"I have always had good relations with religious orders and worked well with them. ... The religious orders never caused me any problems, and my relations with all of them were good. They were a great help to me in my mission as a bishop. My thoughts also turn to the great reserves of spiritual energy found in the contemplative orders. ... [They] never cease to serve the universal Church through their self-giving, silence, and fervent prayer.

"Every bishop can find great support in them. I experienced this many times when, faced with a difficult problem, I would ask certain contemplative orders for the support of their prayers. I felt the power of their intercession and I would thank those sisters gathered in their Upper Rooms of prayer for helping me to overcome situations that, humanly speaking, seemed hopeless."

(John Paul II, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way, pp 119-121)