New mystery surrounding installation of new Plymouth bishop

More mystery surrounds the latest installation of Plymouth's new Bishop with the second cancellation within a year. Auxiliary Bishop Philip Moger of Southwark was due to be installed as the tenth bishop of the diocese on November 10, but this has now apparently been put on hold.

PlymouthLive reported last December that Canon Christopher Whitehead was to take over the diocese which covers Cornwall, Devon and Dorset following his appointment by the Pope. The 54-year-old will be ordained in the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Boniface in Stonehouse.

However, in February this year it was unexpectedly announced that Canon Whitehead was stepping back from his intended role as the city's next Bishop. At the time the Catholic Church issued a statement, explaining Canon Whitehead had stepped back from "active ministry".

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According to the Catholic News Agency, in the wake of the announcement, the Plymouth Diocese had quickly moved to scrub its website of nearly all references to the bishop-elect. An earlier interview with Whitehead, as well as a Christmas message from the bishop-elect, were both missing from the site after the cancellation was announced, as was the December announcement of Whitehead’s appointment by Pope Francis.

On March 22 the Diocese of Clifton said in a statement that it had "undertaken a preliminary investigation into the allegations raised against Canon Christopher Whitehead" and that "at the conclusion of the aforementioned inquiry, it was determined that no canonical action was warranted".

The statement added: "The diocese communicates that Canon Whitehead has resumed his duties as parish priest of St. John the Evangelist in Bath."

In September, it was announced that Pope Francis would appoint Bishop Philip Moger to the role. At that time Cardinal Vincent Nichols, President of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and Archbishop of Westminster, said: "I congratulate the Right Reverend Philip Moger on his appointment as the next Bishop of the Diocese of Plymouth.

"He will bring experience and wisdom to that diocese although his moving is a loss to the Archdiocese of Southwark. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Canon Paul Cummins who has led the diocese over the last two years."

The city prepared itself for the installation of the new Bishop which was set to take place on Saturday, 9 November 2024 - but on November 6 a statement was posted on the website of the Catholic Church's 'Bishops' conference of England and Wales' where he stated: "In the very last few days, concerns have been raised of a personal nature to which I must attend immediately. This will take a little time.

"I have therefore agreed with all directly concerned to delay my installation as the new Bishop of Plymouth until these processes have been completed.

"I sincerely regret this delay and offer my apologies to all who are disappointed and inconvenienced. However, it is important that everything is properly in place and due process observed. While this process takes place no further comment will be made."

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