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ARCHBISHOP BELTRAN

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April 13, 2008

The Good News...

...The Bishop-Elect

The announcement of Bishop Taylor’s appointment on the front page of this paper brings great honor to the Church of this Archdiocese.  The fact that our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has selected one of our own priests, recognizes that Bishop Taylor is a talented, energetic and faithful priest. It is also a tribute to the community of people of this Archdiocese for we are all one in Christ. Therefore, on behalf of the entire Catholic community of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, I extend our sincere congratulations to you, Bishop Anthony Taylor.

I also wish to congratulate Bishop Taylor’s parents, Basil and Rachel Taylor. As the Church clearly states, parents are the first and most important teachers of their children in the ways of faith. Your prayers, your efforts and your guidance enabled your son, Anthony, to become a good and faithful priest.  Now the Church recognizes this and calls him to greater duty and responsibility as a bishop.  Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Taylor and thank you for your son, the bishop-elect of Little Rock.

Over the more than 100-year history of the Church in Oklahoma, many priests and bishops have served here. However, it has been a long time since an Oklahoma priest has been called and ordained a bishop. In fact, it goes all the way back to 1972.  At that time, Reverend John Sullivan, who was then vicar of the Tulsa area, was appointed bishop of Grand Island, Neb. This means that Bishop Taylor is the first priest of Oklahoma called to be a bishop in 36 years! He is also the very first priest of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City to become a bishop.

Bishop Taylor was ordained a priest by Most Reverend Charles A. Salatka on Aug. 2, 1980, at Saint Mary Church in Ponca City. His very first assignment was as associate pastor at Sacred Heart Church in Oklahoma City. He remained there for two years. Over the next 26 years, he served numerous parishes in the Archdiocese and held many positions and ministries of service.  In addition, he had earned a doctorate in Biblical Theology from Fordham University.

Bishop Taylor’s last two pastor-ates are especially interesting. In September of 1993, he was appointed the first pastor of the newly established parish of Saint Monica in Edmond. In the short period of 10 years, he not only solidly organized the parish but he also spearheaded the construction of the parish hall and the large, beautiful parish church. Because of an urgent need for a pastor fluent in Spanish, Bishop Taylor was transferred from Saint Monica Church, Edmond, to Sacred Heart Church in Oklahoma City in May 2003. There he served most effectively and enthusiastically while continuing his role as Vicar for Ministries for the Archdiocese until his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI. It is interesting to note that in his first and last parish assignments in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, both were at Sacred Heart Church!

In addition to his many parish assignments, Bishop Taylor has accomplished so much in his other duties and areas of priestly service.  For example, after I received permission from the Congregation for the Cause of Saints to begin the difficult and lengthy process for the cause of the beatification and canonization of Reverend Stanley Rother, I needed someone to organize the procedure, conduct many, many interviews and prepare the Acts of the case for the next step. Therefore, I appointed Bishop Taylor to be the Episcopal delegate. In the short time since I appointed him to head up  this Tribunal, he has already accomplished a monumental number of the interviews and other tasks required and has the process well under way.

The announcement of Bishop Taylor’s selection by Pope Benedict XVI to be a bishop comes as no surprise to any of us who know him.  He has been a good and faithful priest. He is effective in whatever responsibility is entrusted to him.  He has a pastoral approach and will be an exceptional shepherd of God’s people. We will greatly miss him here in Oklahoma but are thankful to have had his priestly ministry the past 28 years. Truly our loss is the universal Catholic Church’s gain.  Bishop Taylor, you have our love, our support and our prayers. Congratu-lations and God bless you.