THE
P RTAL
May 2017
Page 7
The Bishop for Prisons
Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane meet Bishop Richard Moth
A s the
Ordinariate has priests who work in Prisons as Chaplains, The Portal thought we ought to
speak with Bishop Richard Moth. He is the Bishop who looks after prison ministry for the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
Bishop Richard is warm, welcoming and One of the things that I picked up on very quickly is the
straightforward. He put us at our ease as soon as we charity, PACT. A few years ago, I was asked to give the
annual Harold Hood Lecture, arranged by PACT, and
entered the room at his home in Sussex.
spoke about the needs of women in prison. Some 48%
Born in Zambia in 1958, he was brought up in Kent. of women in prison have a diagnosed mental health
He was ordained a Priest on 3rd July 1982, serving problem – there will be others that are not diagnosed.
as assistant priest at St Bede’s, Clapham Park, before So, in the lectur e I suggested that the time had come to
pursuing studies in Canon Law in Canada. In 1987, look at women’s sentencing.
he served at Lewisham, and as a Territorial Army
I’m not saying that there aren’t some women who
Chaplain.
merit a long sentence, but for a lot of them things
He was Private Secretary to Archbishop Michael like a shorter period of incarceration, tagging and
Bowen from 1992 until 2001, and also President more work with probation services, could be a better
of the Inter-diocesan Tribunal of Second Instance approach.
of Southwark and Vocations Director. In 2001, he
The impact on children is massive. On that occasion,
was appointed Vicar General and Chancellor of the
I mentioned one case where the grandparents were
Diocese.
looking after the children. When they went to court
In September 2009 he was appointed Bishop of the to apply for new funding, those children thought they
Armed Forces by Pope Benedict XVI. He is Chair weren’t going to be coming home “because mummy
of Governors at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, hadn’t”. Such issues are not untypical.
Liaison Bishop both for Prisons and for the National
There is a lot of interest from the catholic newspapers
Catholic Scout Fellowship and holds a brief on Mental
Health on behalf of the Bishops’ Conference of England about the number of non-accidental deaths in
prison: suicides. Because the numbers have gone up
and Wales.
significantly, I’ve been asked a great deal in the last
In March 2015, he was announced as the 5th Bishop couple of months for a comment about this.
of the diocese of Arundel & Brighton and was installed
“Staffing in our prisons is a big challenge. Thankfully,
at Arundel Cathedral on 28 May 2015.
government has recognised that we need to do
Bishop Richard told us, “The Bishops’ Conference something about prisons and it is to be hoped that the
for England and Wales appoints liaison bishops for next government will continue to make ground in this
different areas of the Church’s pastoral activity. I’ve regard.
got prisons, mental health and scouts. Of course, the
“When prisons are short staffed it becomes difficult
mental health role is closely interlinked with prisons.
to give appropriate time for ‘association’, where inmates
“In 2010, funding was available and we were able to mix on the wings. It becomes difficult for them to go
run a small grants scheme, giving grants to a number to church or to the gym or attend courses they should
of initiatives concerned with mental health, one of be following. When staffing is short, prisoners stay in
which interestingly was the needs of Irish travellers in their cells and that then produces its own problems.
prison. They have a particular culture and particular It’s a bit like the lid on a pressure cooker. Eventually,
needs. Prison is hard for someone used to travelling when the time comes to lift the lid, problems ensue.
and this results in mental health issues for a number
There are also issues where people, as part of their
of them.
sentence, have to complete courses. It is part of their
“I’ve held the role for Prisons for four years now. tariff. There have been a few occasions I believe, where