Early life and ministry
edit
Arthur Roche was born in
Batley Carr
, in the
West 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 at
St Alban's College
in
Valladolid
,
Spain
, where he obtained a degree in
theology
from the
Comillas Pontifical University
. Upon his return to England, he was
ordained
to the
priesthood
by
Bishop William Wheeler
for the
Catholic Diocese of Leeds
on 19 July 1975.
Roche's first appointment in the diocese was as
assistant priest
at Holy Rood Church in
Barnsley
until 1978, when he became
private 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 of
St Anne's Cathedral
in Leeds, and helped to organise the
visit of Pope John Paul II
to
York
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 the
Pontifical Gregorian University
, earning a Licence in Theology (STL). He then became spiritual director of the
Venerable English College
. He was appointed General Secretary of the
Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
in April 1996 and given the title of
Monsignor
.
Auxiliary bishop of Westminster
edit
Coadjutor and Bishop of Leeds
edit
Roche was named
Coadjutor
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 as
Archbishop of Westminster
, head of the
Catholic 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 as
Archbishop of Southwark
.
[
citation needed
]
Whilst Bishop of Leeds, he was appointed a Patron of the
Newman Society
in Oxford.
Commission on English in the Liturgy
edit
In July 2002, while continuing as bishop of Leeds, Roche was elected
chairman
of the
International Commission on English in the Liturgy
, which oversees the translation of the Latin liturgical texts into
English
. The Commission had failed to win the
Holy 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 the
Roman Missal
was introduced into Catholic parishes in the United Kingdom in September 2011.
[13]
Dicastery for Divine Worship
edit
On 26 June 2012,
Pope Benedict XVI
appointed Roche Secretary of the
Congregation 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 Cardinal
Antonio Canizares Llovera
and from 2014 to 2021 Cardinal
Robert Sarah
. In 2016 he explained
Pope Francis
' decision to allow the Holy Thursday footwashing ceremony to include women. He described it as a return to practices before
Pope 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 document
Magnum 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 the
Pontifical Council for Culture
.
[21]
[22]
On 29 July 2019, Pope Francis named him a member of the group that reviews appeals of convictions for
delicta graviora
, the gravest crimes dealt with by the
Congregation 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 the
Dicastery for Bishops
.
[27]
On 27 August 2022 Pope Francis created him a Cardinal Deacon, assigned
San Saba
as his deaconry.
[28]
[29]
Traditionis Custodes and restrictions on the Missal of 1962
edit
A few months into Roche's tenure as prefect, Pope Francis issued the motu propio,
Traditionis Custodes
, which significantly restricted the celebration of Mass according to the Missal of 1962, more commonly known as the
Traditional Latin Mass
. Roche and his congregation were tasked with implementing the Motu Propio. On 18 December 2021, Roche issued a
Responsa ad Dubia
concerning
Traditionis 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 of
Holy Orders
and
Confirmation
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]
Criticism over the suppression of the Traditional Latin Mass
edit
Roche has come under criticism from numerous groups for his role in the implementation of
Traditionis Custodes
, with some claiming the steps that are being taken by Roche are "cruel", "unnecessarily harsh" or even unlawful. Despite extensive criticism by canon lawyers, Roche has rejected claims that the restrictions being implemented are unlawful, stating in an interview that the restrictions are "legitimate and fully compliant with Canon Law."
[32]
[33]
[34]
Cardinal Roche added authorizing the traditional Latin mass in parishes to a very small list of decisions previously reserved to the Holy See. In a letter to Cardinal
Vincent Nichols
, the Archbishop of Westminster, Roche claimed that
Pope Paul VI
had "abrogated" the Old Rite. Roche's assessment seemed to contradict
Pope Benedict XVI
's assertion in his 2007 Motu Propio,
Summorum Pontificum
, that the Old Rite had never been abrogated.
[35]
Some have claimed that Roche has contradicted himself during the process of implementing restrictions on the Old Rite, given that in 2015 when speaking about why the celebration of the Tridentine Mass was permitted, he stated "we want unity in the Church and not just simple uniformity, Pope Francis wants unity with diversity".
[36]
In January 2022, in an interview with
Catholic News Service
, Roche stated that if the faithful do not take
Traditionis Custodes
seriously, then that is "a serious decision people are making". Roche also stated in the interview that the path Pope Francis has chosen to take on the matter of the celebration of the old rite is something that he has been mandated to do by the
Second Vatican Council
. In the same interview Roche, also indicated that the promulgation of
Traditionis Custodes
was done, because it was clear that the Old Rite was being promoted rather than just being seen as a concession and according to Roch the allowance of the Old Rite was simply a concession and caring for those attached to it.
[37]
- ^
Roche was not as clearly aligned with one side in the translation dispute as were other Commission members.
[10]
- ^
Roche replaced Archbishop
Augustine Di Noia
, who said he was "flabbergasted" by his removal after just three years as secretary.
[14]
- ^
Though news reports underscore the fact that this includes clerical sexual abuse of minors,
[24]
a subject of intense interest, many of the offenses at issue are closely related to the work of the CDW, notably violations of the norms for the Eucharist and Penance.
- ^
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Gledhill, Ruth (22 November 2008).
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.
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. London.
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Gledhill, Ruth (19 March 2009).
"Arthur Roche still in running for Westminster"
.
Times Online
. Archived from
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on 22 March 2009.
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"German translations latest to face Vatican crackdown"
.
National Catholic Reporter
. Retrieved
18 February
2020
.
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Allen Jr., John L. (30 August 2002).
"Liturgical language struggle takes turn to traditionalism"
.
National Catholic Reporter
. Retrieved
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2020
.
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Reese, Thomas (12 September 2017).
"Reforming Catholic liturgy should be like updating software"
.
National Catholic Reporter
. Religion News Service
. Retrieved
18 February
2020
.
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.
zenit.org
. Rome. 18 January 2011.
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Glatz, Carol (27 June 2012).
"Pope names US archbishop to new post to aid talks with traditionalists"
.
National Catholic Reporter
. Catholic News Service
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18 February
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(Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 26 June 2012
. Retrieved
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2020
.
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.
The Diocese of Leeds
. Archived from
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on 25 June 2013
. Retrieved
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- ^
Pentin, Edward (29 January 2016).
"Archbishop Roche: Pope's Foot-Washing Change Is a Return to Tradition"
.
National Catholic Register
.
Archived
from the original on 24 September 2020
. Retrieved
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2021
.
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O'Connell, Gerard (9 September 2017).
"Pope Francis has ordered a review of the new Mass translation rules"
.
America
. Retrieved
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2020
.
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"Apostolic Letter in the form of Motu Proprio
Magnum principium
"
. Congregation for Divine Worship. 9 September 2017
. Retrieved
18 February
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.
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Lamb, Christopher (9 September 2017).
"Pope releases new liturgical law paving way for revision of English missal"
.
The Tablet
. Retrieved
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.
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(Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 29 March 2014
. Retrieved
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.
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"Pope confirms heads of Vatican's curial agencies"
.
The Pilot
. 29 March 2014. Archived from
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on 5 April 2014
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(Press release). Holy See Press Office. 29 July 2019
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.
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Mares, Courtney (27 May 2021).
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.
Catholic News Agency
.
Archived
from the original on 28 May 2021
. Retrieved
29 May
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.
- ^
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(Press release) (in Italian). 27 May 2021
. Retrieved
27 May
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.
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.
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(Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 13 July 2022
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.
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.
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- ^
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.
- ^
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"
.
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.
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.
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.
- ^
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"
. 23 December 2021.
- ^
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"
. 8 November 2021.
- ^
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.
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"
.
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on 21 January 2022
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.
- Additional sources
- Peckers, Keith F. (2009).
The Genius of the Roman Rite: On the Reception and Implementation of the New Missal
. Liturgical Press.
- Roche, Arthur (5 August 2006). "Search for Truth and Poetry".
The Tablet
.
- Roche, Arthur (15 June 2006).
"Address to US Bishops' Conference"
. Liturgy Office, England and Wales.
Archived
from the original on 12 March 2008.