A former Bishop of Swansea and Brecon has admitted five counts of indecent assault on a child, the Church in Wales (CiW) has said.

Anthony Pierce, who was Bishop of Swansea and Brecon between 1999 and 2008, appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Friday, February 7.

He admitted five counts of indecent assault on a male child under the age of 16. The offences date from between 1985 and 1990, when Pierce was a parish priest in West Cross, Swansea.

Pierce has been remanded on bail and a provisional date of March 7 has been set for sentencing at Swansea Crown Court.

The allegations came to the attention of the CiW on 2023 when the survivor made a disclosure to a CiW Safeguarding Officer.

It said the disclosure was immediately passed to the police.

Following criminal sentencing, the CiW Disciplinary Tribunal will consider further appropriate action, it added.

A statement said: “The Church in Wales is appalled at the offences which have been revealed in this case and expresses its deepest sympathy with the victim for the abuse they have suffered.  It is a cause of the most profound shame that a priest in the Church in Wales should have been convicted of such shocking crimes.  Our prayers are with the survivor and with all victims of abuse, whose welfare must always be at the heart of our work. We hope that the manner with which the disclosure was handled when it came to light in 2023 will give confidence that the Church is serious about dealing firmly and decisively with any such cases.”

An internal investigation prompted by the disclosure suggests that in 1993 a small number of members of the CiW had been aware of a further allegation against Pierce, but that this was not shared with police until 2010. An independent external review of the CiW’s handling of this second allegation will commence immediately, and will be published upon completion.

It added: “The Church in Wales is determined to demonstrate that it is a safe place, and that anyone coming forward will have their concerns or disclosures taken seriously, treated with compassion, and taken forward according to the highest current standards. If our people and processes have failed victims and survivors of abuse in the past, we intend to take responsibility for that fact and to fully apply the lessons which have been learned.

“There is no place for any form of abuse in the Church in Wales. We give the highest priority to the care and protection of children and vulnerable people in our communities. To this end we regularly review our safeguarding procedures and provide extensive training to staff and volunteers.”