Roman Catholic Bishops

"Why is it that Christians still suffer so much intimidation and discrimination? There are probably many different reasons for this including political and social reasons but no doubt in many places it is because the Christian Churches challenge the systems of injustice, oppression and brute force that exist. True Christianity has always stood for the rights of everyone particularly the basic rights that come before all else; the right to life, the right to food and shelter, the right to education. Often in defending these rights Christians have had to stand against the powerful, the wealthy and the tyrannical and have suffered as a result."

"Goodness, generosity and gentleness have been expressed in neighbourliness, voluntarism and the huge sacrifices made by individuals and families. Our faith will not provide easy answers, yet faith will help to provide perspective which will enable us to address the challenges."

"In our contemporary situation we are tempted to become totally inculturated in the present, thereby losing our sense of identity as followers of Jesus Christ, overlooking the importance of memory, abandoning hope and placing all the emphasis on the here and now. We are in a season of transition, as we watch the collapse of the world as we have known it in its political forms and economic realities of the past which are becoming increasingly ineffective. It has been said by many critics of religion that the problem of our time is not atheism but idolatry. It is not that we are non-believers but that our beliefs are assigned to unworthy and unworkable objects. Today in a variety of ways the State wants to reshape our values, our fears and dreams in ways that are fundamentally opposed to the Gospel."

"The future belongs to those who can generate hope from the past rather than despair."

"The public education system has to be focused on doing the best for the largest number of people. It can end up ceasing to be primarily a test of academic ability and more become a measure of those who are financially able. I hope our politicians could grapple with that reality - when business enters education we have to ask questions."

"After a long period when politicians weren't even sitting in the same building together, there actually was the churches working together, who in many ways provided the fabric that held society together."

"A person reconciled with God can reconcile himself with the other and can reconcile himself with Creation."

"If one happens to be a Catholic, there cannot be a split between one's internal kind of views and thoughts... and what one says publicly. One has a duty, whether he likes it or not, to preach the word of God. This is part of the very mission of the Church, which is not confined to guys like myself who wear this funny Roman collar."

"Mary teaches us in prayer, in the Rosary, that’s one thing; but in those cultural traditions as well – in the traditions of the Garifuna people, in the traditions of the Maya, the Kriol, the Mestizo, are all round our country – ways that bring us together, across generations, and help us to squeeze that poison out of our society. So newly-elected Bishop Lawrence Nicasio: lead us; guide us; show us how to use the ruguma, just as Jesus said: Remain in my love, that my love might be in you and your love might be complete; that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete. This is my command; love one another, as I have loved you. So show us how to integrate the daily prayer of the Rosary, as Mary instructed us at Fatima; teach us how to live the Garifuna greeting: darangila, luma, esieni – peace and love"

"You can’t take the parish priest out of this bishop. I certainly admire those in specialized ministry, but all I wanted to be was a parish priest. I saw growing up in Oxnard these wonderful young priests, reaching out—they used to come and take us out of school, we would be spread-eagled over a U-Haul with food for the poor. That really attracted us. So many of us feel we were called to follow the example of many of those priests who really lived their ministry."

"I find joy in the celebration of Mass. Joy in sharing the Word of Life and the Bread of Life. There is joy in my heart when I witness the love united in marriage, and in pouring saving waters on the heads of little ones. My joy is in conveying to sinners God's forgiveness and in praying with the dying as they prepare to meet their Lord and Savior."

"There is such diversity in Sale with the vast growth corridor to the West and vibrant local parish communities reaching from the coast to the High Country – I am excited by the pastoral opportunities which exist and which are yet to be imagined."

"I will be ordained as a bishop for the universal church, particularly for the Diocese of Brooklyn and that is a diocese with many ethnicities, those ethnicities form something like a mosaic or a stained-glass window in the church with many elements, one of the elements of that mosaic or stained glass is the Polish culture."

"The Cross is a reality in our lives, yet in the midst of suffering we see victory, in the midst of trouble, we experience hope. Our contemplation of the Cross is our contemplation of Christ, victim, priest, and king, the Cross stands at the center of our lives and our calling as Christians is to embrace the Cross, to embrace our reality, and to allow the Crucified One to lead us to new life. As we unite our struggles with the Cross of Christ we do so knowing what the Father did for Jesus, He will do for us, with faith in the Resurrection we find in meaning in the difficulties and suffering that we encounter in life."

"I will contribute who I am. I deeply believe in the beauty of the Church of Montreal, of its diversity, of its expressions, and of its culture. It is our mission to strive for reconciliation and peace. I believe that that's what the people need."

"I ask you to pray for me as I exercise my being a father to you all, be assured that I will do my best to serve you all to the exclusion of no one."

"We grew up in a household that was a faith-filled home, we've been there for each other as priests and we'll be there for each other now as bishops."

"The family is so important when it comes to nurturing vocations that, really, they are born from a family, we don't fall out of the sky at 33 years old, wearing flowing robes. We are not hatched; we come from families."

"Priests are doctors of the soul. I feel very blessed that I was able to pursue that, being a physician of the soul."

"It is a new place to live and many new people to get to know, but one thing is always the same, and that is Jesus Christ. Our faith in Christ brings us through whatever we face and whatever he asks of us."

"We are very blessed to have been sibling brothers, brother priests and now brother bishops."

"Taking the time to get to know those you are called to serve, both the priests as well as the people, make sure that they know that you love them and you are there to serve them and be with them."

"Sometimes people think that it’s a very simple matter to become a Catholic, that it’s like changing your uniform, that’s not the way it is. It requires a profound transformation at so many levels."

"I often think of others who hunger and thirst for something more, for whom the Catholic Church is a very intimidating but compelling presence. They must overcome misunderstandings about what the Catholic Church teaches, and fears about what it might mean to live in the Catholic Church. Patient pastoral work can resolve much of this."

"There are laws far more powerful for us Catholics, far more powerful than those espoused in Party political agendas and pushed by the vested interests of powerful pressure groups: Natural law, the structures of the human personality built into mankind by God the Creator into the mind and heart of human beings, and the Divine law, the law of Almighty God expressed in the Commandments and in the New Ways of Jesus Christ, illustrated so clearly in the Gospels; Divine and Natural Law which we must always obey and which can never be trumped by the Laws of man, however democratically expressed by Parliament – whichever Parliament – when they clash with the Laws of God. The Law of God is a much higher Law, the ultimate Law. To rebel against the design of the Creator is a grave matter indeed!"

"True revolution and a concrete change in the world can only come from the saints and from God. In the 1900s we experienced the revolutions, whose spirit was that of not waiting for God, taking the destiny of the world into our own hands. And we saw how that human and partial way of seeing things was seen as the only means of finding one’s way in the world. The Holy Father teaches the act of speaking about things as though they were absolute when they are simply relative, is called totalitarianism. It does not free humans, but instead, takes away their dignity, enslaving them. It is not ideologies that save the world, but turning our attention to the living God, who is our creator, the guarantor of our freedom, the guarantor of what is really good and true. The real revolution involves turning our attention completely to God because he is the measure of what is right and is eternal love."

"Pretending to be God and parroting his power of creation is an enormous risk that can plunge men into a barbarity. Never forget that there is only one creator: God. In the wrong hands, today's development can lead tomorrow to a devastating leap in the dark."

"The sworn secret is out. Pope Francis named me auxiliary bishop and I am waking up to what it means. Put a few prayers in for me. I will need them and be grateful."

"Of course we want to be in communion, faithfulness to the universal Church but to also recognise that within the Church we have to react to the realities as they are, not as we wish them or think they should be. We have to start where we are at – to see, to judge, and to act."

"We need to be there walking alongside the Aboriginal people. And they appreciate us being there, but they’ve had their lives dominated by others, controlled by others."

"The Northern Territory is not Melbourne, or Sydney or Adelaide or Perth or Brisbane – it is the Northern Territory, we need to be looking at how do we respond as a Church to the challenges of our time in this place. We are not creating a different Catholic Church. We are the Catholic Church in the Northern Territory."

"The impression that stays with me is that of a net spread over the world, which naturally prompts the question: how come a group of bishops are happy to spend a whole week together just for the simple purpose of creating a space for Christ to live among them through their mutual love? One Catholic bishop told me that he tries at all costs never to miss these meetings, because they are the most profound and 'mystical' experience of the whole year. It truly seems that God has a plan for this reality. Despite the inevitable difficulties, I believe that the reason there is such faithfulness to this annual appointment is because, through the atmosphere of mutual love, it’s possible to both glimpse and experience, this presence of Jesus alive in our midst, as the answer to many questions concerning ecumenism."

"The Catholic Church in the U.S. has been fighting this battle to preserve its religious freedom for several years now. And this battle probably will not be resolved in the next few weeks. We must remain firm in our convictions and not succumb to accommodations, including third-party payments of premiums for coverages that are contrary to our beliefs. Most of all, we must pray. Pray that the courts and judges will protect our First Amendment rights, which are given to us by God, not by the government. Pray for God’s protection. And pray for our country, which was settled and established by people who had a deep desire and made great sacrifices to secure religious freedom for themselves, their families and their descendants."

"Many of the young have not rejected the faith — in many ways, they've never been exposed to it. We know the message of Jesus Christ does fill the longing of the human heart. But to those who have discovered the emptiness of that world, the priesthood can fill their hearts. Young people desire challenge, identity, mission."

"Our source of strength is daily prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, as well as daily Eucharist...Like other daily appointments, prayer (our appointment with God), needs to be scheduled."

"In the context of the priesthood, which flows out of society, there is a particular challenge to help men grow in manly virtue. The priesthood is not for the faint of heart, but for men who are up to the challenge of living as Christ in laying down their life on a daily basis."

"The character that the priest receives is a comfort to the faithful inasmuch as they realize that their faith is not based in the personality of the priest, but rather the Person of Christ working through the priest. On the other hand, the priest is called, like all of the faithful, to a life of holiness. The character received at ordination is actually a dynamism for priestly holiness. The more he can assimilate his life to Christ and submit to the gift he received at ordination, the more he will be a credible witness to the faithful and edify the Body of Christ."

"Let us in our own day and age, in this 21st century become witnesses to the resurrection. There are a million ways to do that, but we essentially do that by bearing in our heart an unquenchable joy. And we carry that, maybe, in the depth of our heart when life gets tough, and it’s been tough, and when life gets overwhelming, and it’s been overwhelming, when we have experienced tragedy, and we have. There is always in the depth of our heart a measure of joy that can only come from Jesus himself, that can only come from the assurance that he has been raised from the dead."

"I have known him since 1999, when I was rector of the seminary, he came here to teach and served as vice rector with me and was extremely helpful in beginning St. John Vianney seminary. It is with great joy that I welcome him, both as a friend and a brother, and now as a co-worker as a bishop — as auxiliary bishop here."

"Jesus is the one who always attracts and appeals, and as much as we present the true Jesus, I think people will come back, because they really need him."

"An important term for us in the church is solidarity. We are brothers and sisters first because of that shared baptism, and there’s even deep solidarity simply because we’re all created by the same God."

"Prayer is a relationship with God, probably the most personal and intimate aspect of our lives. My ministry as a bishop has expanded my vision of prayer, and even though prayer has always been a part of my life, I would say one thing that has grown is my intercessory prayer. There are so many individuals and things to pray for. With the mission of bishop, and as a shepherd to the faithful, I first and foremost want to reach out to everyone, and there’s no better way to do that than through prayer. I have a deeper consciousness of inner prayer, and bringing to the heart of Christ the intercession that has been entrusted to me."

"The world is haunted by Calvarys. Yet, by God’s grace and in God’s plan, Calvary isn’t the end of the story. While the cross of Calvary repulses us and shames us, confronting us with death and humiliation, with the injustice and betrayal of which we are all capable, the same cross – transformed by God’s power and grace – is also the means through which we achieve life and rebirth."

"We have to be saints. And we have to know that there will be challenge and fierce challenge at times. As Pope Francis famously said the Church is like a field hospital. That is a military term. We are involved in a war. Christ’s followers will get bruised and battered. There will be opposition even hatred, we will meet the cross; Calvary was a messy place. And we remind ourselves that God is in charge. He is the One who gives us strength and hope. And we must realize this fully. With Christ we can stand undaunted. After all Christ has overcome the world. Therefore the creative minority can stand unintimidated."

"I know Colorado to be a beautiful land of beautiful people and I look forward to serving the faithful of Pueblo as their shepherd in Christ. I eagerly anticipate our future together as we grow and build our local church."

"We should admit some of the ineffective practices of our past labors. This confrontation needs be embraced by all of us on a personal level, at the local parish and throughout the diocese. There are many ways in which we can do this and now move forward. The mission of Christ is being strengthened."

"We need a new way of looking at and engaging in evangelization. It cannot be business as usual. We’ve seen a hemorrhaging of our young people from the Church. So in recent years, this has become another of my priorities. We have to take on the characteristics of an apostolic Church, rather than a church enjoying the glories of Christendom. Our focus must be to make Jesus Christ known and loved. Our pastors can’t be CEOs. We’re not a business. I’ve been pleased to see that many of our priests have responded well to the call for a New Evangelization."

"We already speak of the invalidity of many Masses. But to say that all Masses are invalid does not correspond to the line of the Fraternity. This is something we have never said. In our discussions with Rome, we have always emphasised that we recognise the validity of the new Mass, if it is celebrated according to the books and with the intention of doing what the Church is mandated to do. In this regard, a distinction must be made between valid and good."

"(About Mater Populi Fidelis) I would dare to use the word ‘pitiful.’ It is an insult to God. It’s only God who produces grace in us. But God wants his creatures to collaborate and cooperate in his work. Precisely because He made us free, He wants us to make use of that freedom. And more than that He wants us to merit, He wants us to work. Our Lady at Fatima said there are so many souls who fall into hell because no one prays and makes sacrifices for them. Which means if you pray and make sacrifices you can really save souls. If that’s true for any souls, how much more for the Blessed Virgin Mary? She had been chosen by God to be His mother."

"I repeat, we have never separated ourselves from the Church."