Bishop Moth to replace Conry in Arundel and Brighton

A new Bishop of Arundel and Brighton has been appointed to succeed Kieran Conry, who resigned last September having admitted to being unfaithful to his vow of celibacy, writes Christopher Lamb.

Pope Francis last Saturday named Bishop Richard Moth, currently Bishop of the Forces, to lead the diocese which this year celebrates its fiftieth anniversary. Bishop Emeritus Kieran Conry resigned after a newspaper revealed his intimate friendship with a married woman. Although he denied a sexual relationship with that individual he admitted he had had an affair with another woman that lasted six years.

Bishop Moth, 56, is chairman of the governors of St Mary’s University, Twickenham, the episcopal liaison for prisons and holds a brief on mental-health issues for the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. He is a priest of the Archdiocese of Southwark and a Benedictine oblate.