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AUSTRALIA-RELIGION-CRIME
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’ 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.
The Vatican declined to comment on the prime minister’s remarks.
Wilson was found guilty of 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 that 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”.
The court has adjourned the matter until August 14 to assess whether Wilson
is suitable to serve the sentence under home detention.
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/MRI/1535 hrs