THE Pope has appointed a new bishop for Arundel and Brighton.

Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Richard Moth, currently Bishop of the Forces, as Bishop of Arundel & Brighton.

Bishop Richard replaces Kieran Conry who, as reported in The Argus last September, had been "unfaithful to [his] promises as a Catholic priest”.

Mr Conry resigned the day before claims in a national newspaper that he had written a love letter to a married woman, who is claimed to have spent several nights at his home.

Bishop Moth will be the fifth Bishop of Arundel & Brighton.

Bishop Moth said: “It is a great privilege to have been appointed by Pope Francis as the new Bishop of Arundel and Brighton and I am very conscious of the trust that has been placed in me.

“In these last fifty years since the foundation of the Diocese, so much has been done to build up the Church and in the proclamation of the Gospel and, with God’s help, I look to guide and serve the Diocese to that same end.”

Bishop Moth was ordained a priest in 1982 and served as a priest in parishes in the Archdiocese of Southwark including acting as Vicar General and Chancellor of the Archdiocese before being ordained Bishop of the Forces in September 2009.