VATICAN CITY — Bishop Kieran Conry of the Dioceses of Arundel and Brighton in Great Britain announced his resignation Sept. 27 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 churches of the dioceses over the weekend.
In the 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 bishop 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.
In the official statement, Bishop Conry offered assurance that his actions were not illegal and did not involve minors.
“This is a sad and painful moment,” wrote Cardinal Vincent Nichols, president of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, in a brief statement following the announcement. “It makes clear that we are always a Church of sinners called to repentance and conversion and in need of God's mercy. All involved in this situation are much in my prayers today.”