Bishop of St Davids - a statement

Following an apology from the Bishop of St Davids, Dr Joanna Penberthy, for offence caused by her Twitter posts, the Church in Wales has issued the following statement:

“The Church in Wales expects all its clergy to engage robustly in public life. However, they need to do so in a way which is respectful, responsible and fair, acknowledging the breadth and diversity of political opinion within the Church. We do not support intemperate claims or poorly informed commentary and we urge all clergy to recognise that, as public office holders, there should be no expectation that personal views will be regarded as private.

“The Bishop of St Davids’ strong political views are well known. We recognise that she has apologised for causing offence and are pleased she has acknowledged the hurt and damage she has caused and deactivated her personal Twitter account.”

Wednesday June 2nd 2021

On March 25th 2021 I put out a private tweet about Conservative Party supporters which has caused offence and for which I sincerely apologise. The tweet was in response to another tweet which claimed that the Conservative Party was planning to abolish the Senedd. I acknowledge that while there may be those within the Conservative Party who oppose Welsh devolution, it is not the policy of the Conservative Party to abolish the Senedd and I should have checked all the facts before tweeting. I, of course, trust and have trusted many Conservatives and know there are many honourable people in that party.

I further apologise for other tweets I have posted which have caused upset and offence. While I hold strong political views, I have expressed them on Twitter in a way which was both irresponsible and disrespectful and I deeply regret this.  I have now closed my account down.

Bishop Joanna Penberthy