Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis has on Monday accepted the resignation letter of a British bishop who stood down after admitting to an affair with a woman, the Vatican said on Monday."The Holy Father Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Kieran Conry from the dioceses of Arundel and Brighton," a statement said.


Conry, 64, apologised in a letter to parishioners to being "unfaithful to my promises as a Catholic priest" but underscored his actions were not illegal and did not involve minors.

The Catholic Church has been put  under pressure to reconsider the tradition of clerical celibacy, which is not an unchangeable doctrine but has been practised for hundreds of years.

Proponents argue a change could slow a sharp decline in ordinations in Europe.

Conry, who was appointed by Pope John Paul II in 2001 as bishop of Arundel and Brighton in southeast England, has admitted to having a sexual relationship with a woman six years ago.