Arundel, UK (Friday, 05-29-2015, Gaudium Press) Bishop Richard Moth has said dioceses, like individuals and families, go through periods of “weakness and pain” – and that the way through them is to “re-commit” to Christ.
The bishop was speaking at his installation as Bishop of Arundel and Brighton. His predecessor, Bishop Kieran Conry, resigned last year after admitting to an affair.
| Bishop Richard Moth (Photo: Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk) |
Bishop Moth said: “There are times in all our lives when we experience difficulties as individuals and as families, weakness and pain as a diocese too. But today let us re-commit ourselves to “the Word who is life – for this is our subject”. For us as the Church in Arundel and Brighton, and for the Church everywhere, there is but one subject, the person of Jesus Christ. For it is Christ alone, through the union with Him to which we are called, that will make our joy complete.”
The bishop also called for deeper prayer and reflection on the Gospel.
He said: “Let us commit ourselves to ever-deeper prayer, to times of silence where we can reflect on the message of the Gospel. Let us grow in our understanding of the gift of faith – not just at those key times of sacramental preparation, but through a life-long deepening in prayer and understanding…
“It is through this nurture, this security within the sheepfold of Christ, that we grow in grace and are enabled to go out to others – and this is where the Gospel gets uncomfortable!
“We do not remain in the sheepfold. Jesus calls us out. We take up the cross and follow where He, the shepherd, leads – to the disadvantaged at home and abroad, to those suffering from injustice, to those trying to rebuild their lives, to the one released from prison, to the one living with mental or physical illness, to those who have lost hope and meaning in their lives, to those searching, perhaps even unknowingly, for God,” Bishop Moth said.
The Mass at Arundel Cathedral was concelebrated by Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark, together with 21 other bishops from England and Wales, the Abbot of Worth, Fr Luke Jolly OSB and Bishop Hugh Gilbert of Aberdeen, former Abbot of Pluscarden.
Bishop Moth told the Catholic Herald earlier this week that his approach to the role of bishop was informed by his 30 years as a Benedictine Oblate. The Rule of St Benedict, in its advice for abbots, has “a lot to say bishops”, he said.
Biography
Bishop Richard was born in Chingola, Zambia on 1958. He was brought up in Kent and, after leaving The Judd School, Tonbridge, began formation at St John’s Seminary, Wonersh. He was ordained Priest 3rd June 1982.
He served as assistant priest at St Bede’s, Clapham Park before pursing studies in Canon Law at St. Paul University, Ottawa. In 1987 he was appointed assistant priest at St. Saviour’s, Lewisham, during which time he also served as a Territorial Army Chaplain with 217 General Hospital RAMC(V).
He served as Private Secretary to Archbishop Michael Bowen from 1992 until 2001, during which time he was also President of the Interdiocesan Tribunal of Second Instance of Southwark and Vocations Director. In 2001 he was appointed Vicar General and Chancellor of the Diocese.
In addition to his role as Bishop of the Armed Forces, he is Chair of Governors at St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, Liaison Bishop for Prisons, Episcopal Advisor to the National Catholic Scout Fellowship and holds a brief on Mental Health on behalf of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
Bishop Richard has been a Benedictine Oblate for over 30 years and is a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, with whom he has travelled many times to the Holy Land. He enjoys horse riding and walking.
Source: Catholic Herald