Roman Catholic Bishops

"By using the word "dialogue" I hope to be able to believe that the other has something worthwhile to say. Engaging in dialogue does not mean renouncing our own ideas and traditions but rather, renouncing the claim that they alone are valid or absolute."

"A disturbed or uneasy conscience is a gift from God. Rejoice when that happens, rather than being offended, and you will discover one of the best ways by which you can grow in holiness of life. You become free of the very sin the Lord Jesus is presenting to you."

"Churches and monasteries everywhere should not be seen only as "cultural treasures" needing to be preserved materially, but also with due respect for the conditions that enable Christian communities to practice their faith freely in those centres."

"A congregation is supposed to assess a person's mental health during formation. It is a dangerous signal if a nun commits suicide at the slightest provocation. We have to reassess our system's effectiveness."

"Despite a law prohibiting local brews, the sale of hooch continues unabated with the connivance of local police and excise officials."

"I hope that this Congress next year will be a moment for the Church and society to reflect on the fact that everything really depends, at least for us Catholics and believers, on the Eucharist. Jesus' words have become our Gospel and Jesus' actions have become our Sacraments. It is fundamental for us to see this in the celebration of the Congress."

"I believe that diversity should be a mutual gift, enriching interpersonal and social relationships, opening minds and hearts to those who are different. Yet if we place too much emphasis on what distinguishes us, then peculiarities and nationalisms inevitably resurface, with the consequence that differences become obstacles or, even worse, walls. A Christian, the word itself indicates, even before belonging to a nation, belongs to Christ, who gave his life for us."

"May we always be sincere and courageous heralds of peace, without forgetting that there is no peace without justice and there is no justice without forgiveness."

"We must go to the root of Lebanon’s problems and uproot the weed. There's no more space for external interference, but only for the good of this land and its population. Hope only lies in dialogue. Weapons solve nothing."

"I always wanted to be a priest and missionary. But God has always caught me off guard. I am nostalgic for what I left behind, but I accepted everything without bitterness and never got my head in the various roles I took on. Personally, I would have preferred to go on the mission, but the Pope asked me to be a missionary here in Setúbal. The mission today is in Europe and a challenge for the Church."

"When I received the announcement to leave the diocese of Umuarama to continue my apostolic mission in the diocese of Jundiaí, I was surprised and at the same time, perplexed. I am sad to have to leave Rio de Janeiro, the state where I have lived since 1969. But I am happy to be given a new mission elsewhere."

"We have a contribution to make to the spiritual and moral wellbeing of Samoa; the Catholic Church having, for example, its social teaching. I think we have a lot to give and we can make an impact on the life of Samoa as being one of the mainline churches. To me, it’s a responsibility we have for Samoa. We don’t want to dominate but if we can, we make a very important contribution to that."

"Religious faith and its practice cannot be taken for granted and we must be resolved in our defense of our cherished freedom to practice our faith, especially in the context of a secular culture which many times is opposed to its basic beliefs. History has witnessed many instances of blatant disregard for religious liberty which has resulted in devastating persecution."

"Dublin's a big city, so Cork is much smaller, people are very friendly. It's a nice place to be, a lovely city, but it wasn't in my trajectory. I was very happily doing a busy job in Dublin. I had a lot of things going on. It came totally out of the blue."

"I am not a part of the lavender. I would never belong to that evil. I couldn't help that I was his auxiliary. I didn't know anything about McCarrick. The poor victims, my gosh. There is evil at work here. This is a spiritual battle."

"Much has been lost in U.S. culture because of secularism. The values of the immigrants are very basic, reflecting a profound Catholicism where faith, family, and expressions of piety, etc., are part of our daily life."

"To simplify, we have before us a central power, which is trying to resurface and assert itself, which is facing federal states which, in turn, are trying to make their voice heard. In fact, this confrontation has immobilized the country. The Somali political situation is influenced by the interests of regional and international actors. The price of this situation is the instability paid by the civilian population."

"I expect greater involvement of the Somali diaspora, while better coordination and a unified approach of the international community would be desirable."

"If office disagreements are not allowed to spill over and as soon as he is here in Juba, holding hands with all the other leaders, then that will be a key moment of reconciliation of the ordinary citizen."

"The Holy Mother Church stands with the suffering people of South Sudan and therefore it is a great affection to each and every one of us. So we will continue to carry our responsibilities and our duties in order to continue building the Church as God wants it throughout our times."

"People to know that the Holy Land also belongs to them and they can always go. Because people are afraid, but when they go and then come back afterwards, they realize that nothing happened. The idea here is for them to know the meaning of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and to encourage them to see it."

"I can say that canonical recognition by the Holy See is an essential condition for a Catholic organization to be in full ecclesiastical communion, conforming to the law. There is no canonical recognition, we are working on it, but canonical recognition is not something notarial, it is essential!"

"The knowledge of the Church doesn't come from knowing, it comes from living with Jesus. The Gospel is alive."

"There has been no serious reconciliation process after the war, because the winning side saw no need for it. They had won and they were now in control – that was it. They see Sri Lanka as a Buddhist Sinhalese nation and they are not interested in reconciliation with other groups. After going through such a long war, they do not want to live anything similar again."

"A lot of things need to be done since people are not totally free or happy. We have had a lot of struggles in relation to religious harmony. Due to the certain actions of Buddhist monks, there was unrest in the community. So nobody was able to do anything, not even the authorities."

"While some bishops may travel with someone to help with the driving, I go by myself. I prefer it that way. I like the solitude. I don't listen to music. I pray and say the Rosary, or think about things. It gives me a lot of time to myself. Not everyone would like it."

"If you don’t have a relationship with Our Lord, and are not responding to what you believe to be His call, it will be a dry life. It's important that a priest have common sense. It's important he know how to relate to people, to be able to socialize and engage in their lives. People need to know that their priests care about them, and are willing to help them. We’re all in this life together, and if we live out our faith, it will end well for us all in eternal life. The priesthood is not an easy life, but if it is something God is calling you to, he'll give you the grace to live out your vocation well."

"The mission is of God, it is not ours. We are simply the instruments of God. Within the Church, one of the characteristics of the missionary, and especially of the religious – for I myself am also a religious – is itinerancy. We are never fixed in one place, but are transferred wherever the Church needs us, wherever God sends us, which is why we must always be ready to dismantle our tent and set it up again elsewhere."

"During the festival we appreciate how big is God's gift to Asmat people. They can preserve their identity through their woodcarvings. Their carving is art that reflects fundamental beliefs passed down from generation to generation."

"We want peace, justice, that's all. If there's no justice, there's no peace, so we would like to request on behalf of all Kachins, and all people from Myanmar, peace and justice."

"The Church must always be popular. It is about the person and his relationship with God. The church that is financially well off can forget its content. We are nothing without the people. What is important is that the people connect with their God, and with the Eternal Word of the Father, who became man and walked with us. Now it is us who are trying to walk with him."

"If we lose this essential vision of unity and mutual collaboration that man and woman possess, we are left as just two isolated individuals without meaning. Man and woman can more clearly recognize their own identity the more they remain close to each other, linked together and faithful, and the more they live out the essential openness to reciprocity and complementarity. Only if they are together can they prepare themselves to be missionaries of love and of life. The encounter with the living Jesus Christ and their insertion into the Church will make them even more fulfilled and happy."

"The two machines have been welcomed with great joy, because the pope's paternal gesture and attention has been understood for this country that suffers from a very delicate situation"

"We need to open our hearts to him and be there for our brothers and sisters. It’s time to proclaim his love and carry his message he gave us the power to be his tools and to bring his love to others. It is our duty."

"We need to look for deepest symptoms of the crisis of Christian marriage and the family in the weakening of the life of faith. This fragility comes after a gradual loss of the Christian understanding of life, in this case of conjugal and family life, caused by multiple factors, including a certain inconsistency in Christian formation, and as a consequence, the scarce practice of the life of faith."

"The fundamental truth that makes us free is the grateful recognition that we come from God and we are not the product of chance, or of mere biological evolution, or of some cosmic coincidence."

"Inevitably, this period of lockdown will have repercussions on the lives and the faith of our Christians, both positive and negative. There will be a before and an after. For some, being unable to take part in the Eucharistic celebration will deepen their desire and thirst for God and for union and communion with him and with their community. For lukewarm Christians, however, this could be the end."

"In his quiet, fatherly way, Joseph intercedes for us in this southern outpost of the Church. He watches over the family of God’s people much like he watched over Jesus as he learned to walk, as he worked at a trade, and as he eventually left home to carry out his mission. Joseph shows us that holiness is found in a very normal and human way, carrying out the day-to-day responsibilities of family life, and being a caring citizen in the community. I am sure that this year will bring out further reflections on how St Joseph can show us how to live. He shows us something important about the dignity and importance of work, he reminds us of the significance of good fathering, and he teaches us to place our trust in God in the midst of problems and anxieties. St Joseph is certainly a very relevant and helpful saint for the times that we live in."

"Canon Law, which teaches how to correctly interpret and apply the Church's law, is a body of law founded on natural and divine law which are the ultimate parameters of justice that ecclesiastical authority must follow. Therefore, Canon Law grants all the necessary tools to those who exercise authority so they can adapt the rigor and the requirements of the law to be justly applied in concrete cases, that is to say, that the demands of charity and mercy cannot be forgotten in applying the law."

"We ask for prayers and support for our seminarians so that they can recover soon, and for the medical workers looking after them."

"I wanted to encourage local people to love the environment and the best way to do so was to lead by example. I tried hard."

"Indonesians must grateful for what the founding fathers have inherited through Pancasila, which stresses inclusivity in a plural society. In Indonesia, religion is challenged to learn from local cultures and not to underestimate humanity"

"Just continue to help and guide the parishes, continue to reflect on the challenges of Vatican II. The church is meant to serve the people through the parishes. Continue to support the priests as well."

"Anything said appears to be a confrontation between the government and the Church."

"We are just on our own doing things individually. We encourage isolation when people keep to themselves. So, it can be the cause for things like that. We are members of one another. We should move from social network community to human community. What we really need to do is to be sensitive to people around us."

"The way we practice religion today poses security problem in the country. If we take holiness serious, we will be able to tackle the problem of bombings in the country. There should be no sacred cows in the society. Everybody should look for the common good of the masses."

"We are all at one stage or another of being unfinished. We can be born with deficiencies, or incur disabilities, some of which last through life. In fact, we are never finished while death is still in front of us. When there is something that cannot be resolved or fulfilled within our present span of life, it helps to remember that our life was not something we had a right to in the first place; it is simply gift. And our present life is not the whole of it."

"I think I've learned more about that over the years. You can't solve everything, and God is the one who is ultimately in control of the world."

"In the quest to build a community united in Christ the Saviour, a community of God's family, a family of families, we cannot develop without the feminine intuition, without the maternal instincts, without the care of women."

"It is my hope that this direction may assist us as a Diocesan family to continue to grow in holiness through a renewed relationship with God through our prayer and integrity of life, but also by fostering further formation throughout our Diocese on the beauty, theology and praxis of the sacred liturgy, where we encounter Our Lord most intimately."