THE Bishop of Guildford, the Rt Revd Andrew Watson, has been diagnosed with inoperable cancer, he announced in a letter to his diocese on Tuesday.
Stomach pain, an aversion to eating and consequent weight reduction had prompted a series of investigations within the New Year, Bishop Watson writes. On 12 January, these revealed “a considerable tumour in my pancreas, which is interacting with the nervous system that runs down my spinal cord. A CT scan also found smaller lesions in my liver.”
A subsequent biopsy and MRI scan had last week revealed “each the first tumour and the secondaries to be cancerous and inoperable”.
The Bishop writes that chemotherapy is probably going “to make life a little bit more comfortable”, and that he intends to proceed his episcopal duties in the meanwhile, at the least until Easter, “whilst recognising too that any decision we make at this point is necessarily provisional”.
He writes that “the speed of events because the turn of the brand new yr has been a severe shock to us and to our family, though we could hardly be higher placed when it comes to support. There have been tears, in fact, and lots of them (generally prompted by people saying nice things about us!); but that doesn’t preclude a really real sense of God’s presence in all of it.”
The news was acknowledged by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the course of the General Synod meeting in Church House, Westminster, this week. Bishop Watson, she said on Tuesday morning, was joining the sessions remotely, due to his recent diagnosis. She led members in a period of prayer for Bishop Watson and his family.
In his letter, Bishop Watson writes that he would deeply value prayers “for my family, for my senior team, and for the diocese at a time of quite such unexpected upheaval. Those with great faith might wish to hope for my complete healing, and that, in fact, could be wonderful; but ‘cheerfully persisting’ towards a superb death also bears testimony to our living Lord, and St Paul’s testimony — that ‘for me to live is Christ, to die is gain’ (Philippians 1 :21) — is the best comfort of all of them.”
He concluded: “Whatever the longer term holds, I remain deeply grateful to God for the journey of the past 64 years.”
A spokesperson for the diocese of Guildford said: “Having only just received this diagnosis, Bishop Andrew is currently awaiting further information regarding medical options to support his comfort and care. He has advised colleagues across the diocese that he hopes to proceed in his responsibilities as Bishop of Guildford for so long as his health permits. Further information regarding any practical implications and next steps might be shared in the approaching weeks.
“We ask that you simply keep Bishop Andrew, his wife Beverly, and their family in your thoughts and prayers during this extremely difficult time.”
