Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Following the Plenary Meeting of the Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales this week, you will find attached a Statement on Safeguarding that was issued today, Friday 20th November 2020 at 11:00 a.m. The Statement is on the Diocesan Website and I ask Parish Priests to ensure that the Statement is also made available through Parish communications.
I would ask you to read this Statement with care and to continue your prayers for all who are Survivors of Abuse, especially those who have suffered as a result of the actions of Clergy, Religious and others working in the name of the Church. Please pray, too, for the work that lies ahead and that has been outlined in the Statement.
I take this opportunity to thank all those who work in our own Diocese – in our Safeguarding Office, on our Diocesan Commission for Safeguarding and in our Parish Communities for all that is being done to continue developing a culture of Safeguarding. This endeavour is vital in the life of the Church, for our Parish Communities must always be places of safety for all.
With the assurance of my prayers and with every blessing,
+Richard
Bishop of Arundel and Brighton
The Diocese of Arundel and Brighton covers the geographical area comprising West and East Sussex, that part of the County of Surrey that falls outside the Greater London
Area and the city of Brighton and Hove.
A&B (as the Diocese is more commonly referred to) was inaugurated on 28th May 1965 when the Archdiocese of Southwark was divided into two parts. The choice of Arundel as the site of the Cathedral for this new Diocese goes back to the centuries' long link
(circa 850 AD) between the Duke of Norfolk, whose family seat is Arundel Castle,
and the Catholic Church.
The present Bishop of our Diocese is the Right Reverend Richard Moth. Bishop Richard, born in 1958 in Chingola (Zambia), was ordained priest in 1982 and became Bishop of Arundel and Brighton in 2015. He is A&B's fifth Bishop following on from Bishops Kieran Conry (2000-2015), Cormac Murphy O'Connor (1977-2000), Michael Bowen (1971-1977) and David Cashman (1965-1971).