Marquette Diocese Laity

  Pope Leo begins papacy calling for 'united church' in a wounded world

Calling the church to be "a leaven of unity, communion and fraternity," Pope Leo XIV began his papacy with a Mass marked by symbolism, global presence and a strong appeal for reconciliation.

  I am a son of Saint Augustine, (an) Augustinian, who said: "With you I am a Christian and for you a bishop." In this sense, we can all walk together towards that homeland that God has prepared for us. Pope Leo also asked his bishops to work in the trenches with their people. You must get to know their needs, in order to help them.

  With that in mind, let us ask Bishop John “Why are you spending money on a feasibility study? Do you not know who your people are that you have been shepherding for over ten years? Do you not have conversations with the priests of your Diocese? We do not believe that you should be spending thousands of dollars to see if your people have enough money to give to a campaign.”

Bishop John obviously does not know his people, nor does he talk to the priests of his Diocese. We have stated before, Bishop John is not a people person, nor is business administration his strong suit.

  Bishop John has gone into parishes and ripped priests out of their assigned role, without giving them any idea of why.  He has given priest no opportunity to speak on their own behalf. Many were denied an opportunity to speak to their parishioners or to even say goodbye. This leaves the parish in turmoil. Bishop John simply sends in another priest to clean up his mess. It takes years to heal a parish that was destroyed by false accusations. 

  For your information, dear readers, Bishop John feels it is time to visit the parishes of his Diocese. Watch out everyone! That is a sure sign that he’ll be asking you for money. He won’t be asking how he can bring Catholics back to church or how can we teach the young children about Christ. He should be asking what does this parish need from your Bishop?

  In the parable, two people, a priest and a Levite, who we would imagine would stop and care for the hurt man, simply chose to ignore him. This, Pope Leo highlighted, shows that "religious practice alone does not automatically lead to compassion.” It is not a characteristic of religion but one of being human.  God calls upon all of us to be compassionate, regardless of differences in religion beliefs. 

  It may be time for Bishop John to take a serious look toward Rome and learn from Pope Leo XIV what it takes to truly be a bishop.

“Peace is built in the heart and from the heart, by eliminating pride and vindictiveness and carefully choosing our words.” — Address to members of the diplomatic corps, May 16, 2025

Pope Leo emphasizes that peace is not merely the absence of war. Instead, peace is grounded in a personal and interior place within us. True peace begins with humility, forgiveness and mindful communication — not just political treaties.

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord.