After eight months Rome has appointed the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, Dr Cormac Murphy-O'Connor (67), to succeed the late Cardinal Basil Hume as Archbishop of Westminster. At the same time Bishop Vincent Nichols (54), a former general secretary of the English and Welsh Bishops' Conference, has been appointed Archbishop of Birmingham.
The appointment of Bishop Murphy-O'Connor, a former rector of the English College in Rome, has been warmly welcomed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey.
Since 1982 Bishop Murphy-O'Connor has been the Roman Catholic co-chairman of the second Anglican/Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC II), a responsibility he is on the point of handing over to Archbishop Alec Brunett of Seattle.
Reaction to his appointment yesterday was overwhelmingly positive. The leader of the Church of England, Archbishop Carey, said he
looked forward to deepening his "friendship and co-operation" with the archbishop-elect, on behalf of both Christian traditions.
"Bishop Murphy-O'Connor has worked tirelessly for many years for better ecumenical relations and I value and appreciate his stamina, his tenacity and his shrewd ability to find a constructive way forward," he said. "I was also delighted to have the opportunity last year to mark that dedication by awarding him the first Lambeth Doctorate in Divinity to a Roman Catholic bishop since the Reformation."
At a press conference in London yesterday, Bishop Murphy-O'Connor emphasised that for him the important thing was working with people. He saw this as the only way of reversing the decline in Catholic numbers and churchgoing. "People aren't going to come back to church unless they understand that the Christian and Catholic mission in our country is something vital, something elevating, something joyful, and something new," he said.
What he wanted to see was the vision of a church at the service of people. When people saw that the Christian life was lived out in the service of others and in witness to the good and hopeful things in life, "then I think the decline will halt".
Bishop Murphy-O'Connor rejected labels such as "liberal" or "conservative". He was not a liberal in the sense of being free and easy and open to any new things that came along, nor was he conservative in the sense of being rigid and fundamentalist. The church's teaching fundamentally did not change, but "at the same time one has to be open to new questions and new opportunities, and there have to be bold initiatives".
The archbishop-elect, who is likely to be made a cardinal later this year, said he adhered "very clearly" to Catholic teaching on the ordination of women and the Catholic Church did not feel authorised to move in that direction.
Speaking a few hours after he was named as successor to Cardinal Hume, Bishop Murphy-O'Connor said that, although women played a "very, very important part" in the church, there were many other questions to address apart from the ordination of women priests.
On closer co-operation between the Catholic and Anglican churches, he said he hoped the relationship would "deepen and grow" during his ministry. "I think that between Anglicans and Catholics . . . what unites us is more important than what still divides us."
The leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Winning, offered his support and prayers.
There was support also from the Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Sean Brady, who said the archbishop-elect would be taking up an "onerous responsibility" after a distinguished record of service in England and Wales. Dr Brady referred to Bishop Murphy-O'Connor's "affection and good will towards Ireland".