Phoenix, Ariz., Oct 27, 2005 / 22:00 pm
“Coping with adversity and an unshakable faith in Jesus Christ,” should be a requirement for Catholic leaders, said Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted during the first working session of the Catholic Leadership Conference(CLC).
Bishop Olmsted was talking to some 150 Catholic leaders attending the CLC. The first part of the conference wished to answer to the question “What makes a Catholic leader?”
The Catholic Leadership Conference is an organization aimed at encouraging cooperation and collaboration among leaders of Catholic ministries while providing venues for those leaders to exchange ideas, strengthen personal relationships and take unified action.
.
Bishop Olmsted referred at length on the example of Pope John Paul II. “Pope John Paul’s great respect for the human person and his love to God and humanity were, without doubt, how he coped with adversity,” said the Bishop, citing as an example “the fill forgiveness” he showed to the man who tried to assassinate him, Mehemet Ali Agca.
He continued on the adversities, the former pontiff faced through his life. “After loosing his parents at a young age, after suffering the trials of the invasion of his country, John Paul found strength in Christ and his blessed Mother,” he added.