Resignation of Archbp. of Southwark

His Hermeneuticalness, the great Fr. Finigan, who would be a very good choice as a bishop, posted this about the resignation about his own ordinary, Kevin McDonald, Archbishop of Southwark.

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral government of hte Archdiocese of Southwark (England) presented by His Grace Kevin McDonald, in conformity with canon 401 § 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

Here is the Press Release issued by the Archdiocese of Southwark:

At 11am (GMT) The Holy Father accepted the accepted the resignation of Archbishop Kevin McDonald of Southwark in accordance with Canon 401 §2. The Archbishop submitted his resignation to the Holy Father having taken account of medical advice. The Archbishop has had a triple heart bypass and also suffers from severe osteo arthritis. This has already necessitated surgery and the Archbishop envisages further surgery in 2010.

Archbishop McDonald said,

“I feel great sadness at having to relinquish my post as Archbishop of Southwark. Although I have had to contend with illness over the last three years, this appointment has been a great grace. It has been a privilege to lead this great Diocese and I have received a wonderful response to everything I have tried to do. I have also been very appreciative of the prayers of so many people while I have been ill. The Diocese will continue to be very much in my thoughts and prayers in the time ahead.”

A Diocesan Administrator will be appointed soon and he will be in charge of the Diocese, until a new Archbishop takes possession of the Diocese.

Please remember Archbishop McDonald in your prayers. He has recently undergone much suffering and physical pain which he has borne with great spirit.

If anyone were to ask me, I think Fr. Finigan is available for the job.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
This entry was posted in SESSIUNCULA and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

12 Comments

  1. Jono says:

    Should this happen, would NCR and the Tablet refer to this as a “promotion to get him out of the way?” Y’know, he’ll be so busy administering the diocese that he won’t be able to celebrate beautiful liturgies or post on his blog?

  2. RichR says:

    but if Fr. Finigan is elevated to Bishop,…….well then…………….he wouldn’t be able to blog anymore.

    How horrid ;-)

    I sometimes wonder what Fr.F. does when you mention this. Does he roll his eyes? Is he enthusiastic about the idea of being a bishop? He definitely seems like a strong leader, but an incredibly charitable blogger (given the way he has been trashed in the past). You definitely want someone who can handle criticism and stay the course when he tries to implement Rome’s vision of things.

  3. RichR says:

    correction: “You definitely want someone as bishop who can handle criticism……”

  4. irishgirl says:

    ‘Bishop Finigan’-oooo, that has a nice ring to it!

    Then he can be more of a thorn in the side of ‘The Bitter Pill’!

  5. Randy says:

    It will be interesting to see what happens here. Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor is now on the Congregation of Bishops. He has not been know as the most conservative guy. Much prayer is needed.

  6. Well, it’s not like I’d hold my breath. And if he takes the bishoping jokes at all seriously, he’s probably praying hard to stay at Blackfen.

    OTOH, he clearly has that something that makes a man a pastor with initiative, and a natural leader. He seems reasonably learned and comfortable with teaching, and he’s good at coming up with plans. He speaks up, but he’s not disobedient. He’s certainly comfortable with the digital age, he interacts with all sorts of diverse people online, and yet he’s got a great love for tradition. He’s already _on_ a wider stage in a lot of ways, and not just as a blogger. Again and again, we hear of him going places and helping other priests out; and yet his own parish doesn’t seem at all neglected. He’s obviously doing something right.

    So if I were a bishop commission, I’d be wanting to harness all that for the good of souls. It’d be a very good use of their internal priest resources. It’d also show the world and the UK faithful, and parish priests in the UK, that the bishops know what’s going on among the “little people” and appreciate grassroots work. The last shall be first, that sort of thing. ;)

    Like I say, I wouldn’t be holding my breath. But given his cred, it wouldn’t be all that unusual a choice.

  7. Fr. A.M. says:

    Perhaps we should leave speculation aside for the time being. Let us remember Archbishop McDonald in our prayers.

  8. Thomas S says:

    “but if Fr. Finigan is elevated to Bishop,…….well then…………….he wouldn’t be able to blog anymore.

    How horrid ;-)”

    Not so. Cardinal O’Malley blogs.

  9. Hidden One says:

    Archbishop Prendergast of Ottawa has a blog updated about daily…

    Aside from that…

    “Perhaps we should leave speculation aside for the time being. Let us remember Archbishop McDonald in our prayers.
    Comment by Fr. A.M. — 4 December 2009 @ 1:35 pm “

  10. Re: Archbishop McDonald

    Praying, of course. Likewise my own archbishop, who also has health problems.

    Truly, these men give their lives to the Church.

  11. Fr. A.M. says:

    Thanks for that Suburbanbanshee (what a wonderful username – is a ‘banshee’ not some kind of Irish ‘witch’ ?).

  12. Fr. A.M. says:

    ‘banshee’ appeals to my celtic blood !

Comments are closed.