Bishop Richard Moth named 12th Archbishop of Westminster
Pope Leo appointed Bishop Richard Moth as the 12th Archbishop of Westminster, making him the new leader of Catholics in England and Wales.
Bishop Moth, who has been Bishop of Arundel and Brighton since 2015, succeeds the retiring Cardinal Vincent Nichols.
Its installation in Westminster Cathedral will take place on 14 February.
“I am deeply touched by the trust Pope Leo has placed in me by appointing me to the Diocese of Westminster,” said Archbishop-elect Moth.
“I am very grateful for the support Cardinal Vincent Nichols gave me as I prepared to move into the diocese. He gave me dedicated service to the diocese and will be greatly missed.”
He continued: “Serving the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton has given me the wonderful opportunity to share the mission of the Church with lay clergy and clergy, and I express gratitude for the many blessings of these last 10 years.
“My first task will be to get to know the priests and people of Westminster, and I now look forward to serving them. I look forward to continuing with them on this great adventure, the life of the Church and the witness to the Gospel, building on the solid foundations laid by so many over the years.”
Cardinal Nichols of Liverpool turned 80 in November.
The Cardinals offered his resignation as usual when he turned 75, but said the late Pope Francis wanted him to remain in office at that point.
At the time, he had come under fire for a damning report into allegations of child sexual abuse.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) report into the Catholic Church, published in November 2020, found that Cardinal Nichols “apparently placed the reputation of the church above his duty to victims of sexual assault.”
He added that it showed “a lack of acceptance of any personal responsibility for leading or influencing change.”
The report’s findings were met with calls for Cardinal Nichols’ resignation.
Asked whether he was the right person to lead the Church in England and Wales despite the report’s findings, Cardinal Nichols said: “I am doing what I am told. The Holy Father put me here and told me to stay here; that is enough for me.”
The report found that the Church repeatedly failed to support victims and survivors but took positive steps to protect alleged perpetrators, including transferring them to different parishes.
Cardinal Nichols attended the first conclave in Rome earlier this year to elect the Catholic Church’s new Pope Leo following the death of Pope Francis.
Cardinal Nichols, who said he had known the new pontiff for several years, admired Leo as a gentle and calm person and said he would be a decisive figure for the Church going forward, someone who could solve challenges “in a way that does not leave enemies behind.”
In a statement on Friday, Cardinal Nichols said he was “delighted” with the news that he would succeed Bishop Moth.
He said the archbishop-elect “will bring many gifts and significant episcopal experience to our diocese from his years of service.”
Archbishop-elect Moth was the Catholic Bishop of the Forces from 2009 to 2015.
He was born in Zambia in 1958, grew up in Kent and was ordained a priest in June 1982.
Currently chair of prefectures at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, and head of the social justice department of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and liaison bishop for prisons, he is said to enjoy horseback riding and walking in his spare time.
