The Church in Wales has today published the findings of a detailed review into the way in which Anthony Pierce, the former Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, was appointed to senior church roles in the 1990s despite senior clergy knowing of sexual abuse allegations against him. Extracts from the Press Release are reproduced below.
Anthony Pierce Review Published
Provincial news Posted: 26 February 2026
The Church in Wales has published the findings of a detailed review into the way in which Anthony Pierce, the former Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, was appointed to senior church roles in the 1990s despite senior clergy knowing of sexual abuse allegations against him.
Mr Pierce, who was Bishop between 1999 and 2008, was jailed for four years in March last year after admitting separate sexual offences against a boy aged under 16, committed between 1985 and 1990, when he was a parish priest in the West Cross area of Swansea.
When those offences were admitted in 2025, the Church in Wales reviewed how issues relating to Mr Pierce had been handled in the past and found that senior clergy had apparently been aware of sexual abuse allegations against him when he was appointed Archdeacon in 1995 and then Bishop of Swansea and Brecon in 1999. These allegations were not reported to the police until 2010. As a result, the Church appointed Gabrielle Higgins to carry out a review which has now been published.
While the review was being prepared, the Church in Wales has also taken forward a referral to its Disciplinary Tribunal. As a result of the Tribunal’s findings, the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, the Rt Revd John Lomas, has deposed Mr Pierce from holy orders and he is no longer a priest of the Church in Wales. The decision can be viewed here.
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Anyone with safeguarding concerns to contact a member of our team via the Church in Wales website:
Web: https://www.churchinwales.org.uk/en/safeguarding/reporting-safeguarding-concern/
Tel: 02920 348200
Alternatively, Safe Spaces is a free and independent support service, providing a confidential, personal and safe space for anyone who has been abused through their relationship with either the Church of England, the Catholic Church in England and Wales or the Church in Wales. You can contact the Safe Spaces team by:
Web: www.safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk
Tel: 0300 303 1056 (answerphone available outside of opening times)
Email: safespaces@firstlight.org.uk
Anyone with concerns or information about this case should contact South Wales Police on 101.
Update: 3 March 2026 at 11:22. On 2 March 2026, Nation Cymru reported that a former Archbishop of Wales had lost the right to officiate at church services (PTO) following the abuse report.