By all accounts, the ordination of Kieran Conry was a suitably dignified and solemn affair. Hundreds of worshippers filled the vast neo-Gothic spaces of Arundel Cathedral in West Sussex to watch him be installed as their new Roman Catholic bishop in June 2001.
But even as the car mechanic’s son from Coventry lay prostrate on the Cathedral’s stone floor to show his humility before God in the historic ceremony, rumours were circulating about his suitability for the weighty role ahead of him.
This week, after more than 13 years as Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, 63-year-old Conry dramatically resigned after revelations of love affairs with two parishioners — one of them a 43-year-old married mother-of-two — admitting that he had been ‘unfaithful to his promises’ as a priest.
But his insistence that the Catholic Church knew nothing about his affairs has been met with a chorus of disbelief — and not just from the husband of one of the women.
The husband is now consulting lawyers after claiming to have proof that the Catholic authorities did know about Conry’s behaviour, and simply chose to turn a blind eye to it.
There are growing calls from leading Catholics for a Papal inquiry into who within the Church knew what, and when.
As Conry’s resignation threatens to plunge the Church into yet another scandal, Britain’s most senior Catholic cleric, Cardinal Archbishop Vincent Nichols, has refused to comment on accusations of yet another cover-up.
But an investigation by the Mail reveals firm evidence that fears about Conry’s celibacy were indeed being raised even before he became a bishop in 2001, and suggests the existence of a third woman in his life.
I have discovered that the claims circulating about Conry were then printed in a Catholic publication — an influential international monthly magazine sent to every Catholic diocese, or district, in Britain, as well as to the Pope himself in Rome — as long as 12 years ago.
The January 2002 edition of Christian Order, which is published in Britain, quoted an unnamed priest saying: ‘Kieran was often seen out and about with his female friend. Everyone knew about it.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2780050/How-Church-covered-Casanova-bishop-12-years-The-Catholic-Bishop-Brighton-resigned-two-affairs-parishioners-s-linked-THIRD.html#ixzz3FJWm2b6T
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
 |
| Concerns: An investigation reveals firm evidence that fears about Conry’s celibacy were indeed being raised even before he installed as bishop in 2001 at Arundel Cathedral in West Sussex, above. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2780050/How-Church-covered-Casanova-bishop-12-years-The-Catholic-Bishop-Brighton-resigned-two-affairs-parishioners-s-linked-THIRD.html#ixzz3FJbGgWDb Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook |
Two WELS officials (Paul Kuske and Jon Buchholz) laughed when they admitted they knew about the unfitness of two different guys adored by the Church Shrinkers. WELS Pastor Fred Adrian knew about his vicar's affair with a minor.
---
Pope accepts resignation of British bishop after report of affair
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of a leading British Roman Catholic Bishop who acknowledged that he had broken his vows and who was believed to have had an affair with a married woman, the Vatican said on Saturday.
Bishop Kieran Conry of the diocese of Arundel and Brighton, one of Britain's largest, disclosed in an announcement posted on the diocese's website last week that for years he had been "unfaithful to my promises as a Roman Catholic priest" and had decided to offer his resignation.
He apologized for the "shame that I have brought on the diocese and the Church" but he said his actions were not illegal and did not involve minors.
Neither Conry's statement nor the Vatican statement gave any details of how the 63-year-old bishop had broken his vows, but British media reported that he had had a long-running affair with a married woman some 20 years his junior.
Roman Catholic priests take a life-long vow of celibacy. Bishops normally retire at age 75 but Church law says they should offer to step down earlier if their actions have brought shame on the Church.
