Australian Archbishop guilty of concealing child sexual abuse

in #news7 years ago

A0A4B531-C2A3-4F2C-B1F1-490FF46A810B.jpeg Australian court has found a Catholic archbishop guilty of concealing child sexual abuse in the 1970s.
Philip Wilson, now archbishop of Adelaide, becomes the most senior Catholic in the world to be charged and convicted of the offence.
He was found to have covered up the abuse of altar boys by a paedophile priest colleague in New South Wales.
During his trial he denied being told about the abuse by some of the victims.
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Wilson will be sentenced in June and faces a maximum two-year jail term.

What was heard in court?

Last month, Wilson told the Newcastle Local Court he had no knowledge of priest James Fletcher's actions, which took place when he was an assistant priest in Maitland, 130km (80 miles) north of Sydney.
Fletcher was later convicted of nine child sexual abuse charges in 2004, and died in jail in 2006.
■ Sex abuse and the Catholic Church: What you need to know
One of his victims, former altar boy Peter Creigh, told the court he had described the abuse to Wilson in detail in 1976, five years after it took place.
Magistrate Robert Stone rejected Wilson's claims that he had no memory of the conversation, and said he had found Mr Creigh to be a reliable witness.
The priest knew "what he was hearing was a credible allegation and the accused wanted to protect the Church and its reputation", Magistrate Stone said.
Another victim, who cannot be named, told the court he disclosed the abuse in the confessional box when he was 11 years old.
He said Wilson told him he was telling lies and to recite 10 Hail Mary prayers as punishment.
What has been the reaction?
In a statement issued by the Church on Wednesday, Wilson said he was "obviously disappointed" with the verdict and would consider his legal options.

Reference: b.b.c

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