Roman Catholic Archbishops

"The Islamic-Christian dialogue may appear overcome when Islamic movements in certain Muslim countries stir up armed groups and set up their followers against whoever does not share their ideas. The Church of Algeria is undergoing a trial of this kind. Fidelity to their vocation - in a difficult context - as priests, religious brothers, religious sisters and lay missionaries shows that this development of fundamentalist movements of Islam does not justify abandoning dialogue."

"For the poorest of the poor the Church is Mother, the Church is the bearer of a message of peace and love. We hope the new Pontiff will continue with interreligious dialogue, to have special relationship with young people and to fight against secularisation. In Algeria Catholics live in a difficult context but we offer our contribution towards building harmony among the peoples and the religions of the world."

"We are happy that God has given us a common mission here in Algeria. And this mission is all the more important at a time when the pressure of globalisation comes up against reaffirmation of the specific identity of different civilisations, nations and cultures. We are convinced that by means of the "sacrament of encounter" we are called to operate together with our Muslim friends in their diversity, welcoming those among them who wish to have a better understanding of who we are."

"For the good of God's Church and for my own peace of mind, I believe it is time of a younger man to take over the reins of office here in Newark. I have done my best and I am very happy now to step aside."

"Secularization should not scare us, but must be an opportunity for witnessing and proclaiming the Faith. Secularization is a field of evangelization"

"The Church in America is not an institution which travels a path parallel to the world, She is a Church, present at the heart of the reality of this world. This Church, which walks to the same rhythm as humanity, shares the earthly destiny of mankind, of the marginalized, of the excluded, of those who live in precarious situations. The Church in America is discovering that this is the vision of Christ himself, who shows himself in the great labor of the gathering of mankind in communion."

"The great Christian community can only be achieved by starting from small groups constructed by personal faith and mutual love, in order to reach all of society, since mankind, linked to God privately and publicly in the social, cultural, political sphere etc., can come together in an orderly sovereignty integrating history, religion, culture and many institutions."

"The beginning and the end of life are fundamental moments of life itself, the more man assumes to place the beginning and the end under an interest-driven feasibility, the more he also weakens the time of life that runs between these two moments."

"As a young Bishop in the 1950's I formed Social Guilds to prepare for independence. Now in the democratic process we should help form leaders. We should have forums of African Catholic professionals. Let us involve the lay leaders in our Church government structures. We thank our friends who have helped us so far to train our people, kindly continue to do so. The greatest investment for Africa is in its people. Their education will determine the future of Africa and the world at large."

"The Church realises that it has an important task in this crisis because it is a situation that arises from a society which is sick and has lost many values. In this perspective the evangelising role of the Church in the light of the Catholic Church’s Social Teaching is vitally important for the building of a new society. This is the only way to solve the crisis. Unless the rebuilding of the nation is founded on ethic and moral values which lead to the rebirth of institutions which have been discredited and to recompose the structures of society in every sector, any other measures taken will be only transitional certainly not lasting."

"Work and the environment are two closely interrelated themes. They are the two important issues that we have experienced in a painful way in Taranto, given the problems related to the former Ilva and environmental pollution that has caused many deaths of children and adults with the consequent problem of unemployment also."

"As individual Churches we are small, but collectively we are big and a force to reckon with, and can achieve a lot."

"God's calling is easier to hear when it is made or heard in the context of a family that has faith. Faith in the community is also very important. It makes easier for people especially today to appreciate the whispering of the Holy Spirit."

"I had lived my entire religious life, until I came here to Rome, in a Dominican priory, mostly in Washington or in New Haven, Conn. In those places, the hermeneutic of continuity and reform, if I may put it that way, was lived. I never experienced the Council as a rupture. It's interesting — only as I've begun to read this traditionalist literature and interpretation have I begun to understand that, in a certain sense, there are problems that are real."

"Each season has a particular grace. So Advent is the grace to realize the complete gratuity of grace."

"While beauty and joy should surround a Christian wedding, we must remind everyone that it is a sacrament, not a show."

"Our faithful are looking at us, their shepherds, to see how we behave, how we relate toward one another, not only in words but by example. Christ has entrusted us with the task of proclaiming Him credibly by our words and lives."

"You lay people, are the great majority of the Church and it is time to be protagonists, develop a sense of belonging and deepen formation, committed according to our faith, to be leaven in the mass, salt of the earth and light for transformation of society."

"One cannot speak about hope in a simplistic way. Instead, using lively faith as a starting point, embracing the Cross is necessary so that, from His Resurrection, He may be the Hope of a new world. This is the Bishop's challenge, the servant of the Gospel for the hope of the world."

"The Church has her principles and one of them is life. I am only stating that the Church supports life and will always support life, regardless of the politics or laws of the moment. God is the only owner of every life conceived by woman, and as such that life will always have rights, the most important of which is the right to life."

"The pandemic has certainly brought more poverty. There are people who have lost not only their loved ones, but have lost work (and) closed business. One has to confront this situation. Certainly it's a call for governments and the church."

"Faced with health problems, and especially considering the sense of the religious vocation, I hope in this way to be able to serve God and the people better. What has been done is only thanks to many priests and lay people who have dedicated themselves to the Gospel and are serving faithfully in the Church."

"I would hope that people see me as a shepherd and that people will grow to trust me. Trust is important in our life together, and I want to do what I can to establish trust. As for how I would like people to understand me, I would appreciate people recognizing that my task is to establish, along with the clergy and lay faithful, a vision for our future in southern Illinois. A key responsibility I have is to foster and preserve unity among us as we move into the future."

"Inculturation is rooted in the mystery of Christ's incarnation and must addressed the person, the family and the whole Christian community. It is a part of tradition, of culture and identity and should influence all evangelisation and Christian life, especially in the areas the sacraments, scripture, marriage, family life and the liturgy. Of special importance is the role of the ancestors, healing and ritual blessings and the relationship of the Christian to Traditional African Religion."

"Call me any time, day or night, if you need me or have a problem. I am home and I am yours. After a long sacrificial journey, I am home and I want to grow in love, hope and dignity with you."

"My hope is that the Youth Day brings and allows to meet young people from different places in order to become aware and to say to the Church and to the world how beautiful, precious and vital our youth is. Young people participate with the desire to know God better and become pilgrims to share with others the relationship with him"

"Christians are considerable in number in some constituencies and should become politically aware. When the federal government drew up the list of scheduled castes in India in 1950, Christians were in slumber. That is why they did not get their due."

"It is necessary to encourage the Bishops to exert the ministry of pardon with spiritual generosity and also help current confessors to better prepare future confessors."

"I'm so blessed by the Lord, the way He has revealed Himself to me through His Eucharist, and by the priests who have supported me all these years, and the people."

"Joint commissions would foster the ecclesial communion which sustains our episcopal collegiality and become suitable forums in which we address together problems that seem almost intractable when we try to address them in isolation from one another."

"Dialogue of action, if it is to be truly effective, must be nourished by every other form of dialogue - dialogue of theological discourse, dialogue of religious experience, dialogue of life. Only then will religion touch deeply the lives of people, answer their deepest needs and thus fulfill its own true function."

"Out of habit, we go to church, keep our tradition, pray. We need someone to wake us from the lukewarmness. God is always coming towards us, and especially in Advent, he saves us from the cage of tiredness and fatigue and invigorates us."

"This will no doubt be a challenge for many and will require grace and patience from all of us, however, if we remain focused on Jesus and his call for us to be his missionary disciples, he will show us the way."

"The new evangelization called for five hundred years after the first evangelization of America requires a new catechesis as its "engine", in order to provide the lay faithful with the comprehensive understanding of their faith to allow them to embrace Christ's mission of transforming the world with confidence."

"When you meet God it's like finding a treasure, you bet everything. How much we have changed in our lives because of our faith and our faith makes us bet everything"

"The Peoples of Asia, in their vast majority, have a deep religious experience, which we must learn to know and appreciate. The evangelization of Asia is, first of all, a dialogue of life with all believers whose experience already brings them closer to God, Who is the Origin of all things. Our deepest conviction is that the Gospel can contribute something profound and vital, to the men and women of Asia."

"This period of crisis has made people united in their intense personal suffering."

"It's like Easter; after destruction and pain, hope in the future is back. Our main mission is to create trust and hope among the victims: fishermen, widows and children."

"There is no time for grief and remorse. We have a mission."

"Here tragedy seems to follow upon tragedy."

"I remain convinced that gathering a small council around the pope every so often, Church figures from different countries, whose members might change every two or three years maybe, would be of help to him, so he can be sure of knowing the temperature of the Church. The Curia can't feel and register that temperature, it's not its task."

"A social body which lives essentially upon the gifts which it shouldn't collect itself - here, the priestly body - loses the sense of reality: money is no longer the fruit of work, it becomes an abstract value. When there is no more money, one believes that there still is more. To live like this upon gifts does not favor the maturity of comportments."

"The idea that Christianity has been achieved in Europe is widespread, sometimes leading to programmes separating the Church, Christianity and contemporary culture. The result is a sort of "unconcerned apostasy" of most Europeans, at least in Western Europe, and especially among adolescents and young people"

"For some, the abstract language of Church teaching is a barrier. Also, emphasis on the ideal can result in discouragement and a sense of exclusion. Pastoral experience indicates the importance of a model of family ministry that is led by families, creates multiple opportunities to experience the link between daily life and faith, and promotes solidarity among families."

"We have the power of prayer and we want to pray every time we are afraid; in this case, we must pray that the flow of lava will stop."

"Lamps (inculturation) are the people from all epochs who give them to us day after day. Let us also be grateful for our period: everything is not so negative."

"God is good and perfect, but I know I'm not, and it's useless trying."

"An emphasis on a patient, didactic and global spirituality of communion with a missionary, solidarity orientation throughout the Church starting from the seminaries, priests, men and women religious and lay faithful, pastoral facilities and plans, should enable the Church in America to be in Christ, as the sign and instrument of close communion with God and the unity of all mankind."

"We must not be afraid to name and shame the devil or to correct the ills of society if we want to be a truly reconciled African continent."

"We need priests especially who have encountered Christ in a most personal and committed way both from within the experience of their own culture and from within their personal experience of the living Christian tradition which they have inherited. Only such persons can truly communicate Christ and his mystery to their own people. These are the type of future priests we need to build up the local Church and make the faith a culture that is fully accepted."