Anthony Taylor (bishop)

infobox bishopstyles
name=Anthony Taylor
dipstyle=The Most Reverend
offstyle=Your Excellency
relstyle=Monsignor
deathstyle=none |

Anthony Basil Taylor is the current Roman Catholic Bishop of Little Rock, since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 10 April 2008.

He was born in Fort Worth, Texas on 24 April 1954, the oldest of seven children.

Taylor attended parochial and public schools, graduating from Ponca City, Oklahoma 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.

Taylor was ordained a priest on 2 August 1980 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He earned a Ph.D. in biblical theology in 1989 from Fordham University . The title of his dissertation was “"The Master-Servant Type Scene in the Parables of Jesus."”. He is described as "beyond fluent" in Spanish. He also speaks German, Italian and French. He is known for an intense social justice bent. He is known to have led the Archdiocese of Oklahoma's opposition to HB1804, the country's most stringent measure to crack down on undocumented workers. Before his appointment the vacany of the Little Rock diocese was the American Church's longest vacancy at 23 months.

He was raised to the episcopate and consecrated on 5 June 2008. His episcopal motto is "The humble shall inherit the earth"

Quotes

*"Jesus' preferential love of the poor and marginalised was courageous, not timid, and so must we also be if we are to be his faithful servants."

Trivia

*Taylor is the first Oklahoma City priest named a bishop since John Sullivan was appointed to lead Nebraska's diocese of Grand Island in 1972.

ee also

* Roman Catholic Church
* Roman Catholic Diocese of Little Rock

References

* [http://dolr.org/newbishopbiography.php Diocese of Little Rock] . Anthony Basil Taylor Curriculum Vitae (2007). Retrieved on 30 April 2008.

External links

* [http://dolr.org/index.php Homepage of the Diocese of Little Rock]
* [http://dolr.org/newbishopbiography.php Biography of Bishop Taylor]