UNITED KINGDOM
Catholic News Agency
By Ann Schneible
Vatican City, Sep 28, 2014 / 10:59 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Kieran Conry of the U.K. dioceses of Arundel and Brighton has announced his resignation after revealing he has been “unfaithful” to his “promises as a Catholic priest.”
“I am sorry for the shame that I have brought on the diocese and the Church and I ask for your prayers and forgiveness,” he said in a brief statement, which has been read in all the Church’s of the dioceses over the weekend.
In the Sept. 27 announcement, the bishop wrote: “going back some years, I have been unfaithful to my promises as a Catholic priest.”
“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 apologize first of all to the individuals hurt by my actions,” the statement read, “and then to all of those inside and outside the diocese who will be shocked, hurt and saddened to hear this.”
According to a report by The Daily Mail, the reasons behind Bishop Conry’s resignation involved a relationship with a woman six years prior. The U.K. publication also alleges that the prelate was involved more recently with a married woman and mother of two children. According to the report, the bishop denied this more recent affair as having anything to do his decision to step down.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.