He may still be only bishop-elect but the next head of the Catholic church in Sussex has already shown glimpses of the warmth and mettle he will need.

Monsignor Kieran Conry was just nine weeks into his new job as a parish priest when a call on his mobile phone changed his life.

On the end of the line was Pope John Paul's representative in Great Britain and 20 minutes later, Mgr Conry was sitting in his office to be offered a job.

Now he is to become the new Bishop of Arundel and Brighton in charge of its 116 parishes dotted throughout Sussex and most of neighbouring Surrey.

He succeeds the now Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, who left the job to become Archbishop of Westminster, succeeding the late and much-loved Cardinal Basil Hume.

The new Bishop takes over the reins at a difficult time as it still reels from a child sex scandal which broke in Sussex and other pressures including falling congregations.

He also succeeds a man who, despite the outcry over the activities of one of his priests, is remembered with affection and regarded as having enormous charisma and warmth.

Eight years as head of the Catholic Media Office in London, dealing with journalists on a daily basis, meant that Mgr Conry knew the Father Michael Hill scandal would be high on the agenda as his appointment was confirmed.

And he was prepared to tackle it head-on, making it clear that there was no place for child abusers within the church.

Mgr Conry said that he expected every Bishop to back a series of recommendations, due to be published later this year in the wake of an interim report by Lord Nolan, who headed a review body set-up by the church.

He said: "Everyone must raise their hand and say I agree to this."

The review came in the wake of the Hill case and Mgr Conry admitted that it "cast a shadow" over the church.

Suddenly the calls to the media office were less about traditional Catholic issues such as celibacy, contraception and abortion, and more about child abuse.

He said the Nolan review was a "vital and crucial" step for the church.

"Child abuse must be eradicated and we must guarantee the safety of children as far as that is possible."

The review was set up by his mentor, and now close friend, Cardinal Murphy O'Connor, who was Rector of the English College in Rome when Mgr Conry was first studying for the priesthood 25 years ago.

It followed the case of Father Hill, who served three-and-a-half years of a five-year jail term for nine sex attacks. They included an offence against a boy with learning difficulties who he met at Gatwick airport chapel, where he was chaplain.

The Cardinal was criticised when it emerged that Hill had been posted to the airport even though concerns had been raised about his behaviour in the past.

He later maintained that he had acted correctly based on the information available to him at the time.

The Nolan review is expected to lead to new guidelines and procedures aimed at giving greater protection to children in the church's care, a vital issue as the Arundel and Brighton Diocese also contains 90 Catholic schools.

The new Bishop is genuinely passionate about the need to rid the church of paedophiles and smiles at a suggestion that his time as media director meant he was a "spin doctor" for the Catholic church in Britain.

He said communications for the church are vital and it must not be paranoid about the media. There was no attempt, he says, to deny that congregations are falling or to try and "massage the figures."

He added: "We did have the respect of journalists because we tried to tell the truth."

Mgr Conry takes over a diocese which has a weekly Mass attendance of 43,377 people but that is about one quarter of its estimated total Catholic population.

He believes that falling congregations may be partly due to social changes over the last 20 or 30 years, with people regarding it as less of an obligation or duty to go to church every Sunday.

He is also acutely aware of the challenges he faces stepping into the shoes of Cardinal Murphy O'Connor and admits that although he will be a hard act to follow, he hopes he has many of the same qualities.

"He was a big man in many ways but I know that I can't imitate him and I have got to be myself.

"The Cardinal was genuinely pleased for me when we spoke.

"He said he was so happy and 'You're the man for the job'. He also said, 'If you are going to have a diocese, then this is the one'.

"There are two important elements of his ministry that I want to keep hold of.

"The first was his personal warmth and friendliness.

"I will try to bring some of that warmth to my own ministry because the church must be a place where individuals feel that they are welcomed and accepted."

Also high on the Bishop's agenda will be continuing the Cardinal's drive towards Christian unity at a time when the Sussex outposts of the Church of Rome and the Church of England both now have new bishops.

Mgr Conry will meet his Anglican counterpart later this month when he attends the enthronement of the Bishop of Chichester, John Hind, who has just succeeded Dr Eric Kemp.

Mgr Conry, 50, was born and educated in the Coventry area before moving to Rome to train for the priesthood.

He has held a large number of appointments during his career including chairman of Birmingham City Churches in 1992-93.

In January he left the Catholic Press office to return to the Birmingham Archdiocese to work as a parish priest in Stafford.

But just nine weeks later he was meeting Archbishop Pablo Puente, the Pope's representative in Britain.

On Saturday, June 9, he will officially become only the fourth Bishop of Arundel and Brighton since the diocese was established in 1965.