Bishop Taylor reflects on five years in Arkansas

Published: June 5, 2013

Malea Hargett

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor smiles May 18 during the diaconate ordination for Juan Guido at St. Edward Church in Little Rock.

Malea Hargett

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor smiles May 18 during the diaconate ordination for Juan Guido at St. Edward Church in Little Rock.

After 21 months without a bishop, Pope Benedict XVI sent Little Rock a new leader. Father Anthony B. Taylor of Oklahoma City was named the Diocese of Little Rock’s seventh bishop and was ordained June 5, 2008. After five years in Arkansas, Arkansas Catholic asked the bishop to reflect on his fifth anniversary.

What has the past five years in Arkansas have been like for you?

Inspiring and humbling. People receive me warmly wherever I go in Arkansas and in every gathering in which I have participated. They have given me a fair hearing even when I have had to address controversial topics and received what I have said with respect and openness.

I am humbled by how often people have told me that after listening to me, they reconsidered previously held opinions in the light of the Good News of Jesus Christ, which is my privilege and duty to proclaim. I have seen this especially regarding 1) immigration reform and the human rights of immigrants, 2) natural family planning, 3) the immorality of the death penalty, and 4) the role of Catholic health care, especially questions raised by the attempt to sell Mercy Hospital Hot Springs (formerly St. Joseph Medical Center) to a secular, for-profit health care system.

And I am inspired by how generously our young people are responding to God's call to a religious vocation and to the tremendous outpouring of support for priestly vocations on the part of Catholics throughout Arkansas. I have seen this especially in 1) the now more than 40 seminarians we have studying for the priesthood, more than double the number we had when I arrived, 2) the newly constructed House of Formation in Little Rock and the generous donations that have helped pay for this, 3) in the self-sacrificing dedication of all those involved in vocations ministry, especially Msgr. (Scott) Friend, the other priests assigned to this ministry and local pastors, and 4) the strong and generous support of lay people for vocations, especially the Knights of Columbus, the Serra Club and vocations committees in parishes.

What is the most surprising thing about being a bishop in Arkansas?

The fact that almost half of Arkansas Catholics live in counties that border the state line, all around the periphery of the state -- we have 47 churches (22 parishes and 25 missions) located 2½ hours or more away from Little Rock. In Oklahoma City we had only three parishes plus a handful of missions 2½ hours or more from Oklahoma City. The result is that life of the Church is more decentralized here and people have to take more initiatives locally.

Another thing different from Oklahoma is the stronger institutional presence of the Church here, in part because of the long history of many venerable institutions, including Subiaco and Marylake, the Benedictine sisters in Fort Smith and Jonesboro, the Carmelite sisters and Missionaries of Charity in Little Rock, and Mount St. Mary's and Catholic High School for Boys in Little Rock. Each of these has deep roots and are a source of pride for Arkansas Catholics. And many other religious orders enrich our history and the present life of the Church as well.

What is the best thing about being bishop in Arkansas?

Being able to celebrate the sacrament of confirmation in parishes and missions throughout the state. I am willing to go anywhere, even if there is only one person to be confirmed. I truly enjoy experiencing the life and commitment of each faith community and of each of the young people I confirm.

What are your feelings or impressions when visit the parishes in Arkansas?

When I visit parishes I get something of a read on the vitality of each individual community. If the congregation is singing enthusiastically, I know that people are investing themselves in their worship. If the congregation is not singing, leaving everything up to the choir, I become concerned. I am always disappointed when the lips of those whom I am about to confirm are not even moving during the songs, and then I notice that their parents are not singing either.

So while I am touched by the expressions of faith that are clearly present, I also know we have a long way to go in many parishes. It was my hope that the five-year plans of our parishes would produce better results in this department, but I know it takes patience to get people to respond.

In 2008 you were one of the first bishops to be on Facebook. We see that you post your homilies now in German as well as English and Spanish. Why do you do that?

I have cousins who live in northeast Bavaria very near the Czech border, one of whom still lives on the farm that has been in my family for at least 300 years. They are my grandmother's first cousins. One of these cousins is a nun who for years has been translating my homilies and passing them around my relatives there. Since she was already doing this, I thought it might be nice to make these translations more generally available, so she sends them back to me and I post them for whoever might be interested. I do not translate these myself; German grammar is difficult and my German is grammatically challenged.

What is the biggest challenge in the Church today?

Secularism and materialism. Many people live as practical atheists -- they may claim membership in the Church, but live like pagans, pursuing the four pernicious Ps: power, possessions, pleasure and prestige. This is true for most politicians of both political parties. Many people no longer have any sense of a higher law to which we owe our first allegiance, nor of moral absolutes inscribed even in natural law.

We now have a very long list of destructive acts now permitted by law -- and hence "no longer wrong" in the mind of many people -- and more such "approved" immoral behaviors on the way, most recently same-sex marriage. Evil acts have destructive consequences, even if undertaken in ignorance, and our country is already the world's poster child of the social decay that thus ensues. The Church has a golden opportunity to be a "light in the darkness" for our society, which has so obviously lost its way.

From what you have read or heard about Pope Francis, what do you most appreciate about him?

His simplicity, openness and honesty. He is willing to tackle entrenched evil, be it secular politicians, officials of the Curia or business interests that exploit the poor and weak. He proclaims a Gospel that brings Christian hope and empowerment to the oppressed and invites the powerful and self-serving to repentance and conversion. Right now he is receiving a great deal of approval for the steps he has taken at the beginning of his papacy, but from Argentina we know that he will continue to preach the Gospel even when it meets with resistance from parties whose vested interests are threatened and who therefore seek to discredit him and his efforts. This honeymoon will not last forever, so he needs our prayers.

When you visit parish potlucks, what dish do you always make sure to taste?

Anything that anyone points out to me because I know that means that it was the dish they brought. I especially like real food and, like most people, especially dislike "heavy hors d'oeuvres" and events where I am supposed to stand with a plate in one hand, a drink in the other and then face the conundrum of how to get the food into my mouth without a third hand and while carrying on a conversation with someone I have just met.

I'll always be sure to take normal fried chicken wings (not "buffalo wings"), sit at a table if one is available and steer clear of cooked cauliflower.

If you had more free time, what would you do?

Catch up on all the reading that I need to do, but am unable to keep up with for lack of time. I usually bring about 10 books with me when I go on vacation. And no, I don't need any more books at this time.

Are there any places in the United States or world you would like to visit?

I have liked everywhere I have ever been and have had the opportunity to visit more places, foreign and local, than I had ever dreamed possible growing up. But no, I don't have a wish list of additional places I would like to visit. I would rather stay in Arkansas.

What are your goals for the Diocese of Little Rock in the next five years?

That we continue on our present course in the many initiatives currently underway and enhance our efforts to promote the New Evangelization so needed in our society at this time.