Welcome

Rt Rev Christopher Budd, Bishop of Plymouth

Welcome to the Website for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth

I do hope that what you access here will help you understand something of the nature of the Catholic Church and how it is organised in the Diocese of Plymouth. Above all, any contact with the Church should point beyond itself to its Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. The Church is never an end in itself; it has to be about Jesus Christ or it is nothing.

At the moment a lot of energy is going into issues of pastoral organisation. This process is important because it touches issues of resources, both human and other. The overriding priority is that we organise ourselves for mission. Any reorganisation must be related to that.

As mission is bedded in the community of faith, hope and love, we will need to achieve the following:

Availability of the Eucharist. We are aiming to achieve reasonable access to Sunday Mass and to the ministry of a priest. The prayer life of the community and individuals is based on the Eucharist. We are, after all, a Eucharistic people.If we are to mission confidently, we need to know our faith and be able to relate it to a whole range of complex human issues (the catechetical endeavour will not lessen). Resources for this are crucial, and they need to be reasonably local. Knowledge must lead to action. We are committed to address issues that touch the flourishing of human beings, both among themselves and also in their relationship with God. We need to be active on their behalf, both bringing appropriate help when we can and being prepared to undertake advocacy for poor and marginalised people.The work towards Christian Unity must go on, and growing in importance is inter-religious dialogue, for the sake of the common good of society and also the health of our faith.

Whatever framework we put in place for the Diocese, we need to make sure that it serves the above priorities.

Our lives are supported by good structure, but are by no means exhausted by them. Good structure will support Faith and enable mission. These two will ultimately be the test of what we are about.

May God bless you

+ Christopher Budd

Bishop of Plymouth

Contact Details:

Address: Bishop's House, 31 Wyndham Street West, Plymouth, PL1 5RZ.
Telephone: 01752 224 414
Fax: 01752 223 750

Bishop's Personal Assistant and Secretary: Mrs. Sue King
Email: sue@plymouth-diocese.org.uk