Roman Catholic Archbishops

"We cannot privatise all that is religious. When we have a religious conviction, we are at the same time citizens. We cannot separate the two. It is true for Catholics and for other religions and convictions. Of course, there is a separation of Church and State, but we are still part of civil society. There is no separation between religious conviction and citizenship."

"Celebrating the Eucharist means celebrating who we are, always living our priestly identity, our ministry or service of making the Lord's Supper present. What greatness we possess! And what a responsibility! Are we astounded by this self-giving and this responsibility before Christ and the Church? At least we should be."

"We are called to be witnesses to Jesus; if we are witnesses we are missionaries. To be witnesses we must learn to live with Christ who is always with us."

"The challenge is not just to accept immigrants, but to help them integrate. And this is something which the world of politics is afraid to say, whereas the economic world admits it. For the west it is not only a matter of generosity, it is a question of survival."

"It is not only an intellectual proposal, but connection with a divine life that helps to overcome our weaknesses and the darkness of our lives, to rise the summit where we see the Lord, where we see Him glorious and risen and we are filled with joy, where we find the meaning of our existence."

"Christmas is a time when we see God in others, especially in the less privileged and downtrodden. This is so obvious from the fact that we believe that God was born in a manger, as a poor child. Therefore, the message that I want to give my audience is that we must be able to recognize every human person as someone beautiful and precious. This we do by reaching out to poor and less privileged people."

"At Christmas, God enters our lives so we may enter divine life. Humanity was looking to be saved, and God sends us a child! Humanity was hoping for the extraordinary, and God comes in everyday life. Humanity was waiting for something on which to lean, while God has need of us – the need for a mother to give nourishment and a father to provide protection."

"As a creature, human beings are "in relationship". Transcendence which characterizes man in relation to other creatures is like the case of a gardener who is responsible for the whole creation. That is why our land is holy. Likewise it is the habitat chosen by the son of God. Nature is the manifestation of the revelation of a God full of goodness."

"The future of everyone is in the hands of God. It's very dangerous, but I think we have to stay with the people in this particular hour when we are suffering. We have to be very, very clever and wise to avoid that which could be dangerous, but I have to stay. Peace is a gift from God and our fellow man. We can hope because we know that God, our Father, is the father of peace. We are created for peace and love, not war."

"My journey as a Bishop has been a moment of grace in the sense that even now I can't believe that I have reached this far. God has given me a golden opportunity. Of course, there have been moments of joy, moments of celebration and also sad moments, including moments of heart breaking experiences but God is always good."

"We can do all these services for the public because of our faith. If I don't believe in God, why will I take interest in the welfare of others? So strong is my faith that my hands serve the people."

"We are a soft target. We are peace-loving people. We will not go and damage anything. We will not go and protest. We take candle-light processions whenever something goes wrong. And remember, we are patriotic people. We love our country. We love our motherland. And we will be anything you ask of us. Please trust us."

"From the Christian point of view, we have an obligation to inform our people that God heals. But at the same time, He heals us through our understanding that we can protect ourselves from such illnesses."

"The Church in Algeria has a mission. We must be weavers of friendship, brotherhood and peace with everyone. We are called to disarm our hearts. We are a Church of encounter."

"Are our expectations related to Christmas, life and the holidays realistic? I don't think so. Just as society often thinks of joy superficially, without foundation and roots, so for many people, celebration does not mean the upliftment of the soul, but the intensification of the contradictions and pains that already exist. That is why we await the arrival of the Son of the merciful, that mercy may cure this tension, this difference."

"Our Churches make themselves servants of the Kingdom which goes far beyond the frontiers of the visible Church because the frontiers of the Kingdom are none other than those of Charity. The Church is not an enterprise that seeks to expand, but it is a witness and servant of what God is doing in humanity. The witness is first of all one who recognizes in the other the work of the Spirit. He offers himself to collaborate in it."

"The more we suffer, the more we hope in God. Today, our people have hope in God's mercy, in the certainty of his love. There is a divine message that transcends our human intelligence and understanding. Our only way is to entrust ourselves to his merciful love and reaffirm our hope in God's plan of salvation."

"Without being a prophet, I am optimistic, in spite of everything. I trust the Tunisian people who want to live in peace and build their own Country."

"Ours is an apostolate of life: we present Christ simply trying to live according to his teachings."

"The Church preaches and always asks for peace and today we live and witness the tragedy of the blood of our own people shed on Burmese soil. It is a real tragedy and for now there is no way out because dialogue is at a standstill and is rejected by both sides. We can only raise our arms to heaven to invoke the Most High Almighty saying: listen to us, save us. Our last refuge is prayer."

"Harmony, dialogue, and friendship among Argentineans, especially in situations of conflict, requires heroic acts on the part of all citizens. It is especially obligatory for those with political and social posts."

"We want to receive the Holy Father, making him feel the warmth of the Angolan people, receiving him in the celebrative tradition of Angola. In addition, we anxiously await the Holy Father's words of peace and reconciliation, in a country that is still suffering from the wounds of the civil war. We are in need of his spiritual consolation, of his moral indications on justice, peace, quest for the common good, on civil and spiritual progress."

"Parents, give your children to God... there will be blessings. Give thanks to our heavenly Father for he is exceedingly generous and He will give a hundred-fold."

"The truth about man is a necessary condition for achieving freedom. In it ethics is based, which contains clear and precise formulations on life and death, duties and rights, marriage, family and society, and even the responsible care of nature. A great nation cannot rely on false ideals, nor on the benefit of a few, but must worry about defending the weak."

"In economic terms, we can do little but we are contributing to the formation of a new class of managers and entrepreneurs for the future development of Namibia."

"The thing that touches people's hearts is the example of Christian life within families, within marriages, reaching out to the poor and those who are in particular need in local societies, and a desire to actually love in the sense of being willing to give of ourselves, to spend our own energy for the good of others, whatever the return seems to be for ourselves, in the desire that this will show our faith."

"In a society that is increasingly anonymous, Albanian hospitality makes society a more human environment."

"The Church can be perhaps more prophetic, siding with the marginalized, the poor especially. Albania has a lot of progress these last 20 years, however there is still a good percentage that is very, very poor; and we can always be more prophetic defending the defenseless."

"As long as people are still talking, there is a glimmer of hope. War does not bring any solutions, only destruction, suffering and lack of peace."

"It's a tribunal because it judges. Penitentiary because it deals with penance and Apostolic because the Lord has told us to forgive, therefore it does just that."

"When values have their foundation in man, they are very fragile. It's enough to look at the 20th century."

"This small, but great church has given the world church countless martyrs. These were people who had a great loyalty to Christ and the church. Catholicism continued on in Albania. This is thanks to the martyr church."

"We have existed for fourteen centuries, owing to the strong faith in God we received from our ancestors and because we have protected and defended the family, which is the source of life and joy. This same journey of family and faith guides and assembles us today. Such encounters that neither express rebellion nor are directed against anyone. We need encounters as vivid testimony to the beauty of life that is hidden and born within marriage and the family."

"Fourteen centuries after the Christianization of the Croats, has the time finally come for maturity, the time of our confirmation – confirmation of humanity and faith? Has the time come for a transition from the selfish egocentrism of the individual, party, government and opposition into a mature, conscious person open to dialogue and the society, where Domnius' language of the value of openness and respect, justice and solidarity, the common good and unity, to all of us in the city of Split and the homeland of Croatia, will be our everyday, understandable and acceptable language? I believe that it is! That is why we ask his intercession today and celebrate him."

"The society and state convey existential truths. The truth does not live outside of reality. It is aware of and appreciates existential human truths, but it does not assert that they are eternal. The Church has the same attitude toward democracy."

"The common denominator that must guide all Guineans is the aspiration to better living conditions."

"No injustice, no attack on peace, on life, on man's fundamental rights can remain indifferent in the Church's eyes."

"Finally, the truth has come and we welcome the verdict because we knew that they are innocent. The Church does not promote or propagate religious conversion. It is very unfortunate that from time to time some fanatic groups harass poor people, especially Dalits and tribals, in the name of religious conversion, but it is unacceptable in a democratic country like India."

"We cannot afford to fail in our peacebuilding effort. If God forbid, we do not manage to do this; we will not only be failing the people of CAR but the international community as well. Six neighbouring countries surround us. We have already seen that when CAR as a country collapses, the virus of destabilisation does not only affect us alone but spreads to the whole region. We should, therefore, be mindful of our larger responsibility as a people."

"We have to try again and again and never give up in this. It is our duty I think, our duty that comes from Christ himself who wants his disciples to be united."

"The competition of suffering which occurs here is incomprehensible to outsiders. For so many years, we were on the same side as victims, faced by the same oppressors. Perhaps the positive good which has emerged from this painful experience will create a basis for dialogue with the passage of time."

"Both Jews and Poles were victims of Nazi ideology. Both suffered. But because both live without any contact with the other, they are fully aware of their own suffering but not of the other."

"I am so shaken that I would rather be silent, pray to God and commiserate with people. I want to tell them that I am near."

"Today, especially in the West, there are many challenges for the Catholic Church. However, if Catholics and Orthodox were more united between them, then the Christian witness would become stronger and more profound. The Orthodox Churches and I'd say the Orthodox Tradition in general, resists secularization better. The Orthodox has great respect for the Spiritual Tradition; they don't reject it. Even those who are not close to the Church identify themselves in any case with the spiritual tradition of their country and their community. In face of the challenge of secularization, Orthodoxy is an ally for Catholics."

"I sincerely don't think the solution to the problem of gangs is in the Church's hands. Society as a whole and the government, with the support of various social sectors, have the responsibility."

"We may talk, but dialogue is not about one truth versus another. Fraternity is not about understanding who is wrong and who is right, but about discovering together how each one of us, through our respective faiths, can become true brothers and sisters."

"If authorities fail to fulfill their duties, there is a risk that society will take measures, and perhaps they will not be the most adequate."

"Despite the difficulties we face, we are called not to lose hope, but to renew our trust in the change that only God can bring about."

"I think that there was not a full length of the Rome agreement because the question of reconciliation of the Mozambicans was set aside and the elections were prioritized at the time and the winner of the elections ended up being the winner of the war. I am speaking of the war of 16 years, which was supposed to be a war without losers or winners, so those who governed the country set aside for me some crucial aspects that we so longed for."

"The Word of God is at the heart of Christian formation and also promotes inter-religious dialogue."