[ 2014-10-05 ]

Catholism: Love bishop breaks silence
A ROMAN CATHOLIC bishop who has been forced to
resign after claims of a love affair with a
parishioner says he wants to remain a priest,
despite breaking his vows of celibacy.

Kieran Conry, the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton,
resigned last week after the estranged husband of
one of the women with whom he was said to have had
a relationship threatened to sue the church.

The man had hired a private detective to follow
his wife.

Conry, 63, says that he has received hundreds of
messages of support and only one angry response.

He has admitted one previous sexual relationship.
“I did wrong.” he said.

“Celibacy may be a tradition rather than an
article of faith but the vast majority of priests
are faithful to their promise.”

His resignation letter admitting that he had been
“unfaithful” to his promises as a priest drew
gasps among his congregation when it was read out
during mass.

In his first interview since his resignation,
Conry said he will do any job that comes his way
if he is allowed to stay.

“I’ve never regretted being a priest. I’ve
never felt unhappy, I’ve enjoyed it and tried to
do whatever was asked of me. I’ve always gone
where I’ve been sent and I hope to do the same
again,” he said.

A second love affair six years ago also came to
light and yesterday there were claims of a third
woman in his life.

Despite this the bishop said he had never
contemplated leaving the church: “I’m too old
to get married. I wouldn’t want to inflict
myself on anybody. I’m turning into a tired and
grumpy old man.”

The Vatican yesterday confirmed that Pope Francis
had accepted his resignation as a bishop, but
Conry hopes to remain in the church in some
capacity.

“A priest who gets into difficulties might be
asked to leave the priesthood but usually only if
a crime has been committed,” the bishop said.

In his resignation statement he made a point of
saying his actions “were not illegal and did not
involve minors”.

Source - The Times(UK)

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