Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of a British bishop who stood down after admitting to an affair with a married parishioner, the Vatican said on Monday.
“The Holy Father Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Kieran Conry from the dioceses of Arundel and Brighton,” a statement said.
Conry, 64, had said in a letter to his parishioners that he had veered from the precepts of the Catholic church but underscored that his actions “were not illegal and did not involve minors.”
The statement, which will be read in all churches of the diocese this weekend, said: “I am sorry to confess that, going back some years, I have been unfaithful to my promises as a Catholic priest.
“I would like to reassure you that my actions were not illegal and did not involve minors.
“As a result, however, I have decided to offer my resignation as bishop with immediate effect and will now take some time to consider my future.
“I want to apologise first of all to the individuals hurt by my actions and then to all of those inside and outside the diocese who will be shocked, hurt and saddened to hear this.
“I am sorry for the shame that I have brought on the diocese and the Church and I ask for your prayers and forgiveness.”
Mr Conry, 63, was accused of writing a love letter to the parishioner during an affair six years ago.
He is also understood to have become close to the married mother after her marriage hit a crisis last year. The illicit relationship became exposed when the woman’s estranged husband hired a private detective to follow his wife after the break-down of their marriage.
Earlier this year he denied having a sexual relationship with her but admitted she had twice stayed at his home in Pease Pottage, West Sussex.
According to reports in the British press, Conry, who was appointed by Pope John Paul II in 2001 as bishop of Arundel and Brighton in southeast England, had an affair with a married woman.
The Archbishop of Southwark Peter Smith has been named the Apostolic Administrator of the diocese until a new bishop takes up the office.
The head of the Catholic church in England and Wales, Vincent Nichols, said it was a “difficult and sad moment”.
