English bishop resigns, cites personal reasons
February 24, 2025
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CWN Editor's Note: Bishop Philip Moger, whose installation as Bishop of Plymouth had been postponed in November, has announced his resignation.
Bishop Moger’s installation had been set for November 9, but just days before the scheduled ceremony, he announced that “concerns have been raised of a personal nature,” and so he had “agreed with all concerned to delay my installation.” The nature of those personal concerns has not been disclosed.
That November postponement was the 2nd time in less than a year the installation of a new Bishop of Plymouth had been called off. In February 2024, , the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales announced that the ordination of Canon Christopher Whitehead to become Bishop of Plymouth, which had been set for February 22, would not take place. In that case, too, no explanation was given, but Church officials later disclosed that an investigation had been undertaken, and although “no canonical action was warranted,” Canon Whitehead remains pastor of a parish the Clifton diocese.
In the latest development, Bishop Moger said it “has taken longer than I anticipated” to address his personal concerns, and therefore he asked Pope Francis to accept his resignation, and the Pontiff accepted. He said that “I will be taking a sabbatical: a time of prayer and personal reflection.”
The Plymouth diocese has now been without a bishop since June 2022, when Bishop Mark O’Toole took on a new duty as Archbishop of Cardiff, Wales.
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