NZ bishop surrenders his licence: The Church of England Newspaper, September 9, 2012 p 6

The newly retired Bishop of Wellington (New Zealand) has surrendered his licence to function as priest in the Anglican Church of Aoteroa, New Zealand and Polynesia.  The church has declined to comment on Bishop Tom Brown’s 7 August 2012 decision to leave the ministry, which comes in the midst of his separation from his wife, Dwyllis.

Bishop Brown, who was elected bishop in 1998 and retired in March, told The Dominion Post last week he voluntarily gave up his right to officiate “to be loyal to the church and maintain the church’s integrity”.

“I’ve stepped back from an involvement in the church for personal reasons. I volunteered to give back my licence, it was not taken from me.”

“I think that under the circumstances it was appropriate that I stand down and have a period of sabbatical or time out, and the present bishop accepted that.”

The former Bishop of Wellington, Dr. Tom Brown

“I have a private life and I’m endeavouring to get on with that to deal with the difficulty of separating from my wife,” the former bishop said.

The new Bishop of Wellington, Justin Duckworth told reporters: “The breakdown of any marriage is always deeply sad for all involved,” but declined to comment further.

First printed in The Church of England Newspaper.