John Patrick Crowley

Who is John Patrick Crowley?

John Patrick Crowley is a retired Roman Catholic bishop of Diocese of Middlesbrough, England, who carries the honorary title of Bishop Emeritus.

He was ordained a priest in 1965, and, as secretary to Cardinal Basil Hume, was appointed an auxiliary bishop, as titular Bishop of Tala, for the Archdiocese of Westminster, in 1986. In this post he had particular oversight of the diocese's parishes in Central London. On 3 November 1992 he became the 6th Bishop of Middlesbrough.

In June 2001 Crowley agreed to celebrate Mass at a service of thanksgiving for a 25-year homosexual partnership between two Catholics, but withdrew at the last minute after a telephone call from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, who reportedly asked him not to attend. There was further controversy in 2005 when, during a radio interview, Crowley expressed the hope that married priests might be allowed in the Church within his lifetime.

His resignation from his post ten years before the customary date, which he said was due to the toll of pressures of leadership in a particularly challenging era for the Church, was accepted by the Holy See in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law in May 2007.