases, always according to the rule of law. We do not have "subjects" before us, but people: the accused, alleged victims, possible witnesses... In general, there is always a picture of particular suffering. Certainly, media attention regarding the issues in question has multiplied in recent years, and this is a further stimulus to the Congregation to try to do justice in an ever more correct and effective way."

"We have to take some responsibilities as Christians for what was done by our brothers and sisters, and that's the idea of it. When we rejoice in what our forefathers and foremothers have done, we have to think also of the indignities and injustices that were committed by those who were our brothers and sisters."

"We wish to approach, in the name of the Church, all people who are suffering, entering spiritually into every hospital and place of care, into all residences for the elderly and into homes together with their families and those who care for them, who are admirably attentive to human frailty."

"Do you need to have a second opinion on the fact that two plus two makes four? So is our faith."

"Assuredly no one of us would ever propose to retain in France the fatal race of kings; we all know but too well that dynasties have never been anything else than rapacious tribes who lived on nothing, but human flesh. It is necessary completely to reassure the friends of liberty. We must destroy this talisman, whose magic power is still sufficient to stupefy many a man. I move accordingly that you sanction by a solemn law the abolition of royalty."

"The more denuded a man is of virtues, the more he seeks to surround himself with frivolous distinctions. [...] But since pride unfortunately is the most tenacious of passions, the reign of prejudice has been prolonged, for man seems not to be able to attain truth until he has exhausted all of error's possibilities."

"With the light of the Gospel and the teaching of the Church we hope to liberate our people from a burden which they have carried for so long. We hope to accompany our people with some rituals as they go through life as witnessing Christians. Perhaps we shall be able to explain the Paschal Mystery: life offered as a gift, but then suffering and death and attainment of everlasting life."

"Kings are in the moral order what monsters are in the physical. Courts are the workshops of crimes, the lair of tyrants. The history of kings is the martyrology of nations."

"Mosques are coming up like mushrooms in Malawi. When we request money to build churches, seminaries or to run programs in our episcopal conferences, we receive back regrets."

"The migrant shouldn't be looked upon as a problem by both the Church and the State. In the Church there are no foreigners. She is like a mother who welcomes, loves and values everyone, because they are all her sons and daughters."

"Thirty years of sowing and watering have allowed Radio Veritas in Taiwan to collect flowers and fruits of evangelisation. Let us ask the Lord to continue to guide our work of evangelising over the radio."

"Through Mary, the Lord wants to show us that the human journey aims to dwell in the bosom of the Father, which we have come from and are returning to. The feast announces to us that no one can get to heaven alone."

"In dioceses of secular countries with a network of Catholic schools and Colleges, the primary community of faith has become the school. There the majority of the baptized encounter for the first time, in any systematic way, the person of Jesus Christ, prayer, liturgy and the Church's sacramental life. Teachers rather than parents have become in many instances the first formators in faith of our young. Catholic schools are not products but agents of the Church's mission."

"We are all invited to a concrete commitment against the expansion of initiatives that refer to the world of the occult. Carry out an appropriate sensitization in parishes through the parish priests, avoiding counterproductive fears and psychosis and useless alarmism."

"While we pray for the people who are intolerant towards the Good News - either because of misinformation, suspicion or any other false propaganda - we continue to share the Joy of the Gospel with our lives, our service and through preaching the Word of God. While we continue to pray and work with Spirit of Truth and Faith to build the Body of Christ, we also speak up for the right of religious freedom."

"The diocesan bishop must ask whether a Catholic institution compromises its obligation to give public witness by placing prestige over truth. The bishop must be concerned that Catholic institutions do not succumb to the secular culture, making decisions that appear to many, including ordinary Catholics, as a surrender to a culture opposed to the truth about life and love."

"He was always first a priest and a bishop and administrator second. He brought a certain human touch to the work he did so it was very encouraging."

"Thank God for the gift of life that is given to us, He loves us. He sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us, so thank God for that."

"We make every effort to indicate true devotion to Mary, that which leads to Christ. And I think this teaching is amply received. As for the rest, I think these things need time to settle, a period of waiting, and great patience. The supernatural, especially in a world that doesn't believe in God and that has lost values, cannot be demonstrated if it doesn't bear fruits."

"The joy of these faithful to frequently receive the Eucharist, or to celebrate the Marian procession on the river, is priceless."

"He spoke very clearly, warning us as a people of God of the dictatorship of relativism, not to be co-opted by the world around him. May we be strengthened to grow in our love of God by Benedict's example."

"Today, after years of reflection, prayer and dialogue, the churches of Padua and Roraima thank the Lord for this epiphany of the Spirit which is visibly manifested in the missionary commitment between two Churches in dialogue and cooperation."

"The important thing is that we ourselves pray along and that it is about our hearts. Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is not magic; it is prayer. We want to ask Our Lady with her heavenly power that the shedding of blood may stop, as soon as possible."

"We cannot accommodate and continue allowing economic interests that seek exorbitant profits before the well-being of people, to destroy biodiversity and ecosystems, nor continue dictating our energy model based on fossil fuels. We know that Brazil has abundant resources of clean and renewable energy that do no harm to our common home. Therefore, I believe that the proposal to turn the Diocese of Umuarama into low-carbon is a practical way to achieve what Laudato si' calls for."

"Never allow yourself to be turned away from the hope offered by the gospel. Now, you are not only a hearer of this gospel but also its minister."

"A right to do something evil simply cannot be a right all. Never! That simply defies logic."

"Listen not only in our ears but also in our hearts. Listening in this synodal process is to listen to the marginalized, even to the non-Christian community."

"The Christians of Asia need to open up, to meet their non-Christian brothers and sisters, to have courage, remaining consistent with our faith, and to recognize the greatness of their spiritual values by looking for what unites us before stopping before what separates us. If the other person sees our sincere esteem and our spontaneous love, he or she cannot remain indifferent forever."

"Fear is a normal reaction, and even priests and those in religious life will also experience fear, but fear can lead us to a deeper faith, it turns into a deeper trust in God if we allow God to be part of the journey."

"Today's world calls for new attitudes, new ways of life - more responsible, aware, and egalitarian. We need more communion and more dialogue. By affecting us regardless of political, territorial, racial, ethnic and religious boundaries, climate change unites the world through shared suffering. In order to fight it, we need to keep united and to transform this union into an action that is collective, global, and shared, involving all strata of society all around the world."

"Bishop Clark exercised his theological and pastoral gifts in many ways both to his own diocese, to the Catholic Bishops' Conference, and to the wider Christian family both nationally and internationally. Truly, he can be termed a good shepherd."

"I'm now on the death track. There is a time when God lets us jump tracks. It seems strange we don't want to go to God but I think it needs a grace to see that."