George Henry Cassidy

George Henry Cassidy (born October 17, 1942 in Belfast ) is a British Anglican theologian . He was Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham in the Church of England from 1999 to 2009 .

Life

Cassidy first attended Belfast High School in Belfast , and later Queen's University Belfast . There he took a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and economics in 1965 . At the University College of the University of London followed in 1967 the Master of Philosophy . Before beginning his ecclesiastical career, Cassidy worked as a civil servant in public administration . From 1967 to 1968 he was a planning officer in the Ministry of Development of Northern Ireland . From 1968 to 1970 he worked as a government official for the Department of Lands and Settlements in Kenya .

To prepare for the priesthood , he attended Oak Hill Theological College in London from 1970 . In 1972 Cassidy was ordained a deacon in London , followed by ordination as a priest in 1973. From 1972 to 1975 he was auxiliary vicar at Christ Church in the district of Clifton in Bristol . From 1975 to 1982 he was vicar at St Edyth's Church in Sea Mills , a suburb of Bristol. He then took over from 1982 to 1987 a vicariate at St Paul's Church in Portman Square in London. From 1987 to 1999 he was archdeacon of London and at the same time canon with residence obligation ( Canon Residentiary ) at St Paul's Cathedral in London. In 1999 he was made Bishop of Southwell, a town in Nottinghamshire with a population of around 7,000 . In 2005 the name of the diocese was changed to Southwell and Nottingham . He held this office until his retirement in September 2009. He was succeeded by Paul Butler .

Cassidy held a number of honorary church positions and received numerous awards. Among other things, he was Deputy Dean of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire from 1996 to 1999 . In 2005 he received an honorary doctorate as Doctor of Letters ( Hon DLitt ) from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh .

Private

Cassidy has been married to Jane Barling Stevens since 1966, a nurse he met in 1966 while studying in London. He is the father of two grown daughters. His leisure activities and hobbies include following sporting events , particularly rugby , arts and chamber music, and hiking in the Quantock Hills .

Membership in the House of Lords

Cassidy was a Spiritual Lord of the House of Lords from 2004 to 2009 . Cassidy's seat in the House of Lords was taken over by the Bishop of Blackburn , Nicholas Reade , from 2009 .

Cassidy's areas of political interest included the preservation of cultural heritage , environmental protection and the legal foundations of non-profit organizations . The countries Kenya and South Africa are of particular interest to him .

Working in public

Cassidy takes a conservative position on questions of canon law. He is assigned to the group of traditionalists in the Church of England. This was also evident in his general attitude towards the question of homosexuality . 2003 Cassidy signed an open letter as one of the bishops of the Church of England that the nomination of Jeffrey John , for, an openly gay priest who lived in a committed relationship Auxiliary Bishop of Reading by the Archbishop of Canterbury , Rowan Williams , rejected. The signatories also included the bishops of Bradford , Carlisle , Chester , Chichester , Exeter , Liverpool , Rochester and Winchester .

Cassidy is one of the most famous opponents of homosexual rights, for example he voted against the Equality Act on homosexual rights in the House of Lords in 2007 . Cassidy criticized in particular that the Equality Act of religious freedom and the freedom of faith towards the general individual human rights had been granted one to light weight. In the conflict area of ​​conflicting fundamental rights , the concerns of faith and religion were not sufficiently taken into account in his view.

On the occasion of his retirement, Cassidy expressed confidence about the future of the Church of England. Despite often negative prognoses from church critics, the church will meet the challenges of the time strongly and safely.

Cassidy was among the signatories of a declaration on October 7, 2008 calling for the protection of children from emotional and physical violence.

In 2009, Cassidy was a supporter of the Living Ghost Statement , a campaign by the Church Action against Poverty movement to combat destitution and homelessness among asylum seekers .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Vita George Cassidy  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Biography at Debrett's (excerpts available online)  
2. ↑ George Cassidy at the Church of England ( memento of the original from November 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Church of England home page , accessed December 14, 2009 
3. ↑ A message from George, Bishop of Southwell ( Memento of the original from May 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Nottingham Churches September 25, 1999  
4. ↑ Dioceses divided by the issue that won't go away The Guardian of June 19, 2003
5. ^ Christians protest, but gay regulations continue in force Church Times, January 12, 2007
6. ↑ Christians fight on gay Regulations Church Times, March 23, 2007
7. ↑ Speeches of Southwell and Winchester in Lords SORs debate ( Memento of the original dated May 3, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Speech by George Cassidy given at the House of Lords on March 21, 2007 (available online from the Anglican Mainstream homepage ) 
8. ↑ The Bishop of Southwell takes his final bow  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ThisisNottingham, July 20, 2009 (article reviewing the tenure of George Cassidy as Bishop of Southwell)  
9. ↑ Churches 'Network for Non-violence (CNNV) (PDF; 21 kB) Anglican Bishops' Statement in support of Equal Protection for Children from October 7, 2008
10. ^ List of church leaders support Living Ghosts statement. In: church-poverty.org.uk. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010 ; accessed on June 16, 2016 . 

predecessor	Office	successor
Patrick Harris	Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham 1999–2009	Paul Butler