Roman Catholic Bishops

"The Pope has asked us to be precious stones in the edifice of the Catholic Church in Russia. Our local Church is a small edifice, we are not many, but we too can be the precious stones that build the universal Church."

"His wise and unwearying efforts to reform his diocese, whose clergy were in a deplorable state, were crowned with unhoped-for success."

"There is a great need among Catholics to be united despite the distances and at the same time to care for others, for example the poor, regardless of what background they come from."

"The challenges we face arise from the difficulties in society today. Unemployment, criminality and peace which still needs to be consolidated are some of the challenges facing the country. In my opinion at the basis of all lies a problem which is both spiritual and cultural. We live in a world which is interdependent. Our young people are exposed to the same cultural influence as their peers in other countries."

"The Christian's weakness in front of his persecutors is not a disadvantage, but paradoxically, the way in which he is able to endure moments of crisis."

"Of course the mission is not without danger because terrorism strikes anywhere. But this makes it all the more urgent and important to work for dialogue in the spirit of Francis of Assisi."

"Ecumenism is making progress in Turkey and we hope this will continue and grow. Communion among the different communities is increasing. We are all committed to dialogue and common prayer so we may offer the world around us witness of unity in Christ. Catholic religious in Turkey are keenly aware that they have a mission of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue if they wish to bear witness to the message of peace and harmony which Jesus Christ offers the world."

"His pastoral style was characterized by closeness and good-natured patience. He weaved relationships step by step, in the fabric of daily life, and always supported the occasions of common prayer with Christians of other Churches that I too have tried to promote in recent years here in Istanbul."

"To meet the challenges of the present day to bear witness faith to our Christian faith and hope, the international Fraternity of Friars Minor in Istanbul strives to build relations of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue with men and women of good will and believers of other religions and Churches . We know the journey is long with obstacles at every step but we are certain that dialogue is the path to brotherhood and peace, in keeping with the will of the God of life."

"Building peace and brotherhood in the world and among believers is and will always be a daily task which we Christians wish to announce in the truth of the Risen Lord. Christ is truly Risen."

"In the Old Testament, whenever the people went astray, the kings took responsibility for their actions. A good shepherd will not lead the sheep astray; instead, he lays down his life for the sheep who knows him by his voice as he also knows them by name. Likewise, today we are asking, where was the President and the security agents when the Shakahola massacre was taking place? Mass extermination of people is unacceptable and is not in line with the will of God."

"Oppose any kind of hostage taking since freedom is essential and it is part of the dignity of all God's children."

"If you want peace in Colombia, one must form a conscious citizen to have the right to peace. But it is also necessary that people have the right to protest, without violence, and also has the right to demand answers."

"As in the primitive Church, when either Persecution was threatened, or actually arose, it was a frequent Practice, among the Christians, to address to their Adversaries expository Epistles, to obviate the Calumnies and Aspersions cast both upon the Faith and Practice of their Church. I therefore presume in like manner, to address all whom it may concern."

"It will not be weapons that give us the future, and much less justice and peace, instead, it will be internally unarmed people who will stop violence in all its forms and its false or presumed reasons. Justice is not in the unstable balance of forces involved, but in the testimony of a truly new life in love without measure."

"Some elders force their daughters to marry when they are still young in order to obtain cows in exchange. This old mentality must be challenged to allow girls to obtain a quality education that will ensure them a decent future. Education makes the impossible possible."

"The just and the good, of course, he leads by the hand to their glorious destination, but their pathway to it he strews with thorns; to reach the Thabor of his permanent glory, they must carry their cross up the narrow, rugged heights of Calvary; and, even should they find in their way, scattered here and there, a few flowers of joy, they must gather them with a trembling hand from amidst the many thorns that surround them."

"I think you will hardly take him by surprise. However, you can come with me, and we will search for him. Did I not tell you from the first that you would not find him?"

"Colmar worked like a true apostle."

"A people who are to govern themselves need virtue and morality much more than intellectual knowledge to appreciate and preserve the form of self-government. Hence it is so truly said that a Republic needs moral and virtuous citizens."

"Ambition was his chief failing; otherwise he was reputed a good theologian and a friend of art and letters, virtuous, eloquent, and skilful in the business of the curia."

"Mitis depone colla, Sigamber; adora quod incendisti, incende quod adorasti."

"Social media is for you to be knowledgeable and to be connected with others; to do something productive and progressive, not to use it as a way of downsizing, traumatising or destroying others, no! What I am saying my dear children is that is there is an opportunity in you get educated. Be educated for it will open you up to the world and give you opportunities. If you are educated you are empowered."

"Missionaries instilled in us the missionary spirit and now we have become a Church that sends missionaries abroad, to Europe, America and other areas, including our own country. We are very happy and hopeful for the missionary spirit that animates the younger generations."

"Each century saw its zealots striving for the preservation of ecclesiastical life in the monasteries and the canonicates, eager for the restoration and perfection of the schools, and endeavoring to provide for the moral and spiritual enlightenment of the people. Through the unselfish efforts of these leaders of society, whether the Pope, the emperor, a bishop or a prince, the modern world can see the educational ideal of the age, and obtain a fair view of the actual conditions which existed."

"There is nothing that can contribute so much to its quietude and stability as the zeal and piety of kings in preserving the discipline of the Church and in defending her liberties."

"You feel that these neophytes are up against difficulties which beset them from all sides. There is the indifference of some Europeans who do not set a good example; there is the influence of their pagan relatives, perhaps dragging them back; there is hostility and attempts at perversion on the part of the sects. The pagan past appeals to them; the beauty of a thoroughly Christian society is as yet unknown to them. Yet, aided by the grace of God, they profess Jesus Christ openly before men. The Holy Ghost is given them to help and strengthen them in this struggle, which is changing the face of Africa, as Europe was changed."

"We have discovered that oftentimes our mission has the same demands and difficulties in different areas of the globe."

"One of the reasons which made me accept this bishopric was the fact that these Islands are near China... For a long time I have had the conversion of that kingdom at heart, and with that thought I came to these Islands."

"We have emerged from a conflict that has left deep wounds – material ones, but above all, spiritual ones. Thanks be to God, the violence has ended and our diocese are experiencing a time of peace, however, the conflict has left deep wounds on the people and the land. We are having to respond to the spiritual and material wounds from the violence. We still have a part of the population that has not yet returned to their homes, but as I mentioned earlier, the worst wounds are the spiritual ones. People have lost family members and many women have suffered sexual violence. In this sense, it is very difficult to calculate exactly how many people are suffering, as many are afraid to admit that they have been victims of violence. Some of these people have suffered traumas and do not have the strength to ask for help. The Church has not remained indifferent to the cry of the people."

"The true peace that we await is an act of courage that commits both sides to lay down their arms to speak in truth and draw the outlines of a final and lasting peace, based on a written and signed commitment. Abandon selfish calculations and reject sectarian division and clan rivalries."

"We need to scale up our practical compassion, not simply adjust priorities within existing plans."

"Families are kindergartens where priests, religious, parents and good faithful come from. If they are properly formed, it will be easy for them to respond to their vocation. The tendency in our society of young people who do not want to marry in Church or priests who renounce their ministry is being strengthened. These few events should make us reflect seriously and resolve these challenges as best as we can. We have seen stable marriages and families, courageous priests and religious. The few who go against their call to holiness should not make us change the ecclesiastical discipline that has existed for years."

"Seek an opportunity to spread understanding and peace. I call on all the faithful to remain vigilant and to refuse any opportunity for these negative elements to sow division and hatred among us."

"There are in these parts many reputed defenders of the Catholic faith who think that our religion consists in nothing but hatred of the Lutherans... and they are so wedded to this point of view that, without ever looking into the matter itself, they take in bad part not only all negotiations with the Lutherans, but every single word spoken about them which is not abusive."

"Few ecclesiastics in that century were so successful in retaining the esteem of men of all parties and all creeds as this large-minded and eminently able and honest churchman."

"His career is that of a good man, struggling for the welfare of his Church against corruptions not essential to the system to which he was devoted."

"It is not sufficient to say, as the FARC do, that kidnapping does not involve civilians but aim at police and soldiers: they are also citizens, fathers, men who are providing a service to the nation. Any hope of peace is buried. If they truly have valid proposals to govern a country as difficult as ours, then they must enter into a context of democratic politics and participate in elections."

"Yesterday as today, the Catholic Church is called to respond with its effective and consoling presence among the martyred population, without ever ceasing to launch appeals for peace and reconciliation of the parties in conflict: The violence ravaging northern Mozambique, in the province of Cabo Delgado, has already made its martyrs among the Catholic community. The example of the martyrs of Chapotera, like that of the catechist martyrs of Guiúa and many others, is of great importance today. They are men and women who chose a life of witness and proclamation of the Gospel of peace and love. Their example remains and multiplies."

"What contradictions do we not daily observe, between the private judgments of individuals on the most ordinary questions, that occur to be examined by them? How difficult is it often for twelve men to come to an uniform judgment, on the same subject? Must there not be error, amidst these contradictory individual judgments and opinions? What reasonable man, then, would ever admit, that the private judgment of every individual is a basis and rule of certitude, in determining what are the doctrines, precepts, and institutions of Christ; or what are the dispositions and conditions of salvation, which were prescribed by him, and on the knowledge, and observance of which the eternal happiness of every individual depends?"

"Our society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members. Our sisters and mothers, who are among the most vulnerable, require our protection and deserve to feel safe rather than live in fear for their lives. While we support the government in its efforts to address this menace, we, the Archdiocese of Nairobi, in collaboration with the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action, call upon all Christians and people of goodwill to act as our sister's keeper. Our commitment to protection reflects our Christian values of love and mutual respect."

"Let the church not be seen as a beneficiary while schools have no books, hospitals have no medicine and doctors and teachers have no pay. We do not know where the huge sum of money donated to churches by politicians comes from and we should be worried. Let donations be done in secret to ensure the same is genuine and not a form for campaign or show-off."

"When almighty God thinks fit to reveal future events, he generally expresses them in obscure terms that leave the meaning more or less uncertain. This seems to be done in order to prevent the daring presumption of some men, who might attempt, if the prophecies were clear, to obstruct and hinder their accomplishment. Others of mankind of a more timorous disposition, would be alarmed and over much terrified at disasters which they foresaw were impending upon them. On another hand, if futurity was clearly foretold, it might seem to intrench upon that liberty, which God had been pleased to grant to man, of directing his own conduct and actions. For these reasons, the generality of prophecies are covered with a veil of darkness and uncertainty. Obscurity is therefore a general characteristic of prophecy."

"In none of his writings to which I have had access, does there appear a disposition to judge too favourably of Chinese notions, but the reverse."

"Being a catechist is a vocation. Catechists are called to discern and reflect on their own vocation, they are called to commit themselves in a serious and coherent way since the faithful look to them as examples to follow."

"I am the Bishop of Bameng, either I preside or I'll go and be a farmer for the rest of my life."

"The Catholic Church in the Dominican Republic is greatly troubled by the situation of her country, and lifts its prayers for the delinquent youth, the drug traffickers, all those involved in this business, for an end to poverty and all that come as a result. The wars of today are in the conflict, drugs, illiteracy, pornography, sex, greed, abortion, war on the family and on every individual that walks down a street in insecurity."

"Tunstall's long career of eighty-five years, for thirty-seven of which he was a bishop, is one of the most consistent and honourable in the sixteenth century."

"For the clergy he was a severe disciplinarian, but was himself foremost with the example of a holy life."

"St Joseph is Patron Saint of the Universal Church, Patron Saint of China, an excellent model of a good Catholic, a good father, a good citizen, but also an exemplary model for immigrant workers today, the reputed father of Jesus, the one who assumed responsibility for the family, who was a good Catholic within the Church, a good citizen in the community. Especially you, young immigrant workers, take the example of his life and faith, turn your prayer to him, exercising generous love like his."