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Anthony Taylor (bishop)
Encyclopedia
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Little Rock
Roman Catholic Diocese of Little Rock
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Little Rock is a Roman Catholic diocese in Arkansas. It was founded on November 28, 1843.-History:A dozen Catholic priests accompanied Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto down the Mississippi River in 1541 to a Quapaw Indian village near present-day Helena-West Helena,...
in the USA by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
on 10 April 2008, the seventh bishop of the diocese. He was ordained on June 5, 2008 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.
Taylor attended parochial and public schools, graduating from Ponca City, Oklahoma
Ponca City, Oklahoma
Ponca City is a small city in Kay and Osage counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, which was named after the Ponca Tribe. Located in north central Oklahoma, it lies approximately south of the Kansas border, and approximately east of Interstate 35. 25,919 people called Ponca City home at the...
in 1972. He attended the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
for two years, after which he was accepted as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. He was ordained a priest on 2 August 1980 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
. He earned a Ph.D. in biblical theology in 1989 from Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
.
Childhood
Taylor was born in Fort Worth, TexasFort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, the oldest of seven children. His parents and grandparents on both sides were long-time residents of Fort Worth. Two of his grandparents are converts (his mother's father from Judaism and his father's mother from Protestantism) and both of his parents, as well as the Taylor children themselves, were raised in a solid traditional Catholic home.
Anthony Taylor is the oldest of the seven children of Basil and Rachel (Roth) Taylor; the five boys and two girls were born in a little over nine years. The Taylor family moved to Ponca City, Okla., in 1960, where Bishop Taylor's parents and two of his siblings and their families still live—the other four live in Fort Worth and Dallas. Ponca City is on the Arkansas River in northern Oklahoma.
Taylor attended parochial and public schools, graduating from Ponca City High School in 1972. He attended the University of Oklahoma for two years, after which he was accepted as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.
Holy orders
He attended St. Meinrad Seminary College in Indiana for two years, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history. From 1976 to 1980 he was trained for the priesthood at the North American CollegePontifical North American College
The Pontifical North American College is a Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy educating seminarians for the dioceses in the United States and providing a residence for American priests studying in Rome. It was founded in 1859 by Blessed Pope Pius IX and was granted pontifical...
in Rome while studying theology at the Gregorian University, and was ordained a priest at St. Mary Parish in Ponca City, his home parish, on August 2, 1980.
Taylor has been involved with Hispanic ministry from the start of his career. His first assignment was to Sacred Heart Parish, Oklahoma City, and within a month of ordination he had begun to celebrate mass in Spanish twice a month in Clinton
Clinton, Oklahoma
Clinton is a city in Custer and Washita counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 9,033 at the 2010 census.-History:The community began in 1899 when two men, J.L. Avant and E.E...
and Hinton, Oklahoma
Hinton, Oklahoma
Hinton is a town in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,175 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hinton is located at , elevation 1,676 feet ....
. In 1982 he was transferred to western Oklahoma, where he lived at Queen of All Saints mission in Sayre
Sayre, Oklahoma
Sayre is a city in and the county seat of Beckham County, in Western Oklahoma, the United States. It is half-way between Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Amarillo, Texas on Interstate 40 and the former U.S. Route 66. The population was 4,375 at the 2010 census....
until 1986 and served the Hispanic population in a five-county area, including ongoing ministry in Clinton and Hinton.
In 1984 Archbishop Salatka decided to send Taylor to Fordham University in New York for further studies. He took classes there during the summers of 1984 and 1985, and then full time from 1986 to 1988. During this time he served Holy Rosary Parish in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
. Fordham University awarded Taylor a doctorate in biblical theology in 1989. The title of his dissertation was "The Master-Servant Type Scene in the Parables of Jesus".
Upon his return to Oklahoma, Taylor was named the vicar for ministries of the archdiocese. He was responsible for ministry to priests and, for a number of years, was also responsible for the permanent diaconate program. He had specific responsibility for the orientation and oversight of the international priests serving in Oklahoma, for the newly ordained in their first year of ministry and new pastors in their first year as pastors. He remained the vicar for ministries for 20 years, until being named bishop of Little Rock.
In 1993 Taylor also became the founding pastor of St. Monica Parish in Edmond, Oklahoma
Edmond, Oklahoma
Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in the central part of the state. As of the 2010 census, the population was 81,405, making it the sixth largest city in the state of Oklahoma....
, which is a total stewardship parish. During his 10 years at St. Monica, the parish grew rapidly and dedicated a large church in the 2000. In 2003 Taylor returned to Sacred Heart Parish in Oklahoma City as pastor and has overseen the last phase of its transition from predominately Anglophone to predominately Hispanic. The parish is now 95 percent Hispanic, and has nine masses on the weekend, seven in Spanish, one bilingual and one in English.
From 1963 to 2001 the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City sponsored and staffed the parish of Santiago Atitlán
Santiago Atitlán
Santiago Atitlán is a municipality in the Sololá department of Guatemala. The town is situated on Lago de Atitlán, which has an elevation of . The town sits on a bay of Lago Atitlan between two volcanos. Volcan San Pedro rises to west of town; Volcan Toliman rises to southeast of town. Volcan...
, Guatemala. In 1981 Oklahoma priest Father Stanley Rother
Stanley Rother
Stanley Francis Rother was a Catholic priest and missionary to Guatemala. He was murdered by a death squad, believed to be made up of right-wing extremists and elements of the Guatemalan Army, on July 28, 1981....
was killed there, as were many of his catechists and parishioners during the 1980s. In 2001 the parish was returned to the care of the local diocese of Sololá, but the Catholics of Oklahoma continue to be involved in providing assistance to that parish.
Since then Taylor has been in charge of facilitating Oklahoma support for that parish, its parish school, the local hospital and most recently an alcohol abuse treatment center planned for that community. The cause of canonization of Father Rother was opened formally in September 2007, with Taylor heading up the effort as the episcopal delegate for the process. To date he has interviewed 35 of the 112 surviving witnesses to Father Rother's martyrdom or heroic virtue, 23 of these in Guatemala.
At the time he was selected for Little Rock, Taylor was also the chairman of the Presbyteral Council, chairman of the Personnel Board, chairman of the Retirement Board, a member of the Archdiocesan Finance Council and a member of the Mount St. Mary High School Board of Trustees. Mount St. Mary in Oklahoma City is a sister school of Mount St. Mary Academy in Little Rock.
Quotes
- "Jesus' preferential love of the poor and marginalizedSocial justiceSocial justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
was courageous, not timid, and so must we also be if we are to be his faithful servants."
- "Today it is obvious that to the extent that we allow our intervention in Iraq to degenerate into nothing more than the disordered pursuit of power [our sphere of influence], possessions [access to oil], pleasure [our privileged way of life] or prestige [our status as a superpower], the sacrifices of our soldiers will be in vain." - 3rd Sunday of Lent, Yr B Preached at St. Benedict parish, Subiaco, AR and Holy Redeemer parish, Clarksville, AR on March 15, 2009, both times in the context of a mass in which teenagers receive the sacrament of Confirmation.
- "And let’s not forget that his victims weren’t poor people, most were already rich people who wanted to get a whole lot richer and so were taken in by Madoff’s promises, which were by all accounts too-good-to-be-true. Gullible investors blinded by their own pursuit of possessions…and the power, pleasure and prestige that money can buy." - 3rd Sunday of Lent, Yr B Preached at St. Benedict parish, Subiaco, AR and Holy Redeemer parish, Clarksville, AR on March 15, 2009, both times in the context of a Mass in which teenagers receive the sacrament of Confirmation.
See also
- Roman Catholic ChurchRoman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Little RockRoman Catholic Diocese of Little RockThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Little Rock is a Roman Catholic diocese in Arkansas. It was founded on November 28, 1843.-History:A dozen Catholic priests accompanied Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto down the Mississippi River in 1541 to a Quapaw Indian village near present-day Helena-West Helena,...