Peter Smith (bishop)

The Most Reverend
Peter Smith
Archbishop of Southwark
Vice President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales

Peter Smith at his installation as Archbishop of Southwark
Church Roman Catholic Church
Archdiocese Southwark
Province Southwark
Appointed 30 April 2010
Installed 10 June 2010
Predecessor Kevin McDonald
Orders
Ordination 15 July 1972
Consecration 27 May 1995
by Basil Hume
Personal details
Birth name Peter David Smith
Born (1943-10-21) 21 October 1943
Battersea, London, England
Denomination Roman Catholic
Previous post
Coat of arms
Styles of
Peter Smith
Reference style The Most Reverend
Spoken style Your Grace
Religious style Archbishop

Peter David Smith (born 21 October 1943) is an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Southwark. He had previously served as the Bishop of East Anglia (1995–2001) and Metropolitan Archbishop of Cardiff (2001–2010).

Early life

Smith was born on 21 October 1943 in Battersea, London, England. He was educated at Clapham College, then an all-boys Catholic voluntary-aided grammar school. He studied at Exeter University, where he earned his bachelor's degree in law. He then undertook studies for the priesthood at St. John's Seminary in Wonersh and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome (earning his doctorate in canon law).

Ordained ministry

Smith was ordained to the priesthood on 5 July 1972. After doing pastoral work from 1972 to 1974, Smith began teaching canon law at his alma mater, St John's Seminary, Wonersh, in 1977. He then served as a curate in Thornton Heath (1984–1985) and as the rector of St John's Seminary (1985–1995).

On 21 March 1995, Smith was appointed Bishop of East Anglia by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 21 May from Cardinal Basil Hume OSB, with Archbishop Michael George Bowen and Bishop Alan Charles Clark serving as co-consecrators. Smith was later named Archbishop of Cardiff on 26 October 2001,[1] following the resignation of the Capuchin, John Ward, amid a controversy about paedophile priests in the archdiocese.[2][3] In regard to these sexual abuse cases, Smith declared that he "wanted to help people bind up the wounds and bring healing".[4] He also voiced his opposition to living wills in 2004, fearing that "a proxy could make a decision to do away with someone for the motive of killing someone".[5]

Smith has chaired the Catholic Truth Society since 1993 and the Department for Christian Responsibility and Citizenship within the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales since 1998. He was also chairman of the Central Religious Advisory Committee (CRAC) of the BBC and ITC from 2001 to 2004. In 2002 he was made a sub-prelate and chaplain of the Venerable Order of Saint John. In 2004 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the University of Wales, Lampeter and also of Cardiff University in 2006. On 30 April 2010, Smith was named as the Archbishop of Southwark, replacing Archbishop Kevin McDonald who resigned the see due to ill health. He was installed on 10 June 2010.[6]

In March 2015 it was heard at Southwark Crown Court that Smith was one of two bishops responsible for allowing Father Antony McSweeney to be appointed as a priest in the Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia following an incident in 1998 in which "a housekeeper found what she said were pornographic images at his [Mscweeney's] home."[7] The matter was regarded by Smith as an incident for clergy discipline and not investigated by the police.[8] McSweeney has since been jailed for abusing boys at the Grafton House children's home between 1978 and 1981.

External links

References

  1. ↑ Press Office of the Holy See
  2. ↑ BBC News, New Archbishop of Cardiff enthroned, 4 December 2001
  3. ↑ BBC News, Frail Pope sees Wales' archbishop, 18 October 2003
  4. ↑ BBC News. New Archbishop's reconciliation call 26 October 2001
  5. ↑ BBC News. Living wills: 'My right to choose' 14 December 2004
  6. ↑ Pope names Peter Smith as next Archbishop of Southwark, 30 April 2010
  7. ↑ The Guardian, "Priest Jailed For Abusing Boys At Childrens Home", March 2015}
  8. ↑ Daily Mail, " A Pedophile Priest and Two Bishops Sickening Conspiracy", March 2015}
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Alan Clark		 Bishop of East Anglia
21 March 1995—26 October 2001 		Succeeded by
Michael Charles Evans
Preceded by
John Aloysius Ward, OFM Cap		 Archbishop of Cardiff
26 October 2001—10 June 2010 		Succeeded by
George Stack
Preceded by
Kevin McDonald		 Archbishop of Southwark
10 June 2010—present 		Incumbent
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