Arthur Roche | |
|---|---|
| Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments | |
 Roche in 2008 | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Appointed | 27 May 2021 |
| Predecessor | Robert Sarah |
| Other post(s) | Cardinal-Deacon ofSan Saba |
| Previous post(s) |
|
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 19 July 1975 by Gordon Wheeler |
| Consecration | 10 May 2001 by Cormac Murphy-O'Connor |
| Created cardinal | 27 August 2022 byPope Francis |
| Rank | Cardinal Deacon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Arthur Roche (1950-03-06)6 March 1950 (age 75) Batley Carr,West Riding of Yorkshire, England. |
| Nationality | British |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Parents | Arthur and Frances Roche |
| Alma mater | Pontifical Gregorian University |
| Motto | Duc in Altum ("Put out into the deep") |
| Coat of arms | .svg) |
| Styles of Arthur Roche | |
|---|---|
| |
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
Ordination history of Arthur Roche | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Arthur Roche (born 6 March 1950) is a Britishcardinal of theCatholic Church who has served asprefect of theDicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments since 2021. He previously served as secretary of the congregation from 2012 to 2021.
Before his service in theRoman Curia, Roche wasBishop of Leeds from 2004 to 2012. He served ascoadjutor bishop of Leeds under BishopDavid Konstant (2002–2004), and before that as anauxiliary bishop of theArchdiocese of Westminster (2001–2002). He was appointed an archbishop when he joined the Roman Curia in 2012.
On 27 August 2022,Pope Francis elevated him to theCollege of Cardinals.
Arthur Roche was born inBatley Carr, in theWest Riding of Yorkshire,England, to Arthur and Frances Roche. He attended St Joseph's Primary School,St John Fisher High School and Christleton Hall. From 1969 to 1975, he studied atSt Alban's College inValladolid,Spain, where he obtained a degree intheology from theComillas Pontifical University. Upon his return to England, he wasordained to thepriesthood byBishop William Wheeler for theCatholic Diocese of Leeds on 19 July 1975.
Roche's first appointment in the diocese was asassistant priest at Holy Rood Church inBarnsley until 1978, when he becameprivate secretary to Bishop William Gordon Wheeler. He was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the diocese in 1979. From 1982 to 1989, he served on the staff ofSt Anne's Cathedral in Leeds, and helped to organise thevisit of Pope John Paul II toYork in May 1982.
Roche was the diocesan Financial Secretary from 1986 to 1991 and parish priest at St Wilfrid's Church from 1989 to 1991. In 1991, he studied at thePontifical Gregorian University, earning a Licence in Theology (STL). He then became spiritual director of theVenerable English College. He was appointed General Secretary of theCatholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales in April 1996 and given the title ofMonsignor.
On 12 April 2001,Pope John Paul II named Roche anauxiliary bishop ofWestminster andtitular bishop ofRusticiana.[1][2] He received hisepiscopal consecration on the following 10 May inWestminster Cathedral fromCardinalCormac Murphy-O'Connor, with BishopsDavid Konstant andVictor Guazzelli serving asco-consecrators.[3]
Roche was namedCoadjutor to the Bishop of Leeds,David Konstant, on 16 July 2002.[4] Roche became the ninth bishop of Leeds when Pope John Paul accepted Bishop Konstant's resignation on health grounds on 7 April 2004.[5]
In the Leeds diocese, in 2008 Roche's plans to close seven parishes produced vigorous protests, especially on the part of a parish in Allerton Bywater that offers Mass in Latin.[6][7]
Roche had been mentioned as a possible successor to Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor asArchbishop of Westminster, head of theCatholic Church in England and Wales.[8] He was even said to be the cardinal's favoured candidate.[9] His name had also been mentioned as a possible successor to Archbishop Kevin McDonald asArchbishop of Southwark.[citation needed] Whilst Bishop of Leeds, he was appointed a Patron of theNewman Society in Oxford.
In July 2002, while continuing as bishop of Leeds, Roche was electedchairman of theInternational Commission on English in the Liturgy, which oversees the translation of the Latin liturgical texts intoEnglish. The Commission had failed to win theHoly See's confirmation of its 1998 translation of the Missal, and Roche's appointment, along with replacement of staff, was part of an overhaul to ensure a more accurate translation that an increasing number of bishops and Vatican officials had wanted over the years.[a][11][12]
As the chairman of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy, it fell to Roche to superintend the final stages of the work and then to announce that the new translation of the Missal into English was ready. There followed a positive outcome of voting on the text by all English-speaking episcopal conferences throughout the world. This new translation of theRoman Missal was introduced into Catholic parishes in the United Kingdom in September 2011.[13]
On 26 June 2012,Pope Benedict XVI appointed Roche Secretary of theCongregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (CDW) and raised him to the rank of archbishop.[b][15][16] As Secretary, he maintained the low profile typical of his curial rank, signing statements and doing press relations in tandem with the prefect of the CDW, until 2014 CardinalAntonio Cañizares Llovera and from 2014 to 2021 CardinalRobert Sarah. In 2016, he explainedPope Francis' decision to allow the Holy Thursday footwashing ceremony to include women. He described it as a return to practices beforePope Pius XII reorganized Holy Week services, in 1955. He contradicted press reports that Cardinal Sarah was at odds with the Pope on this change. He said, "I'm not aware of that, and I'm [Sarah's] closest collaborator."[17]
Pope Francis asked him, in December 2016, to chair an informal commission to determine who should have responsibility for translating liturgical texts into the vernacular.[18] In September 2017, when Francis released his documentMagnum principium, giving national bishops' conferences the dominant role and constraining the authority of the CDW, Roche alone authored the CDW's accompanying commentary.[19][20]
On 29 March 2014, Pope Francis named Roche a member of thePontifical Council for Culture.[21][22] On 29 July 2019, Pope Francis named him a member of the group that reviews appeals of convictions fordelicta graviora, the gravest crimes dealt with by theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.[23][c]
On 27 May 2021, Pope Francis named him Prefect of the CDW.[25] With this appointment, Roche became the highest-ranking English cleric in the Vatican.[26] On 13 July 2022, Pope Francis named him a member of theDicastery for Bishops.[27] On 27 August 2022, Pope Francis created him a Cardinal Deacon, and assignedSan Saba as his deaconry.[28][29]
A few months into Roche's tenure as prefect, Pope Francis issued the motu propio,Traditionis Custodes, which significantly restricted the celebration of theTridentine Mass of theRoman Rite. Roche and his congregation were tasked with implementing the Motu Propio. On 18 December 2021, Roche issued aResponsa ad Dubia concerningTraditionis Custodes. In this document restrictions were clarified, including restrictions on the celebration of sacraments according to the old rite and a total ban on the celebration of the sacraments ofHoly Orders andConfirmation according to the old rite. Roche has also stated that the promotion of the Traditional Latin Mass has been "curtailed" and that the permission to celebrate the old rite is a concession being made to those who are attached to the old rite but is not an opportunity for the old rite to be promoted.[30][31]
Roche has come under criticism from numerous groups for his role in the implementation ofTraditionis Custodes, with some proponents of the Tridentine Mass claiming the steps that are being taken by Roche are "cruel", "unnecessarily harsh" or even unlawful according toCanon Law.[32][33][34] Cardinal Roche added authorising the Traditional Latin Mass in parishes to a very small list of decisions previously reserved to the Holy See. In a letter to CardinalVincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, Roche falsely claimed thatPope Paul VI had "abrogated" the Old Rite. Roche's assessment contradictedPope Benedict XVI's declaration in his 2007 Motu Propio,Summorum Pontificum, that the Old Rite had never been abrogated.[35]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Titular Bishop of Rusticiana 2001–2002 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Leeds 2004–2012 (Coadjutor bishop 2002–2004) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of theCongregation for Divine Worship 2012–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prefect of theDicastery for Divine Worship 2021–present | Incumbent |
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| National | |
