Roman Catholic Bishops

"Mission work in Algeria is far from being the chief, still less it is the exclusive object of your ambition. The end and aim of our Apostolate is the evangelisation of Africa, of the whole of Africa, of that almost impenetrable interior in whose dark depths are the last hiding places of a most brutal barbarism, where cannibalism still prevails, and slavery in its most degrading forms. To this work you have consecrated yourselves by solemn vow and promise. There is not a single spot along the shores washed by the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean, where we do not find the footsteps of the messengers of God's mercy to the poor degraded sons of Cham. But although in all the countries bordering the Ocean we find numerous bodies of Apostolic Missionaries engaged in spreading the light of the Gospel, far different is it with the interior of the Dark Continent, which has hitherto seemed impossible of access. From time to time individual travellers have tried to penetrate into the depths of this mysterious land, but nearly all have perished in the attempt to. lift the veil which enshrouds those unknown regions."

"Good local and regional governance, is indeed the "conditio sine qua non" for local and regional authorities to faithfully keep to their mission of serving the common good of the communities."

"In view of our still bleeding past, and of our ever-threatening future, union is our great need. Union is also, let me tell you, the foremost wish of the Church and of all its pastors of every degree. The Church does not ask us to either give up the remembrance of past glories or the sentiments of fidelity and gratitude that are an honour to every man. But when the will of a people has been definitely expressed, when the form of government, as Leo XIII recently stated, is in no way contrary to the principles on which alone civilized and Christian nations can exist, when the unreserved acceptance of this form of government is necessary to preserve a people from danger, the time has come to declare the ordeal over, to end our dissensions, and to sacrifice all that conscience and honour allow us to sacrifice for the safety of our country. Without this patriotic acceptance of the situation nothing can avail either to maintain peace and order, to save the world from the social danger, or to preserve even the religion of which we are the ministers. It would be folly to attempt to support the columns of an edifice without going inside it, if only to prevent those who would destroy everything from accomplishing their mad design. It would be still greater folly to attack the building from without, as some are even now doing, in spite of recent scandals: disclosing our ambitions and hatreds to observant enemies, and instilling into the heart of France the discouragement that precedes the final catastrophe."

"I would say there's something for everybody at shrines of Our Lady."

"An effective experience of solidarity among the countries of America will overcome injustices and economic inequalities."

"The mission of the Church is the one given to her by Christ: to be a force for evangelization and leaven for the building of a Christian community as well as leaven for national unity."

"The perennial challenge in any discussion concerning law comes down to how it is understood and embraced – is it a matter of the literal application of the law or rather the spirit that stands behind it and gives it purpose and life. There is an art in maintaining a healthy balance, keeping the two in dialogue and not creating dividing lines. As in many things, it plays out sometimes better in theory than in actual practice."

"I think we must identify the principal object and to focus all available means in this one direction. Our objective is to announce Christ and help people -Catholics included - to believe and live the Gospel. We must transmit hope based not on human objectives, social, economic etc. This hope must be based on the concrete person of Christ. This may seem obvious but it will do no harm to recall that every bishop must transmit solely the model of Christ. Clearly today especially in countries with serious economic, social and political problems - like many Latin American nations - the Church's ministry much reach every human sphere and offer concrete answers, but what kind of answers? On what must they be based? When the Church's mission becomes confused with earthly goals, economic, political or social, the Gospel ceases to be effective. Men cease to be effective!"

"I became a beekeeper and loved it. I did that most of high school until I went to college, and then I had to give it up, but I miss it! I don't miss getting stung, but it wasn't that often. Bees are like people — they're temperamental; if the weather's nice, they're happy, if it's not nice, they're kind of grumpy."

"When Salesians just work and work for their whole life and then just retire in their own room, sometimes their Salesian mission is over. You need just to be with the young or young adults. Probably the young Salesians need to know personally the Salesian Youth Spirituality – not just from books but also at the practical experiential level. It does include praying together with the young people, forming them as the youth apostles and offering some strong experience of volunteer life."

"The culture of the indigenous groups is one the great riches of our country. The first bishop of Guatemala said that the Church should recognize the Indios and that they should recognize the Church. A process which is not yet finished. So the inculturation of the faith is not a problem, but a challenge, rather. It must be done with judgment, without mixing the Christian identity with another which is not Christian."

"The place of theologians in the church is very important. In the church, we should be about the business of relationships, building up unity. The bishop is a sign of unity. He should be a good witness to the spirituality and theology we profess. That doesn't mean we're going to agree on everything. Theologians are on the cutting edge of development. They're always probing, and so there will always be some tension. Ultimately, the magisterium of the church keeps us centered."

"It is so easy for a diocese to crumble if its people do not unite and give serious attention to solidarity. This is the message I wish to send, from a diocese that has learned this truth through agonizing, first-hand experience, to the rest of the Church in Japan."

"Community is at the center of our faith experience and journey. Jesus calls us into the community of the Church. Community is therefore integral to our faith in God, who is a Trinity of Persons. Happily, despite imperfections and challenges therefrom, the community is still a central value for many Africans and the key point of our episcopal ministry."

"Pay pastoral attention to the family as the domestic church because that is where everyone's faith experience is formed."

"To forgive doesn't mean you don't suffer consequences. There has to be punishment."

"Peace is fragile. It can be extinguished like the flame of a candle. By blowing on it just once. So let us try to foster wherever we are a peace-enhancing, peace-protecting and peace-sustaining environment. Let us not allow evil to steal peace. And please help our country, because peace in Europe depends on the peace in Ukraine."

"Economic globalization as far as it is affected by selfishness and sin causes globalization of poverty."

"The people of the Virgin Islands are very faithful and many have received a good Catholic education just like the people in Philadelphia received."

"My great hope and desire is that I can continue to serve as a diocesan priest, because a diocesan priest is in the community and with the people. The Diocese of Greensburg is a hidden gem — I always believed that, and I want to give back to the region."

"Pope Francis is a man of great pastoral ability of strong faith, a man of prayer and very close to the priests, the elderly, the poor, and above all, a man who emphasized the missionary commitment of the Church in our community and in our city. The election is a joy and a huge gift."

"For now, I find peace in accepting the appointment from a trust that the Lord has placed in me. I have to deepen my relationship with Christ, the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for his sheep."

"The faithful are all foreigners: Filipinos and a large number of Africans, many of whom are in search of work and in need of material assistance. In Benghazi life is almost normal. Every now and then explosions in the distance can be heard, but otherwise people lead their lives as always. People go to work and shops are open. Generally the situation is calm, although not always do we know what happens."

"In the South African society there is an increase of the temptation to resort to violence to deal with any problem. There are still many people living in poverty, who are losing hope for a better future. Especially among the young unemployed despair prevails. I think we should solve problems by involving all: government, mining companies, trade unions and churches."

"Our Church, along with the other Churches in that area need to grasp that as an ecumenical opportunity and we must also be respectful of the other faiths represented within our community."

"In my diocese Catholics only account for 15% of the population, while the Muslims amount to 70%. In this situation direct evangelisation is not easy: as we witness to Christ through our social services, we earn the trust and esteem of the people gradually building an atmosphere in which it is possible to share the Word of Christ. We find this is the best way to be true Christians among a Muslim majority. However one cannot generalise. The world of Islam is ver complex and diversified, and where there are fundamentalist currents it is necessary to be very prudent. Fortunately Islam in my diocese is mainly traditional African school which is very open and willing to dialogue."

"Young people, he said, should not be postponed for the future: they are here now and the energy and the vibrancy that they show should be taken into account."

"You learn from your mentors the simple things: Take an interest in people, be their advocate, defend their causes. Then, they give you a confidence to move into new situations."

"They know what they want to achieve and they're willing to pay the cost to achieve it. I believe we have to walk alongside with them, I think we have to help them to continue to walk when it will become difficult, and I don't believe it is the time historically to continually postpone."

"I had the privilege of knowing the late Bishop Mazzolari personally, particularly during the days of the liberation struggle. He dedicated his life to serving the Catholic Church in the Sudan, and he will be remembered for his heroic commitment to the struggle of the people of southern Sudan for freedom, equality, justice, and human dignity."

"With God there is always more! There is always room for more, and we have work to do. There is always room for those we have not yet invited inside and those not yet born. It is from this holy place that we are sent out into the world to be Christ to and for one another, Christ to the whole world. That is our mission; that is our identity."

"I am sure that tourists will come back very soon after the crisis that put Gambia for the first time at the center of international media, something I had never seen before. Now it is over. If you want to help us, go back to Gambia as tourists."

"As I stood amidst the beauty of this agricultural valley and heard the testimony of the Christian families whose lands, livelihoods, and centuries-old family traditions are threatened, I was simply astounded by the injustice of it all."

"The most urgent need is the development of our people, which implies their access to education, healthcare, social-economic emancipation. The Church places herself at the service of the human person in his entirety. Thus, the faith has grown a lot in the area and we can see a clear increase in the number of priests and parishes."

"One key fruit from meeting with curial officials is the opportunity simply to meet in person. It is always easier to write, if the occasion arises, to someone whom one has met personally."

"Our service does not have, or should not have, any other aim if not that of a humble service of the Gospel in favor of humanity . In this period, in which being a Christian is equivalent in many countries to being discriminated and persecuted, the presence of all the Churches in this Assembly is an event of intense communion and revival of love for evangelization. The Word of God runs through the continents and cannot be stopped by man. But for this to happen, it needs arms, hearts, messengers to proclaim it."

"We are living difficult and painful moments. Libya is a bit of an enigma, it is not always possible to understand how things are but I trust that Libyans will be able to find peace."

"I am amazed at how the population is able to quickly go from a situation of war to one of peace. I think it is because people yearn for peace, they need it after all these years of uncertainty. This is why I say: pray for us, because the only force is that of prayer that moves the hearts of people."

"Up until a month ago my aspiration was to be a good pastor in Lake Geneva. The motivation from the first day I went into the seminary, and something I'm proud to say I never lost, is my desire to be a pastor."

"The Kingdom will never come in this life. The Kingdom, in its totality, its splendor, will come with Jesus’ advent at the end of time. But, meanwhile, one builds, and sows. And the evangelizer, in seeing what is positive in each culture, as well as in revealing its limits and contradictions, tries, illumined by the Gospel, to improve it. We see it in the history of the Church."

"I would love to be present, in the office or as emeritus, in the celebrations that will mark the end of the works. But I am far more interested in giving all my strength to reinforce the unity of a diocese that I found quite divided."

"In spite of the diversity of national situations and - within a Country such as Switzerland - of individual dioceses, we all need to be encouraged in hope. The only hope is Christ. However, the Synod invites us to see Him alive in His Church. Therefore also the Church must become a sign and source of hope in this world."

"If the Church helps people, it means there is need. This would mean that the revolution has not succeeded in satisfying the people's needs."

"You cannot be a Christian in isolation, the gospel makes that clear, what we're called to is communion, we are called to live as the body of Christ."

"In these years I was always involved in mediating, in seeking dialogue. Unfortunately we have sat down to dialogue only after there have already been so many deaths. At present also I am trying to encourage dialogue between the political interests to avoid the situation degenerating."

"God chose me and every baptized Christian to be a missionary, to be always ready to serve His people with humility, doing our best, listening and praying. My mission is to meet, to visit the people of God , sharing the word of God and announcing the Gospel."

"It must strike us that, in the present time of an increasing presence of the elderly in our western society, as the demographers tell us, it is a man of over eighty who heads our Church and hence to perform in her and before the world this difficult and necessary task. This, too, must be seen and valued as a gift of Divine Providence."

"If political leaders and ministers publicly mingled, supported and received the accused from the prison, it has not only demoralized the Christians but also other minority communities in the country."

"We have the men, but we want to be sure we continue to get quality as well as quantity. We are getting vocations, but they think of our own needs. If the missioners from outside had thought of their own needs, we would not have any priests today."

"When the two deacons prostrated on the ground, they admitted they are like worms of the earth, totally humble and unworthy before the Lord. But God raised them up as priests and instantly they became like butterflies, beautiful in the sight of God and all people."