The Archbishop of Cardiff, Dr John Aloysius Ward, announced his resignation yesterday amid allegations he ignored warnings about two priests later convicted of paedophile offences.
The archdiocese has been in turmoil for some time and clerics had been demanding his removal for more than a year after it emerged he ordained a priest in 1998 knowing he had been tried and acquitted of indecently assaulting a boy. The priest was subsequently convicted of indecently assaulting three children.
However, in a statement released during a press conference in Cardiff to announce his successor - the Bishop of East Anglia, Dr Peter Smith - Dr Ward insisted he was not forced out of office but had decided to resign during a meeting with Pope John Paul II in Rome last week.
"I came to the conclusion that my present good health could quickly return to incapacity," the statement said. "I am weary of an environment characterised by a lack of loyalty. I have been shocked and deeply hurt by those sections of the media and members of the Catholic Church who did their utmost to attack me when I was struck down by illness."
A spokesman for the Catholic Media Office said the families of the abused children had "every right to feel hurt and disappointed" and there were "matters of regret" over the situation. The spokesman said the church was introducing new guidelines for priests and lay people on working with children.
Father Philip Dixon, a parish priest in Newport, Wales, told The Irish Times there was "great relief" in the archdiocese that the archbishop had stood down. "He displayed a frightening combination of stupidity and arrogance."
In his statement, Dr Ward, who had not carried out his duties since last December, asked for forgiveness "of anyone I have hurt during my 18 years as archbishop".