 He then went to the Venerable English College in Rome, where he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Clifton on 11 July 1965, and subsequently received a Licentiate of Sacred Theology (STL).In 1981 he was appointed Administrator of Clifton Cathedral in Bristol and Vicar General of the Diocese of Clifton.While still in this post, he was appointed a member of the IBA's panel of religious advisers and in 1986 became a member of the Central Religious Advisory Committee (CRAC) for the BBC and the IBA.