Catholic Bishop resigns after his affair with married woman is exposed

A British bishop has resigned after admitting to having an affair with a married woman in his parish. The Vatican said on Monday that Pope Francis accepted his resignation.

The statement said: “The Holy Father Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Kieran Conry from the dioceses of Arundel and Brighton”.

The Archbishop of Southwark Peter Smith has been named the Apostolic Administrator of the diocese until a new bishop is appointed.

In a letter to his parishioners, Conry said that he had veered from the precepts of the Catholic Church but noted that his actions “were not illegal and did not involve minors.”

The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Vincent Nichols, described it as a “difficult and sad moment”.

Conry’s affair with the woman was exposed when her husband hired a private detective monitor her after their marriage collapsed.

Conry was appointed bishop of Arundel and Brighton in southeast England by Pope John Paul II in 2001