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Turnbull calls on Pope to sack archbishop for concealing child abuse
SYDNEY, July 19, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Australian Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull on Thursday called on Pope Francis to sack disgraced archbishop
Philip Wilson after he was convicted of covering up child sex abuse but
remains employed by the church.
One of the highest-ranking church officials to be convicted on the charge,
the Adelaide archbishop was found guilty in May of concealing abuse by a
notorious paedophile priest during the 1970s and was sentenced this month to
12 months’ home detention.
Wilson, 67, has stepped down from his duties but resisted calls to resign
pending an appeal of his conviction, prompting Turnbull to call on the
Vatican to intervene.
“He should have resigned, and the time has come for the Pope to sack him,”
Turnbull told reporters in Sydney.
“There are many leaders that have called on him to resign, it is clear
that he should resign, and I think the time has come now for the ultimate
authority in the church to take action and sack him.”
Turnbull was speaking ahead of a meeting Thursday with senior Catholic
officials.
Wilson was found guilty by failing to report allegations against
paedophile priest Jim Fletcher.
The archbishop has long denied the charges and his legal team made four
attempts to have the case thrown out, arguing the he suffered from
Alzheimer’s and so should avoid trial — even though the diagnosis did not
prevent him retaining his position in the church.
Newcastle Local Court magistrate Robert Stone found Wilson guilty of
concealing a serious indictable offence of another person, concluding his
primary motive was to protect the church.
In sentencing, Stone said “there is no remorse or contrition showed by the
offender”.
Like elsewhere in the world, Australia has been plagued by accusations
that the Catholic Church ignored and covered up child abuse.
A national inquiry into the issue was ordered in 2012 after a decade of
pressure to investigate widespread allegations of institutional paedophilia.
The royal commission — which ran for five years — spoke to thousands of
victims and heard claims of abuse involving churches, orphanages, sporting
clubs, youth groups and schools.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1100 hrs