Roman Catholic Bishops

"In Scotland, as in much of Europe, people are shy to show their faith, they're embarrassed now because it's because so secular, in Africa it's the exact opposite, people are exuberant about their faith, it's only natural to talk about God."

"He's a very good man. He had a lot of pastoral strengths. He's got a lot of good points. He's done of lot of good work. Hes got quite a strong following in the diocese. But the diocese was divided quite badly and the bishop hasn't demonstrated that he's a team player. I mean even at the end he didn't wait for the official Vatican announcement."

"You call me son of the soil. I am proud of that. But that emboldens me to insist on your whole-hearted cooperation."

"As a bishop, the things I would like to emulate about him are his ability to dialogue."

"The sacraments — baptizing new Catholic Christians; confirming young adults in the faith; marriages, beginning the domestic church in so many households here in Nevada, they're the biggest accomplishments in my life and, I think, any priest's life. The things that look bigger, the building of churches — they're the means to an end."

"Invisibly our Eucharistic celebrations gather a still absent people, one of those who are searching for God in the righteousness of their hearts. For a particular Church, the way of living the Eucharist cannot be separated from its concrete history with the people she was given to by the Lord."

"The beginnings of the Church in Oceania were the actions of the providence of God. Reflecting on our present and preparing for the future benefits from recalling the elements of the beginning of the Church in Oceania. A methodology is needed to achieve this. The method of "lectio divina" could provide the basis of such a methodology. The path of the Church to be opened by Christ will become clear when there is meditation and contemplation upon the situation of the Church."

"I feel small, but happy that the Lord uses me as an instrument to spread his message. Music is a powerful instrument to get to the people, while entertaining people I give them Christ's message."

"The situation varies from country to country, some are more liberal than others. For us, it is difficult to find the balance between defending the rights of workers and using the tact needed with regard to the authorities, in order to maintain a Christian presence. However, there is great solidarity among Christians."

"Instrumentum Laboris No. 30 mentions those who believe in Christ as God but do not wish to embrace Christianity. But there is another group that accepts Jesus and wishes to be baptized, but because of serious reasons does not ask for baptism. My concern is the pain and anguish of these "believers"."

"As member of the Church, which is reviving after great sufferance's, I wish to turn my attention to the local Churches in Asia that are still being persecuted. I feel that our solidarity to our persecuted brothers and sisters must not be lacking."

"The Christian cannot be pessimistic because Christ is Risen and Alive; He is God, as opposed to all other prophets or those calling themselves such. The final victory will be Christ's, but God's times may be long, and often are. He is patient and waits for the conversion of sinners: in the meantime He invites the Church to organize herself and to work to quicken the coming of His Kingdom."

"The announcement took me by surprise and all I can say is that I was humbled by the appointment from Pope Francis. He has put his trust in me in serving the Church's mission in the world and in particular, here in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, making God's love come alive for people. I accept this new challenge with the help of God’s grace accompanying me into the future. I would appreciate it if you could keep me in your prayers during this time."

"I hope that the CCCB will continue to reach out to the rest of the world; it would be my hope that the conference will continue to have both a missionary spirit as well as a concern for the peace and well-being of our brothers and sisters elsewhere. This international outreach of the conference is a way of showing our solidarity with our brother bishops, many of whom minister under very difficult circumstances."

"A missionary be should bearable person, patient to wait for the right moment for the Spirit to work and not force things, the gospel message will make the people know it clearly and they will say we want a change here. The people will help you to change anything only when they become part of it."

"In my whole life, and in my whole vocation to the priesthood and episcopacy, it was very important the Marian devotion. I consider very important that all the seminarians and future priests, would have a very strong and positive relationship with Mary."

"The causes of these violent acts are multiple. It is a complex situation but the question I cannot answer is that Christians and Catholics in particular are seen as a target."

"Australia is a country with great tradition of Christian faith and even strong in sending missionaries ad extra to carry out the work of evangelization. Today we are experiencing a profound transition, where the old patterns and identities of the past are replaced by new challenges and new issues. Even the Christian faith is in a phase of rebirth. We need a new evangelization and new vitality and energy in proclaiming the Gospel: we are asking ourselves how we can do it. The change affects the Australian Church but society as a whole. It is necessary to read and draw from the past, which was a time of grace, to project into the future. The danger is introversion, folding back on oneself. As Bishops we clearly say that it is time to "put out into deep water" to deal with new forms and new frontiers of mission."

"The Church in Asia continues to be the prophetic voice of our people who suffer on account of this globalization phenomenon but the responsibility of exposing the truth of exploitation by the First World Countries is and should not however be confined only to us Asian Pastors and Asian Christians. There is an equally urgent need also to conscientize our brothers in the Episcopate and Catholic Faithful of First World countries regarding their own social responsibility to speak out on our behalf."

"Don't get carried away and think that we own the Truth. The Truth is sought. Jesus is sought. We can never possess this Truth in its fullness because this Truth is Jesus Christ, he is God. We always want to know something exactly, we want to touch everything, but we see that this is not the case and therefore call it faith. Therefore, we, as the faithful, must believe and follow Jesus Christ, find this Truth and proclaim this Truth in our lives."

"Let it be clearly noted, that dialogue calls for positive thinking about people. People should first and foremost be regarded as human beings despite their religious belief, and that accepting the other needs a kind of self-denial."

"When interdependence is not for world solidarity, it becomes part of an exploitation mechanism by some people and nations against others, such as destroying cultures and identity. However, the Church must strongly insist on the moral parameters which configure the ethical validity of said process."

"Haste is a bad counsellor and there is a risk of reaching an agreement without solid foundation work. Peace without justice is doomed to defeat. Only justice leads to authentic peace."

"We should have a place in which people, not only in our own diocese but throughout the world and in Canada, can come as they come to the Rockies to see nature's cathedral. They can stop and they can pray and they can experience the great presence of God who comes to dwell in our midst in these humble abodes that we build."

"Edification of the family, is above all Evangelization. The first goal; of these Family-Communities is to be Schools of Evangelization; it is important that the whole Church become a communion of family-communities and that the whole Church be evangelized; that is to say, internally renewed and becoming a new humanity. This presupposes that the shepherds become itinerant preachers of the Good News, going from community to community."

"While religious men and religious women represent on our continent "a primordial evangelical and apostolic force," in Puerto Rico the laity have produced the fruits of missionary service for evangelization."

"My heroes were my parish priests. I watched them in awe and I wanted to be like them. I wanted to do what they do. God blessed me because I was able to become what I always dreamed and not everybody gets that chance."

"All of the many traditional Melanesian Cultures had something in common. Roles, duties, responsibilities, authority and disciplines were clearly defined. These were taught by the elders, and they were followed by the community, even by the young. That stability and authority no longer exists especially where Gospel values have not yet sufficiently penetrated the emerging modern culture."

"What the Church of Lesotho needs urgently in order to continue its service to the poor is for the Sister Churches of the developed world to influence their governments not to impose ideologies that are foreign to Africa. During this period of transition to financial self reliance, Africa still needs the support of its Sister Churches of the developed world."

"Alienation of local persons grows as rapid urbanization occurs from the uncontrolled influx of alien workers to staff off island owned garment factories that use the Marianas for its United States import advantaged. Local loss of control is deeply felt and the family structure is greatly stressed by the rapid changes as well as an experienced loss of cultural identity. Through Pastoral Letters and social assistance the Church strives to assist persons dealing with these sudden changes."

"The Ivory Coast we have only had seven years of war, but in other places it is more than that. Can we preach the Gospel today to someone who is hungry? Can we teach the Word of God to those who are hungry or enter into a house today and say: "The peace of the Lord be with you." Will these people who address the greeting of Christ from God, say to these people who are hungry, who are thirsty, who are suffering and dying of hunger, will they be able to answer me? I think not."

"I come from a people, very patient people, who know struggle and pain and difficulty but also, I come from people who know how to laugh, and dance, and sing, and celebrate. In Botswana the Catholic community have known the joy of God's word and God's meal of his Body and Blood since the 1920s. Slowly the joy is spreading and the desert of our lives has blossomed with new and beautiful flowers. Although it was a desert land, this was fertile soil for the see of the Gospel."

"The majority of the inhabitants of Lesotho are Christians, but our way of living is far from Christian. It is essential for the Church to maintain a certain contact with the rulers, even at the expense of being perceived as supporters of the ruling party. Such contacts enable religious leaders to voice the concern of the voiceless. On the other hand, there is a danger that our Christians fail to play their role in the socio-political field and always look up the Bishops to point the way."

"We have to start at the seminary: give the Eucharist the place of honor in the formation of our future priests. Make them aware, at an early age, that they are the ordinary ministers of the Eucharist and the Eucharist should be the centre of their personal lives. Priests should be reminded often that they are the ordinary minister of the Eucharist who delegate this important ministry of distributing Holy Communion to well prepared lay faithful."

"The results of science are not the whole truth. There is philosophical interpretation and there is also the faith, for those who have received it in gift, which are something different. It’s a matter of harmonizing and not muddling things up. In general, men of science understand this difference in levels."

"The survival and the new promising flowering of the Catholic Church in Estonia after centuries of marginalization and persecution should also be, notwithstanding her modest size, a reason for joy and for hope for the whole Church of Christ in Europe and the world. The living Christ in his Church can become, as the Estonian Church is showing, even in difficult conditions, an unexpected source of new life and a new springtime of the Church."

"The administrator part of being a bishop doesn't frighten me or scare me. What gets to me more than anything else is the emotional separation from people you have ministered to for so long. And the memories of those who have passed on and who had a big impact on my ministry here."

"I strongly believe in the religiosity of the Chilean people and in the Church of Santiago. People trust God. Chile's Church is of the people, but profound. I believe we must live a faith together with people, so that my faith will be credible and authentic. We must walk with them. And, on the other hand, I believe we must take on a great responsibility above all as an institutional church."

"The Church as the body of Christ, as a spiritual and visible reality at the same time and as a great unity of action, presence and service, must work to convert to God and transform the world. And this is by her own conversion, sanctification and commitment with people and society."

"The metropolitan in the province can be a convener, so I'll bring together people for our province, which includes not only the dioceses of Minnesota, but also South Dakota and North Dakota. There are times we're looking for some joint pastoral work or outreach where it's enriched by being able to do things in common rather than individually. But it's very few responsibilities that the metropolitan archbishop has, and it's certainly not to intervene in the matters of the local Church."

"We do not content ourselves with resolutely insisting on the preferential love of Jesus Christ for those who do not have material means. If we wish to promote holiness, also we must openly present his option for the poor of Yahweh. It is necessary to recuperate the option that led Him to choose Mary, Peter, Matthew, and so many others in order to build up his Church."

"The Holy See's participation in FAO and the reason its action is a priority, must be linked to the vast presence of the Apostolic See in multilateral diplomatic activity, in the desire to affirm the fundamental value of human coexistence. Respect for man's dignity is made concrete by ensuring that each person is guaranteed the right to food security. And, to accomplish this, not only is technical action needed, but also a vision open to sharing, and even more so to concrete solidarity."

"I got to know Poland, its history and culture, and above all the faith of the Poles, and it immediately made a good impression on me."

"I see Vatican II in continuity with all the ecumenical councils, not as a shooting star, but as part of a constellation, though having some of its own characteristics. Hence, it does not constitute a break, a sort of birth of a new Church."

"The example of life of Bishop will motivate and inspire other agents of evangelization to be true disciples of Christ and stewards of the Gospel. In order to ensure continuity in the work of proclaiming the Gospel, the Bishop can profitably associate some of those agents of evangelization more closely to himself as did Christ and the Apostles and form them in the manner of African apprenticeship system as future apostles."

"The causes of the serious status of human life in Colombia, America and the world are based on the following factors, in this order: 1) human and Christian ignorance on the part of individuals, families and communities; 2) more and more individuals and entire groups who turn away from the Lord; 3) indifference to the Lord and His Plan of Salvation from the religious and moral viewpoint, with many people and communities turning simply to natural, legal and civil ethical norms."

"I believe that if this war remains, this strong sense of the communion of people against the conflict and in favor of peace and necessary progress in such a poor country is also created."

"Dialogue between the belligerents is not easy, although this is the path to follow. Furthermore, the international community should work harder to bring peace back to the country and put it back on the path to democracy, with the contribution and participation of Sudanese people."

"The Catechism is a safe and authentic reference text for the teaching of Catholic Doctrine. One can know what the Church professes and celebrates, lives and prays in its daily life. For this reason, I decided to translate it into Umbundu. It was very difficult because it concerned philosophical, theological, scientific and bioethical terms."

"We owe no one any apology for being Christians and Indians. This is our birthright and is enshrined in our Constitution. At the same time we must avoid demonizing those who attack us. They are also human beings like us even if their ideology sometimes blinds them and blunts their consciences. There is no substitute to dialogue in all its dimensions."