Editor: Bishop George Leo Thomas marked his 10th year of episcopal ministry on Jan. 28. Upon his return from Guatemala, he granted this interview about the past decade as bishop.


Q: Bishop, can you share with us your 10 most joyous minutes as a bishop?

A: One of the standout moments was my “ad limina” visit with the late Pope John Paul II, only 10 minutes long, but replete with the awareness that I was in the presence of a truly saintly man. Even in his declining health, he radiated holiness and goodness, and I feel so blessed to have been appointed bishop by this pontiff.

Q: And, of course, the follow-up question – what were the 10 most difficult or challenging minutes of your episcopacy?

A: One of the most difficult experiences of the past 10 years was the gathering of the U.S. bishops in Dallas, Texas, at the height of the sexual abuse scandal. The intense glare of the media with hundreds of reporters was overpowered only by my awareness of the suffering and turmoil brought on by a small number of priests to an unknown number of victims who suffered at their hands.

Q: Bishop, can you share with your readers the ways that you live the trifold episcopal ministry of teaching, governance and sanctification?

A: Teaching: In the earlier days of my priesthood, I had hoped to spend a portion of my time not only in the parish but also in the university classroom. The time I spent in grad school at the University of Washington was ostensibly preparing me for a ministry that included pastoral leadership and teaching.

In 1987, Archbishop Hunthausen requested that I set aside that track and come into his administration in the Archdiocese of Seattle, during a very difficult era. I assured the archbishop that I had little interest in and no talent in administration, and had hoped to be a pastor and teacher. His response was “Well, so did I,” so I became chancellor and vicar general of the Archdiocese of Seattle for a six-year appointment that lasted 17 years.

Lesson: The needs of the Church must always surpass individual plans and dreams. As a result, I always look forward to teachable moments, whether in dialogue with university students, parishioners, civic groups, or with the various consultative bodies, finding ways to apply the rich treasury of Catholic teaching.

Governance: In the Pacific Northwest, and certainly in the Diocese of Helena, the bishops have governed in ways that are drawn from the vision and values of the Second Vatican Council.

While the bishop is ultimately responsible for the governance of his local Church, I choose to exercise that office in a collegial fashion, relying heavily upon the wise counsel of our priests, and the wisdom and experience of our lay advisers, especially in the area of temporal care. I am at my best as a bishop in counsel, and the laity and priests are at their best sharing responsibility for the pastoral and spiritual care of God’s people.

There is a great quote in the documents of the Second Vatican Council that sets the tone for this style of governance: “The wise pastor knows that he was not intended by Christ to shoulder alone the saving mission of the Church.” (Lumen Gentium)

Sanctification: The office of sanctification is most profoundly lived out through the celebration of the Eucharist. The late Pope John Paul II calls the Eucharist “inaestimabile donum” – the Church’s most priceless gift. St. Thomas Aquinas called the Eucharist the “bread of angels.” The fathers of the Second Vatican Council called the Eucharist the source and summit of the life of the Church. The bishop has the mandate to ensure that all of our communities are centered around the Eucharistic celebration, which forms and ultimately transforms the hearts of the people. Celebrating Eucharist is truly the most joyous moment of my life each day.

Since the Second Vatican Council, there has been a hue and cry from the council fathers to underscore the universal call to holiness and the responsibility of priests to support and cultivate the spirituality of the baptized, who in turn carry the Gospel into the marketplace, neighborhood, workplace, classroom, becoming salt and light for the world in which we live.

Second, during recent years and especially under the tutelage of Pope John Paul II, there is a growing awareness of the power of Catholic Social Teaching, which has matured greatly in the past 100 years since Pope Leo XIII. In short, the Church is making explicit the connection between Eucharist and daily life, prayer and compassion, faith and forgiveness, love of God and service to neighbor.

Young people are especially attracted to the dynamics of Catholic Social Teaching and are asking for opportunities to serve the least, last and lowliest in the world community, through volunteer experience and the service professions, especially medicine, teaching, engineering and social work. I see that as another sign of the transformational activity of the Holy Spirit in our time. These are special days and privileged moments to be part of the leadership of our beloved Church.

Q: Bishop Thomas, we’ve asked you to look back over the past decade, and now, what do you see in the next decade, for both the universal and diocesan Church?

A: One thing that concerns me is the growing chasm between the rich and poor, haves and have nots, educated and uneducated, and the responsibility that creates for we who have been given so much. One of the long-term hopes I have is that Catholics across the globe will deepen their communion with one another and share, not just from our surplus, but from our substance, to help ease the burdens that so many of our brothers and sisters carry.

In the Diocese of Helena, we are singularly blessed by the presence of a well-established mission in Guatemala, and I’ve spent the past few years bringing delegations to the mission, so their lives can be transformed by the faith and goodness of our mission family, who live daily in the context of poverty and need.

The pastoral plan is the work of the Church in consultation, with 1,400 participants helping to address the emerging pastoral needs in the Diocese of Helena. The plan recognizes that we are a diocese some 52,000 square miles in size, with very distinct pastoral needs in each of the regions, and secondly, that we can’t do every good thing. So the pastoral plan helps us select priorities that have meaning and impact across the board, including a renewed commitment to youth and young adult ministry, calling forth men and women to serve the Church through ordination and religious life, the restoration of the permanent diaconate, the desire for faith formation in underserved areas, renewal of the fiscal infrastructure and the inauguration of a capital campaign to help meet the emerging needs, a study of technology to help improve communications across this vast region, an awareness of the unmet needs in rural and Native American communities.

As we look into the future, one of the most exciting initiatives from the DPC (Diocesan Pastoral Council) is the call for the New Evangelization, designed to call home Catholics who have left the Church or grown tepid in their faith along with those who have not yet encountered Jesus Christ and the Church. Church statisticians describe the chilling fact that nearly half of those who identify themselves as Catholic no longer practice their faith in the U.S. If the stats are even remotely accurate, we have an enormous, life-giving adventure ahead of us. It is an area of Church life about which I am very passionate.


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 26, No. 2, February 19, 2010.