SIOUX CITY, IOWA — To celebrate his four years as Bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City, Bishop R. Walker Nickless has written a pastoral letter titled “Ecclesia Semper Reformanda (The Church is Always in Need of Renewal),” reflecting on his “understanding of the state and direction of the Church, both universal and particular, at this juncture in her history.”
Nickless begins by identifying himself as “thoroughly a product” of the momentous time of the Second Vatican Council, which he calls “the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church in centuries.” While much has been done to implement the reforms of Vatican II, the bishop writes, there is much work left. “The Church is always in need of renewal,” Bishop Nickless states, “because it is made up of us, imperfect human beings.”