Cormac Murphy-O'Connor (24 August 1932 – 1 September 2017) was a British Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Westminster from 2000 to 2009. He was also president of the

Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Overview The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales is the permanent assembly of Catholic Bishop ...

. He was made a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

in 2001. By virtue of his position as Archbishop of Westminster, Murphy-O'Connor was sometimes referred to as the Catholic

Primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

. However, the title of primate has never been used by the ''de facto'' leaders of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

Early life

Cormac Murphy-O'Connor was born on 24 August 1932 in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

,Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor: recession may be jolt that selfish Britain needs
. ''The Times''. (8 September 2013). the fifth son of George Murphy-O'Connor, a G.P., and Ellen (née Cuddigan; died 1971), who emigrated from

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

in Ireland before the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and married in 1921. The Murphy-O'Connor family was middle class, with the men becoming doctors or priests, and one in each generation taking over the family business as wine merchants 'to the clergy and gentry of Southern Ireland'. A forebear, Daniel Murphy, became the first Archbishop of Hobart, Tasmania, in 1888, having served as a bishop there since 1865. Two of his uncles, one aunt, two cousins and two of his brothers, Brian (1930–2012) and Patrick, were also ordained or members of religious orders. His youngest brother, John, was a regular officer in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

who died of renal cell carcinoma; he had two other siblings, James (a doctor and rugby player) and Catherine. His cousin, Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, was a Dominican priest and expert on St Paul who served as Professor of

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

at the

École Biblique École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem, commonly known as École Biblique, is a French academic establishment in Jerusalem specializing in archaeology and Biblical exegesis. It is housed by the Saint-Étienne priory. Associate ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

from 1967 to his death in 2013. After attending Presentation College in Reading and Prior Park College in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, in 1950 Murphy-O'Connor followed his brother Brian to the Venerable English College in Rome and began his studies for the priesthood, where he received a degree in theology. Thereafter, he earned a licentiate in philosophy and a Licentiate of Sacred Theology degree from the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

on 28 October 1956, by Cardinal Valerio Valeri. For the next decade, he was engaged in pastoral ministry in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...

Church career

Parish priest

In 1966, Murphy-O'Connor became the private secretary to Bishop Derek Worlock of

. In September 1970, he was appointed parish priest of the Immaculate Conception church in Portswood,

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. Soon afterwards, in late 1971, he was appointed rector of the Venerable English College, his alma mater. As rector, he hosted the Anglican

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

, Donald Coggan, on his historic visit to

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

in 1977.

Bishop

On 17 November 1977, Murphy-O'Connor was named Bishop of Arundel and Brighton by

. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 21 December from Bishop Michael Bowen, with Archbishop George Dwyer and Bishop Anthony Emery serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

. He held important positions among the bishops of Europe and has also been consistently influential in

ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

work; from 1982 to 2000 he was a co-chairman of the Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission. In 2000 he was awarded the Lambeth degree of

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

by the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, in recognition of his work for Christian unity.

Archbishop and cardinal

Murphy-O'Connor was appointed the tenth Archbishop of Westminster, and thus

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

of the

Catholic Church in England and Wales The Catholic Church in England and Wales (; ) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. Its origins date from the 6th century, when Pope Gregory I through a Roman missionary and Benedictine monk, Augustine, ...

, on 15 February 2000; in November of that year he was elected President of the

. In the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistor ...

of 21 February 2001 he was created

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

Santa Maria sopra Minerva Santa Maria sopra Minerva is one of the major Church (building), churches of the Order of Preachers (also known as the Dominicans) in Rome, Italy. The church's name derives from the fact that the first Christian church structure on the site was b ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. He was appointed to four curial organisations: the

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments () is the dicastery (from , from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Church as distin ...

, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, the Pontifical Council for the Study of Organisational and Economic Problems of the Holy See, and the Pontifical Council for the Family. He also served on the Pontifical Councils for Culture and for

Laity In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all Church membership, members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-Ordination, ordained members of religious orders, e ...

, and was secretary of the ''Vox Clara'' commission which oversees the translating of liturgical texts from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

into English. Murphy-O'Connor belonged to a group of approximately a dozen like-minded cardinals and bishops – all Europeans – who met annually from 1995 to 2006 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, to discuss reforms with respect to the appointment of bishops, collegiality, bishops' conferences, the primacy of the papacy and sexual morality; they differed among themselves, but shared the view that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was not the sort of candidate they hoped to see elected at the next conclave. In August 2001, Murphy-O'Connor was created a

Freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. In January 2002, he preached during the Anglican morning service at Sandringham, the first time a Roman Catholic prelate delivered a sermon to an English monarch since 1680. In 2002, in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

, he was the first cardinal to read prayers at an English Royal Funeral Service (for the Queen Mother) since 1509. In 2002 he had his portrait painted for Westminster Cathedral by the artist

Christian Furr Christian Furr (born 1966, Heswall, Wirral, England) is an English painter. In 1995 he was commissioned to paint Queen Elizabeth II. Education Furr was educated at Ladymount Primary School, Heswall, and St Anselm's College, Birkenhead. He ...

. In advance of the 2005 papal conclave, where Murphy-O'Connor served as a cardinal elector, Cardinal Achille Silvestrini told reporters to watch for Murphy-O'Connor to emerge as a possible new pope. He was ineligible to participate in the 2013 conclave due to being aged over 80. In a piece for the BBC in the lead up to the 2013 conclave, Murphy O'Connor recorded his experiences of the 2005 conclave that elected Benedict XVI, remembering as the doors closed to the conclave, "One of us will be going out with a white cassock on". The cardinal also referenced that he personally had three names in mind for himself in the unlikely event that he was elected as pope, settling on Adrian, Gregory, or Benedict. On 28 October 2006, Murphy-O'Connor celebrated 50 years of ordination with a Jubilee Mass in Westminster Cathedral.

Retirement

Shortly before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, Murphy-O'Connor submitted his resignation as Archbishop of Westminster to Pope Benedict XVI, who asked that Murphy-O'Connor remain in his position "until he chooses otherwise". On 3 April 2009 Benedict appointed Vincent Nichols as Murphy-O'Connor's replacement. All Murphy O'Connor's predecessors died in office, so he was the first Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster. He lived the remainder of his life in semi-retirement in Duke's Avenue, Chiswick, London. On 30 October 2009, Pope Benedict appointed Murphy-O'Connor a member of the Congregation for Bishops, a post he held until his 80th birthday. It was unusual to receive such an appointment after retirement. In June 2010, after the Ryan Report and Murphy Report on the abuses by the Catholic Church in Ireland, Murphy-O'Connor was named along with others to oversee the apostolic visitation of certain dioceses and seminaries. Murphy-O'Connor was named as the visitor to the Diocese of Armagh and its suffragan sees. Murphy-O'Connor, in a speech delivered on 17 May 2012 at Leicester's Anglican cathedral, said, "In the name of tolerance it seems to me tolerance is being abolished". He said: A friend of Pope Francis, he was a hardliner with regard to sexual child abuse cases. In 2018, the dioceses of Arundel and Brighton, Westminster, Portsmouth and Northampton were put under the so-called "Truth Project", a government-commissioned investigation which asked the Archdiocese of Westminster to release its files pertaining to the minor victims'allegations. Murphy-O'Connor died of cancer on 1 September 2017 after an extended hospital stay. He was buried under the 10th Station of the Cross in Westminster Cathedral. As he was the 10th Archbishop of Westminster, and also because this station is directly opposite the Chapel of St Patrick, he was buried there in accordance with his wishes due to his Irish connection with County Cork in Ireland.

Views

Abuse scandal

Murphy-O'Connor found himself subject to public scrutiny regarding a priest in his diocese when he was Bishop of Arundel and Brighton. During this time it was brought to his attention that a priest, Michael Hill, was a sexual abuser of children. In 2000, when Murphy O'Connor became Archbishop of Westminster, the case became known to the general public. Instead of reporting Hill to the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

, Murphy-O'Connor allowed the crime to be covered up and transferred Hill to

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the Airports of London, secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwic ...

chapel, where the Cardinal believed he would not be able to molest children. In 1997, Hill was convicted as a child molester and jailed for sexually assaulting nine children. After three years in jail, Hill was given another five years for assaulting three other boys.

Islam

In 2004, the Muslim Council of Britain criticised Murphy-O'Connor when he said that Muslim leaders were not doing enough to denounce terrorists who carried out attacks "in the name of Allah", while clarifying that they denounced terrorism.

Response to ''Summorum Pontificum''

In July 2007, Murphy-O'Connor welcomed Pope Benedict XVI's relaxation of restrictions on the use of the 1962

Roman Missal The Roman Missal () is the book which contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Roman Rite, the most common liturgy and Mass of the Catholic Church. There have been several editions. History Before the Council of Trent (1570) ...

. He said: When he issued a letter implementing the pope's rules to the clergy of his diocese in November, he was criticized in some quarters for requiring parish priests to request permission before Mass could be celebrated in that traditional form.

AIDS prevention

On 3 December 2006, Murphy-O'Connor issued a response to a statement made by Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

on World AIDS Day (1 December 2006) in which Blair said, "The danger is if we have a sort of blanket ban from religious hierarchy saying it's wrong to do it, then you discourage people from doing it in circumstances where they need to protect their lives." In response to this Murphy-O'Connor said,

Status of immigrants

On 7 May 2007, Murphy-O'Connor addressed a crowd of undocumented immigrants in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...

in support of the Strangers into Citizens campaign, which advocates a path to citizenship for undocumented workers. Previously he had commissioned major research on the pastoral challenges migrants present in his parishes, which received widespread press coverage when published as ''The Ground of Justice''.

Adoption by same-sex couples

In early 2007, Murphy-O'Connor sent a letter to Tony Blair opposing pending regulations extending to same-sex couples the right to adopt on the same basis as different-sex couples. He said that the law would force people to "act against the teaching of the Church and their own consciences" with regard to Catholic adoption agencies and requested an exemption from the law. He continued:

Family planning

Murphy-O'Connor denounced

contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

and abortion many times. In February 2008 he ordered the board of St John and St Elizabeth's Hospital, a Catholic hospital partly funded by the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

, to resign because its general practice prescribed the morning-after pill and issued abortion referrals. In February 2013, Murphy-O'Connor said that while a radical departure from previous teaching was not likely, it would be "wise" to focus on "what's good and what's true" about marriage and family life instead. He said:

Embryo bill

In March 2008, Murphy-O'Connor joined Cardinal Keith O'Brien of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in opposing the government's proposed embryology bill. The government had instructed its MPs to vote for the bill, which angered some Catholic MPs. Murphy-O'Connor said "Certainly, there are some aspects of this bill on which I believe there ought to be a

free vote A conscience vote or free vote is a type of vote in a legislative body where legislators are allowed to vote according to their own personal conscience rather than according to an official line set down by their political party. In a parliamentar ...

, because Catholics and others will want to vote according to their conscience". The government gave in to the pressure and promised to allow MPs a free vote.

Atheism

In 2008, Murphy-O'Connor urged Christians to treat atheists and agnostics with deep esteem, "because the hidden God is active in their lives as well as in the lives of those who believe". However, in 2009, speaking after Archbishop Vincent Nichols' installation, he said that a lack of faith is "the greatest of evils".

Iraq War

Murphy-O'Connor opposed the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

Writings

* Foreword to ''A Roman Miscellany: The English in Rome, 1550–2000'', ed. by Nicholas Schofield (

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almos ...

: Gracewing, 2002).

Distinctions

House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies is a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon that ruled Southern Italy and Sicily for more than a century in the 18th and 19th centuries. It descends from the Capetian dynasty in legitimate male line through Phili ...

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Gran ...

of Justice of the

Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (; ), also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order of Saint George and the Order of the Constantinian Angelic Knights of Saint George, is a dynastic order of knighthood ...

References

External links

Biography, Holy See Press Office
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy-Oconnor, Cormac 1932 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in England Roman Catholic archbishops of Westminster Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Deaths from cancer in England 21st-century British cardinals English College, Rome alumni English people of Irish descent Members of the Congregation for Bishops Members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments Members of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples Members of the Pontifical Council for Culture People educated at Elvian School People educated at Prior Park College Clergy from Reading, Berkshire Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Recipients of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910) Rectors of the English College, Rome Roman Catholic bishops of Arundel and Brighton 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United Kingdom