By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
Catholic Messenger staff reached out to the faithful in southeast Iowa earlier this year, asking, “If you had one question for Bishop Dennis Walsh, what would it be?”
Bishop Walsh joined the monthly Catholic Messenger Conversations podcast May 13 to tackle some of the toughest inquiries.
A third-grader from Holy Family Parish in Riverside asked the bishop, “If God loves us, why won’t he show us his face?” “That’s a good, good question,” the bishop replied. “I think he shows his face to us pretty regularly… if we’re looking in the right places, we’ll see the many good things that happen in our lives and recognize that all those things come from God’s loving hand, so he’s present to us at all times.”
Kelly from St. Thomas More Parish in Coralville asked, “How do you interpret Pope Leo’s recent statements on Iran, and what do they mean for how Catholics should think about war and peace today?” The bishop said the Church has long held the belief that “there really can be no wars of aggression or even a preemptive war. … It’s not something new, and it’s more than just the pope’s personal opinion.”
A parishioner from St. James Parish in Washington switched up the question, asking Bishop Walsh what he would ask Pope Leo if given the opportunity. “I guess I would ask him what he does to enjoy himself and what he does for his own peace of mind. I would have to think that it would probably be one of the loneliest jobs on the planet.”
The bishop also responded to a question on how experiences working with impoverished individuals shaped his ministry. “My eyes were opened primarily (to) the sort of inequities and the injustices that exist in the world,” he said. “It was really an eye opening moment for me (to realize) that we do not all have the same opportunities in life, and even though my family was really quite poor, we had more than these families ever had and probably ever will have.”
The bishop answered several additional questions during the 30-minute podcast recording, including:
- If God has no beginning, how did he come to be?
- Did you use to play Mass when you were a little kid?
- What is your favorite pizza topping?
- What advice would you give to someone trying to stay Catholic in today’s world?
- How can teens make their faith more real, and not just something they have to do?
- What do you wish you knew about the faith when you were in high school?
- Is voting for a pro-choice candidate a mortal sin?
Listen to this and other Catholic Messenger Conversations podcasts at https://www.catholicmessenger.net/podcasting or on your favorite podcasting app.
