A former Bishop of Swansea and Brecon rose through the ranks despite historic sexual abuse allegations that senior Church figures failed to act on, an independent review has revealed.

The report, led by barrister Gabrielle Higgins, examined how Anthony Pierce, who served as Bishop from 1999 to 2008, was appointed to senior Church roles despite concerns about his conduct dating back to the late 1980s.

Pierce was jailed in 2025 for four years and one month after admitting indecent assaults on a teenage boy while serving as a parish priest in Swansea.

The review found that senior clergy were aware of a separate allegation involving another boy, aged around 15 or 16, in or around 1990. In 1993, church leaders received complaints and Pierce “implicitly admitted that something inappropriate had happened,” but no action was taken to notify the police or safeguard the victim.

Concerns resurfaced in 1999 - the year Pierce became Bishop of Swansea and Brecon - but the report found they were again mishandled. No single individual within the Church had a full picture of the allegations, and key documents, including Pierce’s apparent admission, were overlooked or left unread.

Police were not formally informed until 2010. The review highlighted persistent weaknesses in the appointment process for bishops and archdeacons during the 1990s, although it notes that safeguarding policies and oversight have since improved significantly.

Responding to the review, The Archbishop of Wales, the Most Revd Cherry Vann, said: “The welfare of the victims of sexual abuse must always be our paramount concern, and we offer our most heartfelt apologies to those who have been failed by the Church in the past.

“I want to thank Gabrielle Higgins for her painstaking and conscientious work on this review, which has engaged in a deep examination of complex and difficult issues dating back many decades. We owe her a debt of gratitude for the thoroughly professional way with which she has approached this challenging task.

“The review shows in painful detail the missed opportunities, the harmful assumptions and the inadequate processes which characterised the Church’s response to these allegations of abuse for far too long.

“This catalogue of failures can only be a source of shame for the Church and will have caused further trauma to abuse victims and their families.

“While the safeguarding processes of the Church in Wales have improved immeasurably since the periods covered by the review, there is no room for complacency, and we are committed to ensuring that our processes always follow current best practice.

“I welcome and fully accept the review’s findings and recommendations, and we are implementing all the changes that need to be made.”

The current Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, the Rt Revd John Lomas, said: “The trauma experienced by victims of abuse within the Church is made all the worse by the breach of trust they have suffered, and, as this review has shown, by the failings of the Church as an institution.

“While nothing can undo the wrongs of the past, and while we can only apologise unreservedly for the failings this review has brought to light, we hope that this review will go some way towards showing our determination to be clear and robust in ensuring these issues can never happen again.

“It is only through doing the right thing that we can begin to restore confidence in the Church, and the publication of this review, and our commitment to the actions arising from it, shows that we are resolved to do that.”

Professor Medwin Hughes, Chair of the Representative Body of the Church in Wales, said: “In commissioning this review, the Church in Wales has shown its willingness to confront its past failings and to ensure that its processes are fit for purpose for the present and the future.

“It is true that enormous progress has been made with safeguarding within the Church since the events covered by this review. But there is work still to do, and we are determined that all the necessary changes will be made as swiftly as possible.

“Throughout this process, the interests of victims and their families are central, and I know the Church in Wales’s safeguarding team is working hard to ensure the best possible response for anyone reporting abuse or concerns within the Church in Wales.

“The lessons highlighted in this review are hard ones, but we intend to ensure that they are learned thoroughly and applied consistently, so that the circumstances this review has uncovered can never reoccur.”

A spokesperson for the Church in Wales said: “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."

Separate disciplinary proceedings resulted in Pierce being deposed from Holy Orders - the most serious sanction under Church law. The tribunal described his conduct as “scandalous and offensive” and his failure to disclose wrongdoing when considered for senior office as a “gross breach of trust.” It is believed to be the first time a bishop has been deposed in the Church’s history.

Anyone with concerns can contact the Church’s safeguarding team via its website or by calling 02920 348200, or report matters to South Wales Police on 101.