Bishop Anthony B. Taylor’s 10 years in Arkansas have been marked by an awakening to the importance of vocations, care for immigrants, what it means to be pro-life and the life of Blessed Stanley Rother.

Arkansas Catholic sat down May 16 with the bishop to reflect on major highlights of his ministry in Arkansas.

You have been in Arkansas for 10 years now. What has surprised you most about Arkansas Catholics?

There aren’t things that are surprising to me. What is gratifying to me is how warm and welcoming they are … (Regarding the Diocese of Little Rock) we have eight counties with no Catholic church in them and 34 counties with no resident priest. Living one’s faith requires personal commitment and initiative.

One difference from Oklahoma is the institutional presence of the Church is greater here. A lot more hospitals and schools with a long history to them.

What are you most proud of happening in the past 10 years?

The growth in vocations to the priesthood and the energy and enthusiasm that their youth brings to the life of the Church in Arkansas.

The growth and the way communities have come together that are mixed ethnically, Hispanic and Anglo, forming more and more united parishes. There is still a lot of growth in that area, but people have been welcoming.

Is there anything you are disappointed that has or hasn’t happened?

I am concerned that we are losing a lot of our young people. The influence of the secular society really undermines the faith in a lot of quarters, especially young people who don’t seem to have very much hope for their future. I am concerned about people in their 20s, people who seem to be falling through the cracks.

One of the first things you did in Arkansas was write a pastoral letter, “I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me: A Pastoral Letter on the Human Rights of Immigrants,” on welcoming immigrants. How do you think Arkansas is doing now 10 years later?

I think our parishes are places of welcome, largely. There are sad exceptions to that. I think there are lot of welcoming people in the general society in Arkansas. I don’t know that things are much changed here. The rhetoric in the national media is harsh. The effort made when I first arrived here … prevented hostile legislation that had been passed in Oklahoma from not being passed in Arkansas. So I am happy that it didn’t get worse.

In terms of the legal situation for people, it has not changed or gotten worse. There is no prospect of deporting everybody so are we going to make life miserable as possible for people or are we going to come up with a response to the reality of life here?

More recently, you were criticized for not participating in this year’s March for Life. Where do you find the courage to make the difficult decisions?

I remind myself that the only person I need to please is the Lord. I think of the example of Blessed Stanley Rother and doing what was right in a situation that a lot of people can do a lot of second guessing on.

I was very clear and have always been very clear about my support for life from the first moment of conception to natural death. I am very clear that there is no comparison between abortion and other offenses against life. To have that particular speaker (Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge) there was very inappropriate. To participate in that would seem to endorse things that the Church can never endorse.

What process do you go through when making difficult decisions? 

I have a daily holy hour and so I bring it to prayer. I ask God to give me the wisdom to really know what he would want me to do and give me the courage to do it.

Frequently, I know what is needed will displease somebody. I am not in here to be popular. The central symbol of our faith is the cross and Jesus says to take up the cross and follow me and the cross is redemptive. It is self-sacrificing love. That is what Jesus calls us all of us to. People were very upset with Jesus. They didn’t crucify him for nothing, but he spoke the truth and it was the truth that some people were ready to hear.

Truth prevails in the end, and I am confident in that. It has to be rooted in prayer to make sure my own ego isn’t caught up in what is going on.

You were the first episcopal delegate for the canonization cause of Father Stanley Rother. You published your first book on Blessed Stanley and you have given many presentations on his life. You also blessed the first church in the world in his memory. Are there any new insights you have gotten from his life over the past 10 years?

One thing that strikes me is how people are able to connect to various elements of his story and take him as an inspiration for whatever they are having to deal with. To not abandon the flock that the Lord has entrusted to them. To walk by faith. To realize that we don’t know what the future will hold, but to simply do what is asked of us.

He didn’t run from the challenge he was up against, what he knew faithfulness to the Lord requires of them. They know it is going to be hard, but they know what faithfulness to the Lord requires.

One thing people comment on is your grasp of languages. How many languages are you proficient in? When did you know you had that gift?

I more or less speak five (languages, English, Spanish, French, German and Italian) and I can decipher the academic languages (Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic).

I just worked hard at it. I got Cs in Spanish in high school (in ninth and 10th grades), and I had one year of Spanish at OU (University of Oklahoma). I was interested in it, but it was a lot of work. It is not like it came easy, at least initially. Once you learn one language, the next language is easier to learn because you know how to learn language. I really wanted to learn it and so I kept at it …

God gives us all the talents we need for whatever he wants us to do, but you have to develop them.

You lived in Oklahoma most of your life. What do you miss most about Oklahoma?

The people I served in parishes there and the guys I used to recreate (play racquetball) with. I am further from my family but Arkansas has become my home. I am getting old so I haven’t played regularly in several years.

What do you like best about living in Arkansas?

It feels like home. I feel very welcome everywhere. The priests here are really united and they get along really well. The parishes I go to are happy places and they are, by and large, happy with their priests. Priests get along with me well. We don’t have any of the divisions that other places have to deal with.

Which saint or pope do you most identify with? Why?

Probably Pope Francis. He is taking things from my playbook. Things that I was saying and doing, we are on the same page.

You were driving a smaller car and living in a smaller place.

It is better that way. Driving an uncomplicated car and living with others. There is a lot more life there opposed to living in a 4,000-square-foot house with a one-car garage alone.

It’s much better (living in the House of Formation). Living in a community of prayer, Mass together, holy hours together, sharing meals together, more of a family feel. I get to know the guys really well and they me, and that is good. I am to be their father, in a certain sense. It is like family.

What are some fun things you get to do? You mentioned you don’t play racquetball anymore.

I take vacations. There are five classmates from seminary that get together for 10 days every August at a lake in Virginia. My family has family reunions at least once or twice a year. I will be going to Colorado for a week with some Oklahoma priests. I drive up to see my dad every six weeks and spend several days with him.

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On his ordination

“I come to you with much enthusiasm and joy because God sent me to you. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t be here because I would have never dared to hope to receive the privilege of being your bishop. The honor, and, yes, the burden of being a successor of the apostles, endowed and entrusted with the fullness of the sacramental priesthood of Jesus Christ. I know that I will one day have to give the Lord an account of my stewardship of the Diocese of Little Rock. Please pray for me that I, your unworthy servant, will be a good bishop, holy and wise.”

Homily during his episcopal ordination Mass, June 5, 2008

"I learned that being a faithful Christian meant doing what Jesus did, living for something bigger than yourself, working to build God’s kingdom of truth and justice already in some measure here and now in this world, and this includes defending human rights.”

At the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Mass in January 2009

On respect for life

“Silence in the face of hateful behavior, these are pro-life issues too  — anything impacting the life and dignity of the human person from the first moment of conception all the way to natural death and every stage in between. This is what a consistent ethic of life entails. Abortion is huge and we are resolute in our opposition to abortion, but there are other pro-life issues that are important too and boy do we have our hands full. This is not an either/or situation; it is a both/and situation.”

Mass for Life homily, Jan. 17, 2018

On immigration

“People who come to this country feeling extreme poverty or oppression, do so exercising their fundamental right to life because the right to life includes the right of access to the necessities of life.” 

Southerners Unified for Dignity & Reform rally,
Little Rock, Oct. 12, 2013

“You know when I was little we were 3 percent Catholic; we used to say we were weaker than the beer. But now more than 55 percent of Arkansas Catholics are Hispanic. And so we’re about 6 percent now, hopefully it’s stronger than the tequila. But people come here and for the first time they have to defend their faith or explain it in an environment that is not supportive of Catholicism and in an environment where a great deal of proselytism is going on and in that environment there’s a lot of turmoil in the Hispanic community in terms of religion.”

Panel discussion at UALR, April 13, 2017

On seminarians

“I don’t intend to ordain anybody I don’t know. I want to know them more than just knowing their name. I want to be supportive of them in their vocation.”

Arkansas Catholic issue Oct. 13, 2014, on his relationship with the seminarians

“I describe this to other bishops and they are amazed. Oklahoma City, where I come from, is three times the size of Little Rock and has two Catholic high schools and they don’t produce vocations like Catholic High does. I’m very proud of this school. … What this tells me is Catholic High produces men of faith who support each other in discerning and doing God’s will.”

Signing day at Catholic High School in Little Rock, May 1, 2018

On Blessed Stanley Rother

“He gave himself fully to his people. He remained with them courageously in a time of darkness. When a wolf threatens a flock, the shepherd remains. He laid down his life for his people long before they came to kill him.”

July 11, 2015 issue of Arkansas Catholic

“He is not only the first beatified martyr of the United States, he was also the first beatified martyr of Guatemala. And everything I know about Blessed Stanley tells me that he would be delighted to have you as the first community in the world named after him.”

Homily at dedication of new Blessed Stanley Rother Church in Decatur, Sept. 24, 2017

On the death penalty

“I know you often hear Catholics talk about the sanctity of life in the context of abortion, so today I need to emphasize two obvious things: 1) life does not cease to be sacred once the baby is born, and 2) no one will be fully secure until we reject everything that threatens human life or degrades human dignity.”

Statement issued Sept. 4, 2015 in light of state acquiring new drugs for executions

“We are no different than the crowd that called for Jesus’ death because we continue to call for the death of criminals.”

Good Friday rally against planned executions at the Arkansas State Capitol, April 14, 2017

On dialogue after Reformation

“We’ve come a long way together in the last 50 years, but we’ve still got a long way to go before Christian unity can be fully restored and this wound in the heart of the Church healed.”

Oct. 30, 2017

On the 2016 election

“Many of us have experienced the recent presidential election as a mixed blessing. We are relieved that President-elect Trump opposes abortion and plans to nominate anti-abortion justices to the Supreme Court. Indeed, many people voted for him for that very reason. But we are also dismayed by his divisive rhetoric. The purpose of this letter is to remind all of us that this election has not changed the mission of the Church in Arkansas. We believe in the right to life and the dignity of the human person from conception to natural death and at every stage in between. Particularly painful was the treatment of women and Hispanics during this campaign. Pro-life is more than just anti-abortion. Pro-life includes respect for women, a special concern for the poor and vulnerable, and in the present context respect for the rights of immigrants and the need for comprehensive immigration reform.”

Statement on Nov. 8, 2016, presidential election

On DACA

“The DACA program has been a great success in Arkansas. Through it nearly 6,000 young adults have received assurance that they will not be immediately processed for deportation. This has allowed them to enter the workforce, start businesses and pursue an education. In short, the program has been an overwhelming benefit to our state’s economy.”

Letter to Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Aug. 31, 2017

On what makes a church

“The church is not the building. It is the people. The building is simply the envelope within which the people worship and, naturally, many memories cling to the place but the church is the people …”

Last Mass in old Blessed Sacrament Church building in Jonesboro, Oct. 1, 2017

On V Encuentro

“One of the things I’m praying for is that this V Encuentro increases our courage and our gratitude going forward. Especially among those of you who belong to the second generation and are now benefiting from the many sacrifices that your immigrant parents made to provide you a better life. And specifically that you now become courageous missionary disciples yourselves.”

Nov. 18, 2017

On his 10th anniversary

“This year I celebrate my 10th year as your bishop and my heart is filled with gratitude for what a blessing it has been for me personally to serve you in this capacity. I rejoice in the ways in which the Lord has blessed our local Church during this time and the many things we have accomplished together — much of which has been paid for through your generous contributions to CASA, our annual Catholic Arkansas Sharing Appeal. All of this is the fruit of your — and my — commitment to the Lord.”

Feb. 3-4, 2018, recorded homily for CASA kickoff

What is the impact Bishop Andrew B. Taylor has had on the Diocese of Little Rock? Arkansas Catholic reached out to priests and diocesan directors to reflect on what they appreciate most about the past 10 years working with the bishop.

“A bishop has so many roles that the public sees and so many more that are carried out in private or in the day-to-day routine of simply showing up in the office or visiting someone in the hospital or chance encounters in restaurants and parking lots. Bishop Taylor is consistently himself in all these settings — open, rooted in his calling, clear in decision-making and courageous in applying the Gospel message to our time. And his wit shows up when least expected, and often most needed. I appreciate that I will always learn something when he preaches and always have something to take to prayer.“

Cackie Upchurch, director of Little Rock Scripture Study

“For me the primary aspect of Bishop Taylor’s first 10 years in Arkansas is his commitment to social justice. Within six months of his becoming our bishop he published a bilingual pastoral letter, ‘I was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me (Fui Forastero y Ustedes Me Recibieron).’ … Whether they are here legally or not, they are our brothers and sisters in Christ and, as Bishop Taylor reminds us in his pastoral letter, Jesus, Mary and Joseph were migrants to Egypt, fleeing an oppressive situation. … I appreciate Bishop Taylor’s commitment to justice for everyone, including the ‘strangers’ in our midst.  He cautions us to see the face of Jesus Christ in everyone, including the faces of those who come from outside our borders.”

Msgr. David LeSieur, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul, Rogers

“Bishop Anthony B. Taylor’s arrival to the Diocese of Little Rock has been a great blessing for the state of Arkansas. I especially admire his humility and simplicity and am grateful for his support for all immigrants in this state.  Thanks to his actions in favor of the most vulnerable and defenseless, the number of Catholics in the particular Church of Arkansas has increased.”

Father Salvador Vega, pastor of St. Martin, Nashville

“I love many things about Bishop Taylor, especially his homilies, simple lifestyle and brave actions for social justice.  I am so proud to have him for our bishop, and many of our sisters in other states are envious, as they don’t have the same experience.” 

Sister Joan Pytlik, DC, social justice advocate for diocese

“I appreciate Bishop Taylor because he listens and makes time for me. Sometimes we agree, and sometimes we do not. But, he always listens. He listens in prayer, he listens to people and he leads with the Gospel. He speaks about human life and contraception, about Hispanic ministry and immigration and about reading ‘the signs of the times in the life of faith.’ To paraphrase a famous Englishman — in the spirit and sentiment of the Bishop — we can’t always get what we want, but if we try sometimes, we just might find, we get what we need.”

Father Jason Sharbaugh, associate pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish, Fayetteville

“In 2014 I spent one month and four days at the hospital (when I was in the seminary). Those days were for me painful yet full of love and compassion. Bishop Taylor visited me almost every day and some days he prayed with me and other seminarians too. He always had a good attitude about that illness. I had never seen that kind of bishop before. What bishop visits a seminarian? Bishop Taylor broke my preconceptions about bishops. A humble man also with a deeper charity.”

Father Nelson Rubio, associate pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary, North Little Rock (Marche)

“Bishop Taylor has given me a clear example of what it means to offer one’s time, energy and talents and indeed very life in loving service of God and of neighbor. I think that he is one who strives to always love Jesus.”

Father Jim Fanrak, pastor of Mary Mother of God, Harrison

“Some of Bishop Taylor’s greatest assets are his honesty, his sincerity, his selflessness and his purity of heart.”

Liz Tingquist, director of Youth and Campus Ministry Office

“First he is a good person, who as they say "walks his talk." He sets a good example for his priests and his work ethic is tremendous. And, lastly he gave me opportunity to be a priest.

Father Jack Sidler, Russellville

“About two years ago getting to Christmas, I approached him about St. Augustine's sign. Immediately he said, "I will help you" and he did. That was the best Christmas gift I ever received in my life.  Always asking, "Is there anything I can help you with." Thank you my bishop! 

Father Francis Damoah, SVD, North Little Rock

“At his very first press conference as our bishop, when he was first introduced as our bishop, Bishop Taylor was asked what he would do if the Arkansas State Legislature passed punitive legislation against undocumented immigrants as was done in Oklahoma. The bishop made it very clear that he would oppose such legislation and that, if passed, he and the Catholic Church of Arkansas would not obey such laws because he said, ‘It is a sin to obey unjust laws.’ I heard that and thought, that just told me everything I need to know about our new bishop. He is willing to take risks for the least powerful and most vulnerable among us.

“One of the things I love most about Bishop Taylor is that he challenges us priests. Jesus seemed to challenge religious leaders a lot. I think the Church is at its best when we, the leaders, and the institution, are challenged, when we challenge ourselves, when we remember that, like Jesus, we are to serve and not be served. I think Bishop Taylor sets a good example of this and he expects us priests to follow his example.” 

Father Mark Wood, Little Rock

“Bishop Taylor’s courage to stand up for what the Church teaches in regards to social justice even though it may be in direct conflict with what today’s society is advocating.”

Vernell Bowen, superintendent of Catholic schools
 

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor has had many notable moments over the past 10 years. Click here to look back on his world travels, milestones and what he's accomplished so far as bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock.