An Interview with Bishop Declan

When Bishop Declan came to St Joseph’s, Portishead for his Visitation, he was kind enough to let us interview him for the Parish Magazine. Before the interview we were nervous but the Bishop soon put us at our ease.

Not knowing much about bishops, we were agreeably surprised to find he was quite normal! We find it reassuring that as a teenager he thought going to church rather boring but went along as it was part of family life. Nowadays, in his leisure time, he enjoys walking, eating out with friends, going to the cinema and as a special treat, the theatre.

When we asked him who had inspired him to become a priest, he replied, in the first place, Christ. He was also inspired by the example of his family and people like his parish priest. He said he had become a priest because he thought this was the best way for him to serve God and people. Now he is inspired by ordinary people who live their faith and also Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador who was shot by people who did not like what he was saying on behalf of the poor.

Now as a bishop his aims are to encourage a lively and vibrant church because that is the sign of God’s presence. Bishop Declan felt that God was often to be found in unexpected places and at unexpected moments and he had particularly seen God in the Youth Mass held that morning at St Joseph’s.

The Bishop’s message for young people today is an uplifting one; young people are important for the life of the church because they are the church. Young people must be appreciated and respected for who they are.

We felt privileged and honoured to speak at such an informal level with the Bishop and we are grateful that he replied so frankly to our questions.

Lucy Mitchell & Charlotte Harris

This article was first published in the March 2004 edition of St Joseph’s Parish Magazine