A former Bishop of Swansea & Brecon has appeared at Swansea Crown Court, charged with sexual offences.
The Rt Revd Anthony Pierce, 84, pleaded guilty to five counts of indecent assault on a male child under the age of 16.
Bishop Pierce, who was Bishop of Swansea & Brecon from 1999 until 2008, was remanded on bail. He is expected to be sentenced on 7 March.
The allegations came to light in 2023 when the survivor made a disclosure to a Church in Wales’ safeguarding officer. The disclosure was passed to the police for further investigation. The Church in Wales Disciplinary Tribunal will consider further action once sentencing has taken place.
The Church in Wales issued a statement on Friday, acknowledging the bravery of the survivor in coming forward, and thanking the police and other statutory partners for their “careful work” on the case.
“The Church in Wales is appalled at the offenses which have been revealed in this case and expresses its deepest sympathy with the victim for the abuse they have suffered.
“It is a cause of the most profound shame that a priest in the Church in Wales should have been convicted of such shocking crimes. Our prayers are with the survivor and with all victims of abuse, whose welfare must always be at the heart of our work.
“We hope that the manner with which the disclosure was handled when it came to light in 2023 will give confidence that the Church is serious about dealing firmly and decisively with any such cases.”
The church said some members may have been aware of a further allegation made against Mr Pierce in 1993 and said it had commissioned an immediate review into how this was handled.
“There is no place for any form of abuse in the Church in Wales. We give the highest priority to the care and protection of children and vulnerable people in our communities.
“To this end, we regularly review our safeguarding procedures and provide extensive training to staff and volunteers.”
In a letter to parishioners, the current bishop of Swansea and Brecon, the Right Reverend John Lomas, said that this case was “deeply shocking”.
“We are perhaps beyond the stage of expressing shock when we discover a person in a position of trust has used that position to sexually abuse a vulnerable person.
“It feels at the moment that you can hardly read, hear or watch the news without learning of the latest incident.
“But I know this particular case will be deeply shocking to so many of you. This isn’t a person you’ve read about or seen on TV.
“Tony Pierce was your parish priest, your archdeacon, your bishop. The Diocese is full of people baptised, confirmed, or ordained by him.”
