Stephen Conway has resigned as Bishop of Lincoln after being suspended from ministry and arrested earlier this year on suspicion of sexual assault, the Church of England announced Monday. The resignation lands in an institution that has spent years promising stronger safeguarding and then repeatedly discovering that a policy binder is not the same thing as protection.
British police said in February that a 68-year-old man had been arrested in connection with an allegation that a man was sexually assaulted between 2018 and 2025. Conway was released on conditional bail. The allegation remains under investigation, and an arrest is not a conviction.
The church referred the complaint to authorities
The Church of England said a safeguarding complaint concerning Conway had been sent to the relevant authorities. Conway became Bishop of Lincoln in 2023 and also held a seat in the House of Lords.
His name had already appeared in a separate institutional reckoning. An independent review criticized several clergy members, including Conway, over the church's handling of abuse committed by John Smyth. Conway said at the time that he had done everything within his authority.
The wider safeguarding crisis did not begin here
The Smyth review and its fallout helped force Justin Welby's resignation as Archbishop of Canterbury in 2024. That history matters because each new case arrives inside a structure whose credibility has already been damaged by delayed action, unclear responsibility and concern for reputation.
Safeguarding is often discussed in administrative language: referrals, protocols, reviews and jurisdiction. Behind every one of those words is a basic question of whether people were heard, protected and treated as more important than the institution's comfort.
Reuters reported Conway's resignation and the continuing police investigation on September 21, 2026.
The legal process must determine the facts of the current allegation. The church's task is broader: demonstrate that safeguarding is an active duty at every level, not a solemn phrase deployed after another crisis reaches the front page.
Facts first. Side-eye included.
DJF separates what is confirmed from what is claimed—and tells you why this particular mess is worth your time.