Murphy-O’Connor, Cormac (1932-2017), a Roman Catholic clergyman, served as archbishop of Westminster and head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales from 2000 to 2009. He had been bishop of Arundel and Brighton from 1977 to 2000. Pope John Paul II appointed him a cardinal in 2001.
While he was bishop of Arundel and Brighton, Murphy-O’Connor was known as a liberal member of the Roman Catholic Church. He supported ecumenism, the principle of worldwide Christian harmony and unity. In 1982, Murphy-O’Connor became co-chairman of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, a joint effort by the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church to reduce differences on doctrine between the two churches. In the following year, he became chairman of the Committee for Christian Unity, a group of Catholic bishops that investigates ways to bring Christian denominations closer together.
Cormac Murphy-O’Connor was born on Aug. 24, 1932, in Reading, Berkshire, England, and educated at the Venerable English College in Rome. He was ordained in 1956. Upon his return to England, he worked as an assistant priest in Portsmouth and Fareham until 1966. He then served for four years as secretary and chaplain to Derek Worlock, the bishop of Portsmouth. In 1970, Murphy-O’Connor worked as a parish priest in Portswood, Southampton, before returning in 1971 to the Venerable English College in Rome as its rector (head). He died on Sept. 1, 2017.
