El periódico “The Colorado Catholic Herald” tuvo la oportunidad de entrevistar al Obispo James Golka el 24 de junio, unos días antes de su ordenación episcopal.  A continuación se muestra la transcripción completa de la entrevista.

COLORADO SPRINGS. The Colorado Catholic Herald had the opportunity to sit down with Bishop James Golka for an interview on June 24, just a few days before his episcopal ordination. Following is the complete transcript of the interview.

ROBERT GOLKA, AN ENGINEER BY TRADE, and his wife, Patricia, built their house in 1963. They had a 1-year-old, Ronald, and a newborn, John.

                In Grand Island, Neb., they built a classic rancher: three bedrooms, the kitchen, dining room and living room on the main floor; two bedrooms in the basement — 1,350 square feet total. During the next three-plus decades in this tidy vessel, the Golkas raised 10 children. For a time under that roof there were Mom, Dad, six boys, four girls, and two bathrooms, one of which had a shower.

                “Mornings were interesting,” John said.

COLORADO SPRINGS. The ordination of Bishop James R. Golka took place on June 29 — the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul — and the lives and witness of both saints were woven throughout his installation as the third Bishop of Colorado Springs.

NEW YORK. Pedigree is important where horses are concerned, and the equine-themed animated adventure “Spirit Untamed” (PG, Universal) comes with a multimedia lineage.

It descends both from the 2002 film “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” and the ongoing Netflix series “Spirit Riding Free,” which first aired in 2017.

Father Bill Carmody is the Diocese of Colorado Springs’ own pro-life legend. From his appointment as Director of the Respect Life office shortly after his ordination in 1990 until his death in 2016, Father Bill was God’s megaphone for the protection of life in our diocese, in Colorado, and in the nation.

This is Part Two of a two-part series covering common flowering shrubs in our diocese and their pruning needs. The first installment, which appeared in the May 21 issue of the Herald, focused on spring flowering shrubs. This installment focuses on summer flowering shrubs, including flowers that grow on older wood.

In March 17, 2020, I became aware of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, I was not aware of the severity of it, nor the lives that would be lost. I did know that it was negatively affecting senior citizens, which was heartbreaking for me as a gerontologist. African- Americans were dying at a disproportionate rate from this terrible disease. I’m am a person living with a disability. What other effects would this have on me? Hindsight is 2020. Here are a few ways covid strengthened my faith as a Black Catholic:

By virtue of my job, I am one of a relatively few number of the 180,000 Catholics in the Diocese of Colorado Springs who gets to interact with our bishop on a regular basis. I take that familiarity for granted, forgetting that most people only see Bishop Sheridan in more formal settings which do not allow for the kind of interactions that build familiarity.

Este año, 2021, es muy significativo para mí.  Este año se cumplen 50 años de ordenación sacerdotal, 24 años de servicio como obispo y mi jubilación del ministerio a tiempo completo. Como pueden imaginar, estos días han sido tiempos de reflexión prolongada sobre mi vida como cristiano y como sacerdote.  Permítanme compartir algunas de esas reflexiones con ustedes.

This year, 2021, is a very significant one for me. This year marks 50 years of priestly ordination, 24 years of service as a bishop, and retirement from full-time ministry. As you might imagine, these days have been times of prolonged reflection on my life as a Christian and as a priest. Allow me to share some of those reflections with you.

My parents divorced when I was 12. I believed that most people didn’t really struggle with their parents’ divorce, and that I was strange because it was still affecting my life in so many ways 38 years after the fact.

Last February, I was given the opportunity to attend a retreat with a ministry, Life-Giving Wounds, that the Archdiocese of Denver was thinking of bringing to Colorado. It was one of the most amazing and healing experiences of my life.