History as a bridge-builder with a centrist social-justice activism and doctrinal conservatism. He has an Augustinian communitarian ethos. His platforms: synodality, Christocentric evangelization over abstraction, and inclusion, with traditionalism on life, marriage, and ordained ministry. He uses pastoral anti-clericalism against isolationist leadership, while advocating interreligious dialogue and big tent-ism focused on humanitarianism over culture wars. He champions broad participation with secular‑religious cooperation and compassionate outreach. The Test: Translation of ideals into transparent, effective governance with accountability following from rhetorical closeness.
2012
“Sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel,” e.g., “[the] homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children.”
2019
“We reject cover-up and secrecy, it does a lot of harm, because we have to help the people who have suffered from wrongdoing.”
2019
“I think they should do it, if there is abuse against a minor by a priest… On behalf of the Church, we want to tell people that if there was any offense, if they suffered or are victims of a priest’s wrongdoing, they should come and report it, to act for the good of the Church, the person, and the community.”
~2015–2023
“The promotion of gender ideology is confusing, because it seeks to create genders that don’t exist.”
2023
“We are often worried about teaching doctrine, but we risk forgetting that our first duty is to communicate the beauty and joy of knowing Jesus.”
2023
“A fundamental element of the portrait of a bishop is being a pastor, capable of being close to the members of the community.”
2023
“Silence is not an answer. Silence is not the solution. We must be transparent and honest, we must accompany and assist the victims, because otherwise their wounds will never heal.”
2023
“The fundamental thing for every disciple of Christ is humility.”
2023
“Being a synodal Church that knows how to listen to everyone is the way not only to live the faith personally, but also to grow in true Christian brotherhood.”
2023
“Above all, a bishop must proclaim Jesus Christ and live the faith so that the faithful see in his witness an incentive to them to want to be an ever more active part of the Church that Jesus Christ himself founded.”
2023
“Something that needs to be said also is that ordaining women — and there’s been some women that have said this interestingly enough — ‘clericalizing women’ doesn’t necessarily solve a problem, it might make a new problem.”
2024
“The bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom.”
2024
“Called authentically to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them, to suffer with them.”
Scott Douglas Jacobsen is the publisher of In-Sight Publishing (ISBN: 978-1-0692343) and Editor-in-Chief of In-Sight: Interviews (ISSN: 2369-6885). He writes forThe Good Men Project, International Policy Digest (ISSN: 2332–9416), TheHumanist (Print: ISSN 0018-7399; Online: ISSN 2163-3576), Basic Income Earth Network (UK Registered Charity 1177066), A Further Inquiry, and other media. He is a member in good standing of numerous media organizations.
Photo by Caleb Miller on Unsplash
