UNITED KINGDOM
Mail on Sunday
Wrath of husband cuckolded by bishop…who STILL denies affair: ‘Arrogant’ Catholic priest abused his power over my wife, rages City boss in his first interview since the story broke
By ADAM LUCK FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY
Simon Hodgkinson still has a sinking feeling in his stomach when he recalls the moment he realised that his suspicions his wife Olivia was having a passionate relationship with a Roman Catholic bishop were true.
The couple had been having marital difficulties and 43-year-old Olivia had moved out of the family home. But last April, when Olivia failed to turn up for choir practice at their local church, Simon decided to visit the substantial home of Kieran Conry, the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton.
Speaking for the first time about the collapse of his marriage and his wife’s illicit relationship, Simon, a successful City executive, explains: ‘I thought it was odd when she didn’t arrive at choir practice because normally she would never miss one. I went to her house to drop some music through her letterbox but she wasn’t at home.
‘By then it was about 10pm and I thought it was really weird. I decided it was time to test my suspicion that she was having an affair.
‘I went up to the bishop’s residence and her car was there. I checked and it was there all night. I was devastated.’
So much so that he has waived his anonymity to tell a quite astonishing – and at times explosive – story that asks questions of the very top of the Catholic Church in Britain.
Bishop Conry, 63, last week resigned from his post after admitting he had been ‘unfaithful to my promises as a Catholic priest’ following an affair with a woman six years ago.
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