Bishops should listen humbly to their flock and engage in dialogue "without a sense of superiority," Pope Francis told a group of newly appointed prelates on Thursday.
"A bishop is not an all-powerful master or a fearful and isolated shepherd ploughing a lonely farrow. He is a man who can listen to all, without a sense of superiority," Francis said.
"I invite you all to show a listening attitude."
Also crucially, bishops must be unbiased and "should not be cut off from the wealth of opinions among their priests, deacons and Christians in general", the pontiff said.
"When we don't take our brothers into consideration and we think we are superior, we end up full of excessive pride that goes against God himself," Francis went on.
A bishop's mission is "serve the Gospel", "humbly, without egocentricity or narcissism," Francis concluded.
