Catholic Bishop of Plymouth quits before he starts

The Catholic Diocese of Plymouth remains without a bishop after the second man appointed to the post resigned before taking up the position. It means the diocese has been without a formal leader for more than three years.

Bishop Philip Moger was to have been ordained last February, but the ceremony was cancelled after allegations were made against him. He made a personal statement this week:

"At the beginning of November 2024, just before I was to begin my ministry in Plymouth, I let it be known that concerns of a personal nature had been raised, to which I had to attend immediately. This has taken longer than I anticipated.

“All things considered, I have come to the decision to present to the Holy Father a request to step down from my appointment as the Bishop of the Diocese of Plymouth. The Holy Father has accepted my request,’ said Bishop Moger.

"For the immediate future, I will be taking a sabbatical: a time of prayer and personal reflection, the next stage on the journey of my ministry.

"I realise, with regret, that this leaves a continuing vacancy in the Diocese of Plymouth. I assure the lay faithful, clergy and religious of the Diocese of my good wishes and prayers, and ask the same of them for me," he said.

Born in 1955, Bishop-elect Philip Moger grew up in Halifax, Yorkshire. His mother died when he was five and he was raised by his grandmother and father. He began his working life in banking and then entered St Cuthbert’s Seminary at Ushaw in County Durham to begin studies for the priesthood.