Roman Catholic Bishops

"We can't just talk about liturgical matters or translations of particular books of the Bible, as important as they are. We have to deal with the fact that people are suffering."

"We felt at this point in the history of Orissa to explain to the people the historical background of the persecution of the Church, the history of the Christians who for centuries who have been persecuted for bearing the name of Christ and for the faith. The early Church went through great hardships and martyrdom; its members were often persecuted and massacred. But history has shown that persecution ultimately strengthens the Church."

"In Araucania there is a complex situation. On the one hand there is a historical debt with the Mapuche people. On the other hand, acts of violence increase and spread, with all the problems that this entails. The regional government is carrying out a worthy job with the referendum among the Mapuche community. This is what was missing and what society needs"

"What we need is moral support to go ahead with the process of peace and reconciliation, to remember all that has happened so it may never happen again"

"There are no losers in politics as people normally take it or understand. Those who did not succeed should concede defeat, refrain from straying from the path of peace and accept to work in harmony with the winners while they wait to present their ideals to the voters in the next elections."

"I imagine that each one of you come from a family, therefore, you should respect it, support it and strengthen it. Especially in a country that has its dynamism founded on it."

"The missionaries provided health services to the local people. In fact, they treated their sores and cured them of simple ailments that they were suffering from. These actions, coupled with the desire to learn the language and culture of the people endeared them to the local people because they experienced true love from these "strangers" and therefore decided to join the "new religion" - Catholicism."

"Leaders of nations must do everything to stop the conflict: they are destroying a whole country, and anyone who will prevail in the end will be faced only a pile of human and material rubble."

"Mercy without truth is not Christian, because that doesn't take into account the dignity of the human person."

"Peace is a challenge and a necessity for everyone, but especially in the regions where we suffer more."

"No one can say, "I'm not responsible, it's not my fault", we are all responsible. Europe wants the Amazonian people to keep their forest, but they don't want to change their lifestyle. That's a big contradiction. This economy kills. This economy is unjust for the next generation."

"The world is at a crisis and we'll have to act collectively to change the crisis. It will call for a complete change of lifestyle and solidarity and for the development of our own resources because we are rich in natural resources. We should look at it from the point of integral ecology, so not only how much profit do we make but how does ecology effect the social structures."

"My first feeling, after the death of Pope John Paul II, is of thanks to God for having given him to us. In such an important period for the history of the Church and the world, he has been God’s blessing for everyone Two images remain embedded in my memory and in my heart. I see him in prison as he forgives his aggressor and I see him at the feet of the western wall of the Temple of Jerusalem, an encouragement for all those who promote interreligious dialogue."

"The families are always united in prayer. Vietnamese families also come to church together, which many American families don't do anymore, as their young people go to one Mass while their older people go to another. That sort of thing in American families is causing the faith life to deteriorate in this country, but not in the Vietnamese community. When Vietnamese families go to church, they go to church."

"I'm being sent now to these people to evangelize, so I'm seeing myself as a missionary."

"We hope that we can continue to help the poorest communities with basic necessities during the period of the global health crisis. Among the poor, Christ makes himself present. We seek to witness His love to everyone, with words and deeds."

"Christianity was considered a foreign religion - contaminated, dirty and evil through and through. Such treatments or situations were indeed "moments of grace" as they served to challenge us to witness to the Gospel and its values by deeds of Christian concern and care of those who needed us educationally and through social uplift programmes."

"The man of today has serious difficulties in understanding that light is very necessary to find freedom and that freedom is imperative to value light."

"It has always been the view of the Catholic Church that human beings such as asylum seekers should be treated as human beings, not as political footballs. This policy sounds as though it could be quite punitive toward asylum seekers who have left their countries of origin because of dire and dangerous situations. It is important to focus on the problem of people smuggling while not holding asylum seekers responsible for this phenomenon."

"It is certainly a golden opportunity to strengthen the peace process. I should say, this is a silver lining over the tsunami cloud. The tsunami has broken the barriers and wiped out the hatred between the Tamils and Sinhala people in a big way."

"We place our hope first of all in God, then in the goodwill of the parties who say they are ready to resume dialogue."

". I didn't expect such a fast expansion. I don't think that it is because of my ability. It is because of the priests and Religious who have worked hard."

"We teach the faith thanks to who we are as people, thanks to our actions. Our faith is a saving treasure. Transmitting it is both our joy and our responsibility."

"His Lordship's simplicity and compassion won the trust of all Sri Lankans. The close association His Lordship maintained with all Buddhist Prelates and other religious leaders embellished the religious coexistence in Sri Lanka. It is with immense gratitude that all Sri Lankans pay tribute to His Lordship and his life's work."

"You too should be sensitive to and have an equal share of sufferings of others, rather than concluding that you yourselves are poor and helpless."

"Reconciliation at all levels is the need of the hour in our country. The past is forgiven and forgotten. What is important is the future."

"The Church is evolving. The face of the Church is no longer European or American, but also African and Asian. It is very interesting to see the universality of the Church. This is one of the most impressive parts of this encounter, I think."

"The people need to feel loved first of all, and then to have some material aid."

"We believe that the State should take care of families, but without having control over them. It is important to know ones limits, and States should know how far they can go in protecting family values and what their limits are without having control over them because this would offend the dignity of the family."

"The flame of the Christian faith has been ablaze for centuries and continues illuminating our life. In the humble daily work, in silence, in prayer, the Catholic families give the testimony of a Christian life."

"Prayer has big power to support people, to encourage people, that's what I feel every day here."

"I believe in Japan currently, marked by the economic crisis, struck by the social phenomenon of depression and suicide, this painful event may be an opportunity to spread the values of the Gospel, that is, the fraternity of all men and women, the building of common good, the recognition that every person has the dignity of a child of God and is important in the eyes of God. If, with our work and our witness, we can communicate that, then from this evil will come good."

"The rejection of God is not only conveyed by our evil actions, but also by sins of omission, which always suppress the good works we were called to do. What counts are the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. It's not only giving; it’s giving of ourselves. Giving for the good of the body and soul of one who is in need."

"Man's destiny is to become like God, according to the model of Christ. It's not to say that nothing happened. It's saying that something bad has happened and that our forgiveness is an invocation of the Almighty to receive the miraculous forgiveness that wipes away guilt and brings new life."

"Bishops have a certain standing in the life of the life of the community, but when you're a sick person, then you're on par with everybody else, and that's a very good thing, I think, there's no privilege in that sense any longer, of status or office, or whatever it may be. You belong in the place where all human beings belong: in the hands of the Lord and waiting on his person and his love."

"We want authentic dialogue, not a monologue to gain time, as seen in the past many times; it should be dialogue that seeks the common good."

"We are new to the Latin American context because our Church evangelised in a socio-political situation different from that on the rest of the Continent. Nevertheless she has never lost the mission which cannot be renounced, the mission to evangelise. The Church in Cuba developed this mission, We are here as disciples and missionaries of the Gospel to announce Jesus Christ. We feel more than ever before in harmony with the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean."

"Christians should learn to treasure and appreciate their origins, by protecting them. Over the 135 years of the diocese's history of evangelization, we have three churches that have been in existence for over a century. We have seen so many foreign missionaries that have left their homelands and all they had to come to this island. They have left us an immense treasure of manuscripts, historical objects, monuments, poems, sacred music...and, above all, their own impressive testimony. The life of the diocese in itself is a monument built by missionary pioneers. We have the duty of conserving it with care, as a pearl of great price."

"We know the human person is spirit and body. And the Lord Jesus also took care of the body when he was in a position to, because through the body we take care of the spirit, through the body we are able to show to our fellow men that we care for them."

"Mexico is a cemetery, and the government only goes to light a candle to the dead. Governments act only when there are deaths and blood."

"As government and as Mexicans, we must create new sources of work, look beyond the United States, make agreements with other countries as well. Mexico is a country rich in resources and workmanship, we must promote this and not depend on what Trump says""

"What matters is a knowledge of history, discernment, and the understanding that the "holiness of the Church" does not mean the moral blamelessness of all its members, but the gift of the Lord to communicate his presence, his salvation, precisely in fragile vessels."

"I try to understand the farmers, and to promote Catholic social teaching so that they can contribute to a holistic human development, can work for the common good of their family and for the entire nation. In fact, I did not want to work in the field, but I would like to support them; and one of the local nuns encouraged me, asking, "bishop why don't you work with us?" When someone asks, I would like to open my heart and mind and be with them."

"Although civil authorities do not have all the answers and all resources or a magic wand to resolve the situation, it is a duty of all citizens. I think we are all called to work for peace."

"They are using our poverty in order to get their agenda fulfilled and that is what we say is contrary to the principles of genuine love and the principles of the family."

"Make our inner life become stronger, because only in this way can we meet God and discover solidarity towards others."

"The Haitian people are a people who have dignity, they want to get up. People need a helping hand. Enough talk about this ordeal. Enough with the controversies. This should be a time for reflection."

"I was appointed Bishop too soon. I felt like the prophet Jeremiah who said to the Lord: "I am too young". But I had to answer yes to the Lord who called me through the voice of Pope Paul VI. The Church of Chad has grown in quantity, but it is urgent to make it grow in quality. There are many baptisms, but not enough knowledge of Jesus and the commitment of the baptized in the Church and in the life of the Country."

"Let us be encouraged to carry out the work of mercy of "praying for the dead" (through personal prayer, the recitation of the Holy Rosary, holy hours offered in reparation, and most importantly, the Holy Mass), to visit their tombs in order to honor our roots and become aware of the temporariness of our lives on this earth. Thus we will be enlightening our brothers and sisters in the faith and all men and women of good will."

"In North Korea, after the persecutions of the past decades, there is the so-called "Silent Church": a community of people who have not let the flame of the Spirit extinguish, but who do not have the freedom of professing their belief in Christ. It is a Church that suffers, which must be encouraged and gradually awakened, not abandoned."