Roman Catholic Archbishops

"Latin America, with the exception of course of some small groups, has always manifested itself with a strong ecclesial communion with the Holy Father and adherence to his teaching. I believe that the episcopates move in that perspective and also all the organizations of the People of God. I believe the main challenge is to maintain this unity, to make it patent in difficult moments, to express it."

"Bolivia is right now in need of profound changes, in order to become a homeland for all people. This leads us, as Bishops, to make continual appeals so that everything may take place in tranquility, without violence, without hate or revenge. This is the call that we are constantly making, asking all to be capable of dialoguing, of healing wounds, working towards national reconciliation."

"The presence of Mother Teresa is for India and for the world today is like a new incarnation that brings salvation, redemption, and freedom for all those in strife. Only a person led by God could do what Mother did: gather children, terminally ill, poor and abandoned, and restore their dignity. The Church is always on the side of the poor through works of education, social development, and education. We are a Church that promotes the dignity of the Dalits, the outcasts, that works for social justice, according to Gospel values."

"To go to the encounter with Christ in the needy through a total dedication must have a universal dimension that does not allow the exception of persons even for religious reasons. To travel is synonymous of courage and does not admit any tiredness. Only like this will the civilization of love become concrete."

"We are ready to support all initiatives and measures to assist mothers in difficulty from whatever side they are promoted."

"The result is not decisive and the Church is of the opinion that the question of human life should not be treated with a referendum, because a majority vote cannot turn what is evil into good. The Church will continue to be a channel of prophetic denouncement and active solidarity."

"Upright generations, young boys and girls in certain developed countries and those in countries of the Third World, have become conscious that to change the world, its myths and is ghosts, is a realistic project and is possible. Some NGOs emerge to protect the material environment and defend the rights of oppressed peoples. For the Church, light of the world, to play her prophetic role she should concretely commit herself in this fight with a view to finding the truth."

"There is no Christianity, there is no Catholic Church, without true worship of God in Spirit and in Truth, without worship there is no Catholic Church…If there is no prayer, there is no faith, if there is no worship of the true God, there is no growth in the faith. We are disciples of a one who was crucified. If the cross is not in our midst, if we do not live the cross, then we are simply not Christians."

"When one is ordained it is not for oneself but for the service of a people. When one loves people, when one is loved by Christ, becoming a priest is a beautiful route to take."

"An experience I had already lived with joy as Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Indonesia before I was appointed bishop. That experience has proved to be a treasure now that I am a bishop, for the work of evangelisation."

"We Jesuits always have to remember that most Catholics are not Jesuits — a fact we tend to overlook sometimes. Our spirituality is not for everyone — perhaps hard to say, but so true. For me, becoming a bishop was a real change, for then I had to recognize the whole spectrum of theologies, spiritualties, ministries and charisms present in the diocese entrusted to me. Through this I came to realize what a great gift doctrine is for the Church, enabling it to be one, holy, and catholic."

"The laity can reach other people more easily than the religious, because the religious live and work in community, while the laity live immersed in the structures of the world. The laity therefore have a great opportunity to be witnesses of Christ. The laity are called to preach and bear witness to the Gospel of Christ in their daily lives, with the people they meet. We are all missionaries. Each baptized person also has the responsibility to proclaim the message of the love of Christ."

"The idea is that we discover Christ in our life – Christ who is risen – and this experience is so powerful that we cannot preserve it for ourselves. We need to share."

"We want to propose a Christianity, a Christian life, which is not closed in on itself or self-referential but is open to society, to the Kingdom of God."

"There's a universal feeling across the church in Australia that we have begun a way of being the church in Australia that we cannot now go back on. So we have launched ourselves into this journey. When we started, the notion of a synodal church hadn't yet emerged so clearly in the thinking of the pope, but that is in fact what we were doing."

"My main task now is to learn: this course has been most helpful and it will be useful for my duties in the diocese. Speaking with the other Bishops I learned that many face difficulties which are more serious than mine such as poverty, persecution. For me this seminar has been a call to take courage, not to fear the mission entrusted to me because I know I can rely on the Lord who is at my side. I was deeply moved by the meeting with the Pope. His physical weakness was an encouragement and an example for us. We saw the heroism of this man who spares no effort to fulfil the mission entrusted to him by Christ."

"The Catholic Church is present and active right across Australia and each diocese has its own characteristics and history, and its own unique challenges and opportunities, all underpinned by our common faith. There really is unity in diversity among the bishops and the choice of the Archbishop of Perth as the new president demonstrates this."

"We can activate people to love their country, family, and not go in search of adventure goodness knows where. This has to do with conscience. A person who loves his country, parents, environment, prefers to stay. I believe this is rather a problem of the state, which does not offer opportunities to so many young people after finishing their studies. And here there is truly a growing social injustice."

"The greatest tragedy of a nation is not the presence of criminals and robbers, which every nation has, but the lack of compassionate people, the lack of people who stop, take pity upon the suffering of others and do something for them."

"The study of theology requires humility and the search for truth as well as charity and love. Transform study into a life experience and a genuine spiritual journey. Knowledge of Christ is attained following a double path: the intellectual path, through theological study, and mystical knowledge, through prayer and the sacramental life. Both one and the other are necessary to live an authentic evangelical faith and to be able to transmit it to others."

"People for whom it has become a habit — and, unfortunately, they are increasingly numerous in the context of our consumerist pseudo-civilization — to spend Sunday afternoon in these shopping centers, now find the opportune possibility of being able to enjoy the wealth of spiritual values. Our task is to go beyond the boundaries of ordinary pastoral care."

"Things must change: it is not a question of "repainting" the situation by saying that now one will adopt a system based on justice, but we must involve everyone in order to rebuild society from below. Although the situation is deplorable, we should not fold our arms, we cannot fall into the temptation of severe pessimism. Evil does not have the last word, we must always live in the founded hope that man, in spite of all that may sound bad, is not totally corrupt."

"Most of the young people who leave home do so not because home is unbearable, but because they are seeking a greener pasture, often with the naïve conviction that "no matter how, it will be better out there". They are deaf to any advice that they see as blocking their destiny. What is necessary is to work hard to make our nation a better place for us, and for anyone who may wish to come and live with us."

"There exist the "fanatic" Muslims — to use a bad word — just as there are also fanatic Christians; they have terrible ideas, which I absolutely do not agree with. But we always say: This is the price to pay for religious freedom, to let everyone speak. But then it's up to us to work toward necessary moderation, having a nonpartial vision of what religion is, and to do our work."

"Participate actively and responsibly in the life and mission of the local Church, by serving the human being, culture, economy and politics, aiming to change, little by little, the mentalities, the social institutions and structures, unjust laws and anything that offends and oppresses the dignity of the human being."

"One has the feeling that the transitional government has given a boost to its policy. There is a willingness to dialogue with different political parties and with the civil and religious bodies in the Country, to get out of the crisis as soon as possible."

"How do we accept God's mercy, God's help? The Church's fellowship? The Church's aid? How do we help each other on this way? The key word is "inclusion": we are all included under sin, and we are all included under God's mercy. So, include people in difficulty, and help them."

"The legacy left by Bernard Fonlon to the Youth of this country is alive."

"Two fundamental criteria of genuine Inculturation have ever been kept in mind by African bishops, namely, compatibility with the Gospel and communion with the Universal Church."

"Today, I believe that turning the place into a center of service to the poor and suffering would be a wonderful way to end the dispute and give a story that has generated hatred and murder a happy ending for the whole nation."

"The all-important virtue of episcopal leadership is service."

"The Church in Africa is to stimulate "ecological conversion" through intensive education. She is to educate people in Africa to be more sensitive to the increasing disaster caused by environmental damage and the need to minimise it. All are to be made ever conscious that future generations have a right to live in an environment that is intact and healthy and to enjoy its resources."

"I think it's more important to be out. They need to know who I am and see me to talk to me, and if they have a problem, they can confront me. If I'm not there, I'm just kind of a figurehead in Seattle."

"Lived fully, the ministers of reconciliation make of those who follow Jesus Christ, "true doers" and actors of peace. The righteous man, justified in Christ by the ministry of the Church is then an effective actor for a righteous and reconciled world. And if the lay faithful are better actors of reconciliation and peace, it is in the world where they find their vocation and mission."

"Dialogue is the only way to resolve differences in these difficult moments. I appeal to my brothers in Celendín to stop the violence and favor dialogue."

"Peace is the bedrock of development. There is no sustainable development without peace. Peace takes root when people are free from hunger, poverty, unemployment, oppression and exploitation. We have to work together to save our people from the prevailing scourge of violence and insecurity that have brought unimaginable grief, trauma and fear to our fellow citizens in the State. Consequently, I call on the gladiators in the State to shield their swords, for violence begets violence."

"I am convinced that peace in Burundi is connected with the general situation in the Great Lakes region: peace in the other countries, Democratic Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, will have positive effects also in Burundi and viceversa, the stabilising of my country will help to progress of peace in the whole region."

"As things develop, conclusions will be reached concerning the best forms of encounter, communication and mutual activity. For us in the ecclesial area, ecumenicism is a task that we experience as the mission of the Church. The Church wants us to work on drawing closer to each other and mutual contacts."

"The origin of violence in Mexico is the absence of God in the individual and community life of people, which makes them inhuman and cruel."

"We pastors encourage the faithful to discover all the beauty that receiving the sacrament of matrimony means. We're not going to find the strength for marriage in the media or on television, but in the grace of God which comes to us through the sacraments."

"What is my testimony, as a good Catholic? To see that, God chose a Latin American brother to look after His Church. The same Latin America that follows the Lord devoutly and now fixes its eyes on Europe, as once Europe reached out to the Americas. So we're not just proud of having a Latin American Pope: we're proud because we can say that Latin America is living more deeply the Catholic faith."

"The Catholic community in Pakistan is multilingual and multicultural, includes people from various tribes, ethnic groups, nations and cultures. The main challenge we face is the shortage of priests, but at the same time we appreciate lay catechists who work with great zeal to help our priests."

"The work of a missionary is to put yourself out of the job."

"We give thanks for what has happened in the early years, a sign of the Holy Spirit, we live in the present with enthusiasm and we look forward with hope to the future. Arguments, hatred, jealously are the work of the devil, while peace is the way of Christ. Noro, with its different denominations, cultures and customs is a sign of hope for sharing the Good News with all."

"The more we are in harmony with nature the more human we become."

"The Catholic Church in Turkey will know how to react to this loss. We are certain that the death of Mgr. Padovese will bear fruit for a new flourishing of the Gospel and for Turkey's Christian community in general."

"Pastoral workers must learn their language in order to communicate with them and touch their hearts. It is essential for an evangelization that is zealously carried out from town to town, as well as in offering education in the schools that are opened along with the parishes, thanks to the work of religious and lay personnel."

"Priests are required to present God's blessing, as well as reinforce and support people's morals vis-à-vis the challenges and obstacles of their daily life. Priests have a duty to offer moral assistance, not only to our common friends, Catholics, but also to ordinary citizens, Indonesians."

"The Catholic Church in Indonesia will not remain silent. Our care for all those who suffer is truly a concrete form of our faith. We have just celebrated Easter, proof of God's involvement, through Jesus, in human life."

"It is unthinkable that these conflicts are provoked only by local interests. Obscure powers aiming for the region's resources exploit ethnic frustrations and their corollary, poverty, to foment conflicts. They kindle ethnic hatred setting fire to powder kegs while standing in the shadows. Manipulation is a dreadful weapon."