"The brutal death of Father Paul Bennett was a tragedy for the church and the community of Trecynon but, above all, for his family, who will never recover from his loss.

He was a generous and loving family man and a committed and faithful priest, who is greatly missed.

We pray that now Geraint Evans has been detained, that with God's help and the comfort and support of those around them, Father Paul's family and the community of Trecynon may be able to start looking to the future and begin the long, difficult process of healing.

We pray, too, that in a secure hospital Evans will understand the grief he has caused and will seek reconciliation with God.

As a result of Father Paul's death, we have re-emphasised personal safety advice for clergy and are reviewing security at parsonages.

At the same time, we recognize that clergy have an important public role to fulfil and need to be accessible to everyone, so that ultimately they cannot always protect themselves from such vicious assaults."