19 Facts About Kieran Conry

Kieran Thomas Conry was born on 1 February 1951 and is a Roman Catholic bishop.

Kieran Conry was the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton from 2001 until his resignation in 2014.

Kieran Conry attended the Pontifical Gregorian University, gaining the qualifications PhB and STB.

Kieran Conry was ordained in 1975 at All Souls Church in Coventry by Archbishop George Patrick Dwyer of Birmingham.

In 1976, Kieran Conry returned to Cotton College to teach English literature and religious education.

In 1988, Kieran Conry returned to the Archdiocese of Birmingham as parish priest in Leek, Staffordshire.

Kieran Conry was appointed Administrator of St Chad's Cathedral in 1990, just before its 150th anniversary the following year.

From 1988 to 1993, Kieran Conry was a member of the National Conference of Priests, and its Vice-Chairman from 1992 to 1993.

Kieran Conry was Chairman of the Birmingham City Centre Churches from 1992 to 1993.

On 8 May 2001, Kieran Conry was appointed the fourth Bishop of Arundel and Brighton by Pope John Paul II.

On 27 September 2014, Kieran Conry announced his resignation as Bishop of Arundel and Brighton with immediate effect for having "been unfaithful to [his] promises as a Catholic priest" and bringing "shame" on the diocese and the Church.

Kieran Conry announced his resignation when it became apparent that the press was about to out the fact that he had been having an affair with an adult married woman.

Kieran Conry has said that society has lost its sense of the transcendent and urged Christians to "proclaim the gospel into a void that needs to be filled if we are to find our way again; there is a space in all people that can only be filled by God".

Kieran Conry has been critical of going to confession regularly, saying that, in his experience, people would always come back saying the same things week after week, suggesting that no interior conversion or repentance was actually taking place.

Kieran Conry stated that, by suggesting Catholics speak to their priests about "the biggest obstacle" in their relationship with God, he was not suggesting an alternative to the traditional practice of confessing sins.

Kieran Conry is reported to have stated that Summorum Pontificum does not suggest significant change because the Tridentine Mass caters for a small group of people.

Kieran Conry added that he had never refused permission when a group of people asked if they could celebrate it in his diocese.

Kieran Conry has argued against changing the date of Easter in a sense that would separate it from its Jewish roots of Passover, adding that it would be difficult to have all the different ecclesial communities to agree on a same date.

Kieran Conry has stated that the Catholic Church supports civil partnerships, because they can confer to couples, including homosexual couples, legal protection in matters such as inheritance.