John Rawsthorne


John Anthony Rawsthorne is a retired English Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Hallam from 1997 to 2014.

Early Life and education

Born in Crosby, Lancashire, he was the eldest son of Harold Rawsthorne and Miriam Rawsthorne, née Harrop. He has two brothers, Paul and Christopher, and three sisters, Elizabeth, Ann, and Katherine. After attending St. Joseph's College in Upholland, he was ordained to the priesthood on 16 June 1962 by the then Archbishop of Liverpool, John Carmel Heenan.

Ministry

Until 1965, Rawsthorne studied natural sciences, and was then assigned to pastoral work in West Derby, Croxteth, Childwall, and Liverpool; he also worked in religious education.
On 9 November 1981, Rawsthorne was appointed an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Liverpool and titular bishop of Rotdon by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 16 December 1981 from Archbishop Derek Worlock, with bishops Kevin O'Connor and Anthony Hitchen serving as co-consecrators.

Bishop of Hallam

Following the resignation of Bishop Gerald Moverley, Rawsthorne was appointed the second Bishop of Hallam on 4 June 1997. Rawsthorne is a keen walker and takes part in a sponsored walk every year to raise money to support St. Wilfrid's Drop-in Day Centre in Sheffield. He is also an active member of with the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, especially with education and youth work.
On his 75th birthday in 2011, in accordance with Canon 401 §1 of the Latin Church Code of Canon Law, Bishop Rawsthorne offered his resignation as Bishop of Hallam to Pope Benedict XVI, but was refused and remained in office for the next three years. On 20 May 2014, it was announced by the Vatican that Pope Francis had appointed the Right Reverend Ralph Heskett, Bishop of Gibraltar to succeed Rawsthorne as Bishop of Hallam.
On his retirement the Diocese of Hallam drew attention to several important aspects of his ministry and thanked him for his commitment as Bishop "Prominent among his contributions has been the ecumenical and interfaith aspect of his work in which, through the warmth and trust of his relationships with other Faith leaders in the City of Sheffield and beyond, he has been able to provide, with them, a united voice against extremism and have a positive and healing influence."
The appreciation continued "Bishop John has a very strong sense of the universality of the Church and the need for action to help those suffering and in trouble and in his role as the Chair of the Trustees of CAFOD he has not only visited parts of the world like Liberia where CAFOD provides practical support for displaced people, but also places like El Salvador where the Church has been intimately involved with those oppressed. He has brought these experiences back to the diocese which has strong links with CAFOD and an appreciation of the importance of Justice and Peace in our communities and in the world."''