63 year old Kieran Conry, Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, resigned last week after admitting breaking his vow of celibacy, following an affair with a woman six years ago. The estranged husband of one of the women with whom he was said to have had a relationship has also threatened to sue the church. High-flying City banker Simon Hodgkinson said, despite proof of Bishop Kieran Conry’s affair with his wife Olivia, the clergyman continues to deny it. Mr Hodgkinson had this to say about his wife’s affair with the bishop:

‘I thought it was odd when she didn’t arrive at choir practice because normally she would never miss one. I went to her house to drop some music through her letterbox but she wasn’t at home.

‘By then it was about 10pm and I thought it was really weird. I decided it was time to test my suspicion that she was having an affair.
‘I went up to the bishop’s residence and her car was there. I checked and it was there all night. I was devastated.
‘I thought the bishop was someone who was honest and liberal. He is a man who has trained marriage counsellors – and is someone I had seriously thought of turning to for advice in relation to my own marriage.
‘Now, because he was such a powerful public figure, I could not go to anyone in the Church. I wanted to protect my family, I wanted to protect the children but I did not know what to do.


The disgraced bishop Kieran Conry said:



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"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. ‘When a priest makes a promise of celibacy, he promises to remain unmarried, that’s all. Then the ordinary rules of morality apply. ‘But I’d like to make it clear I’m not calling for a change. I did wrong. Celibacy may be a tradition rather than an article of faith but the vast majority of priests are faithful to their promise, faithful to what the church expects of them. And I have great respect and admiration for that."