Archbishop Kevin McDonald, in a packed and multi-culturally vibrant service on Tuesday 14th February at St. George’s Cathedral, Southwark, ordained as auxiliary Bishops for Southwark, Patrick Lynch ss.cc , 58, and Paul Hendricks, 49. Bishop Patrick Lynch will have special responsibility for the South-east London area of the diocese and Bishop Paul Hendricks for the South-west London area of the diocese.
The Main Celebrant and Principal Ordaining Bishop was Archbishop Kevin McDonald, assisted by Bishop John Hine, auxiliary in Southwark and Archbishop Emeritus Michael Bowen. Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor and the Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Faustino Sainz Munoz were present, together with twenty four bishops, two hundred priests and a congregation of well over a thousand people.
The Most Reverend Kevin McDonald, Archbishop of Southwark said in his homily that “the Episcopate is a gift of the Lord to the Church and the ordination of new bishops is a source of new life for the Church.”
He continued that a Bishop has to proclaim the Gospel and “the voice of a Bishop must be a voice that seeks to build up the unity of the body of Christ, in strong condemnation of sin and injustice but not the voice of someone who represents a lobby or pressure group, a voice that respects and includes and a voice that seeks to consolidate and build up the unity of the Church.”
Archbishop McDonald also remarked that in his role as a public figure the Bishop must “reach out beyond the Catholic Church to deepen our communion with our fellow Christians in other Communions and to those of other faiths and very especially to those who have no faith.”
The multi-cultural nature of the Mass was emphasised by the Nigerian community in Southwark in traditional costume bringing the offertory gifts to the Archbishop to the sound of African drumbeats and song in a very colourful dance procession. The Latin American community sang in Spanish at communion and the Ghanaian community sung an original song of thanksgiving as the new Bishops were lead around the Cathedral by Archbishop Kevin McDonald.
